Keith we know exactly what Howard and Costello will do. They will do what they have always done , deny the problem, try a jingo to dazzle the plebs and blame the weak.

We know Howard does not possess the credibility , the moral or intellectual fortitude to deal with a real crisis. Howard and Costello have learnt well from their beloved American culture. All PR and no substance.

Rudd will probably do the same, unfortunetely the Commonwealth has lost relevance over the past decade and I fear it will be another decade before we get an Australian Government rather than another useless media construct. Or what seems to be our destiny we will cease to be a nation and become a united collection of independent states like Europe.

Either way Rudd or Howard/Costello makes no difference , neither have their head in Australia.

West,I think that it is the State Govts that have lost their relevance.They signed of gleefully on the GST and blew it all on bureaucrats and mismanagement.John Howard is on the right track.Slowly remove their realm of influence by taking over health ,education and infrastructure.Then we eradicate them entirely.We will then have plenty of money for housing and infrastructure.

The Unions have 85% of their power base in the Public Service.Why do these people belong to a Union when they cannot be sacked or disciplined.Sick days and workers comp claims are 3 times that of private enterprise who pay the taxes to keep them.

The States have out lived their usefulness.

Arjay on the contrary it is the federal government which should be scraped. If the Howard government has taught us anything it is that the commonwealth government has become a waste of resources.

The commonwealth government offers no services to the Australian people , holds no expertise in service delivery, holds no concept about what Australia is , the differences in its regions and especially the needs of Australians.

The only thing it has to justify itself is a defence department but even here we are wasting resources in unneccessary wars. the Commonwealth has mismanaged the economy , only those resource rich states and catchments have done well out of the Asian economic boom. The Commonwealth politicised education and health , destroyed the tertiary system and is currently destroying families with its 19thy century employment policies.
Labour is no alternative to the rot. Scrap the federal Government and replace it with a common treasury with one state one vote.

Arjay says; "The Unions have 85% of their power base in the Public Service. Why do these people belong to a Union when they cannot be sacked or disciplined?"

A good point, which, to be 'fair and balanced', is also applicable to politicians. If you want democratic accountability, representatives should be recalleable and subject to strict mandates - in which case they become delegates rather than representatives. If you really want a democratic society then fight for democratic reform. We all know that the corruption of power is not limited to Union Bosses. "What's good for the goose is good for the gander"

Of course public servants can be sacked , bullied , exploited or injured and it has happened to many.

A politician both state and commonwealth should only do what is promised at elections. If he/she fails to deliver within a reasonable time she/he should be sacked. If he/she does something not promised at an election he/she should be sacked fined and if it involves lobbyists imprisoned for then the lobby had been represented (corruption) not the constituent. If an electorate decides they wish to dispose of a politician for any reason at any time they should be able to sack the politician with a 50.1%. All this the politician is still more protected from being sacked than most Australians including union members.

I still feel the commonwealth should be scrapped because it is an inefficient use of resources. As a tax payer I dont pay taxes just so an incompetent government can claim to have a surplus. Thats like putting oil in an engine for no other purpose other than to be able to say the sump is full.

West ,we know you are a Public Servant,fear not,it will be a slow process of evolution,your super will be untouched and those who have real ability will be premoted rather than lobotomised.