Well said

Its about time a minister stood up, to speak the truth

Labor has no wishes for change,because if they did this practice would change.

As I have been told question time is just playtime for these idiots,so a full change off government is required.

shame shame shame

TIME TO STAND
TIME FOR CHANGE

MEMBERS AND CANDIDATES WANTED AUSTRALIA WIDE

www.tapp.org.au

when it comes to institutional blindness, mr cohen personifies the problem in his own words. yes, mr c, labor party members are well trained gofers. the whole purpose of a political party is to use bloc-voting to get control of the forum, parliament. the party has been successful in it's aims: the leadership directs,the followership says "baaaa" in chorus.

i have long ago despaired of trying to explain the difference between democracy and pollie-rule to ozzies, but, mr c, your party has done all it can with diseducation and newspeak to create the very character you now profess to despise. i would charge you with cynical hypocrisy except i don't think you're smart enough to know what you're doing.

A very interesting article. It seems to me that Australia is a really good example of how democracy does not work. And we are invading other countries to force them to become more "democratic".
In Australia "democracy" has been reduced to advertising. The party with the biggest advertising budget wins. The unions have abandoned the real needs of their members and are throwing all of their funds and into Labor Party advertising. So they can Bundaberg Australia. And have you noticed how many Labor Party megastars marry each other, promote each other and collect pots and pots of superannuation? Snouts in troughs in every direction. Democracy is not serving the decent, ordinary people of Australia very well at all.
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I agree that question time has become a farce, not because of who asks the questions but because of who refuses to anwer them.

How about a truly independent speaker?

Mr Cohens revelations come as no surprise - the matter of control ( almost at all costs) also extends down to branch level - not so much as to what questions get asked but what matters are even brought to the attention senior party members on any real way - control of all things seems to be at the heart of ALP philosophy - and I say that as a former office bearer in a very left wing branch of the ALP in the 80's

And as for Mr Maddens point - what is wrong with havoing a truly independent speaker - a retired judge or even a sitting judge with special responsibilities to the house?

Barry is a good bloke, always was always will be.
And its nothing new the party and I think the conservatives act just this way.
As a rank and filer I must share a story, at a lunch for a NSW great Wran, Beazley and Carr came to our table and said Gday.
Yet those younger on the way up stood only with those who could help get feet on the ladder and did not say Gday or good by to us.
In the days I lived in Barry electorate and even then was a party activist these people had not been born yet they still find a place to use power wrongly in such as this thread brings to our notice.