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The Forum > Article Comments > The pros and cons of a Queensland senate > Comments

The pros and cons of a Queensland senate : Comments

By Rodney Crisp, published 20/8/2009

Having a senate in Queensland won't help the fact that two-thirds of Queenslanders think they are being over-governed.

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Dr Mark Drummond did a Phd in how Australia could save $50 billion a year by abolishing State governments!

http://members.webone.com.au/%7Emarkld/PubPol/GSR/gsr.html

Only by creating a truly National and Local government model can we act fast enough to prepare for the climate and peak oil challenges ahead.

Power creep is already happening as the Federal government slowly takes over the collection of taxes and powers of the States. It’s time to discuss other methods of installing checks and balances lest our Federal government become the all-powerful monster that pro-Federation philosophers fear anyway! The States are gradually be taken over by default.

They don't properly serve as a check and balance, yet cripple our country. COAG has failed to deliver on climate or the Murray Darling.

Everyone blames everyone else for health, and not having a National education policy for a nation of only 21 million is a joke. Indeed, policies for police and welfare and child protection could all become fairer and more efficient across the whole country. Why do families that move interstate have to watch children suffer adjusting to a new curriculum? Why do we have 8 State websites on diabetes?

And the local governments are not even described in the Constitution! They are the kicking boys of BOTH the State and Federal governments. Australia is atypical in geography. Far from being "more local", some of our States are so large you could fit a few European COUNTRIES in them!
Posted by Eclipse Now, Thursday, 20 August 2009 2:40:29 PM
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Instead, we should admit we have a large geographic area anyway, and save money and confusion by having clear National government policies and LOCAL service delivery. Let's have local governments making local decisions about Zoning, Parks, etc. Local school boards should plan the school buildings, the hiring and firing of teachers, etc. Imagine local elections MEANING something again!

It’s time Australia had the public debate about how to streamline the National government and make our National Politicians truly accountable, while also guaranteeing certain local government powers in the Constitution.
http://www.beyondfederation.org.au/

Dr Drummond’s "Australia United" plan details how rolling State governments into a more streamlined National legislative model with local government service provision could be “all carrot and no stick” to State government employees. After 5 or so years we could finally have a democracy where the responsibilities of 2 tiers of government were obvious, there was no more buck-passing, and more money for local governments than they ever dreamed of.
http://members.webone.com.au/%7Emarkld/PubPol/GSR/AusUplan250609.pdf
Posted by Eclipse Now, Thursday, 20 August 2009 2:40:56 PM
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It is well and truely time that all our political leaders took as serious look at the benefits of restructuring our broken, multilayered, federal system of government. Benefits include one law for all Australians, a national drivers licence, lower taxes and less red tape.
Posted by Quick response, Thursday, 20 August 2009 6:00:30 PM
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What? No huge debate? No arguments that I'm some kind of totalitarian dictator craving more power (which could only be true if I were already snugly installed in Canberra, dang! Forgot that bit in my plan to rule the world! Ha ha!)

OK, looks like we have a consensus so self evident that people just shrug their shoulders and say, "Meh, it'll happen one day, too busy right now to do anything about it."
Posted by Eclipse Now, Saturday, 22 August 2009 10:10:08 AM
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As a (self educated) CONSTITUTIONALIST who entered Australia as an alien it is really remarkable who so many Australians with far better education in the English language then I ever had (none – as English is not my native language) know so little about what the federation is about.
.
Rodney Crisp might be right about the kind of politicians were are attracting but then this is because we let them to be as they are. If for example we were to vote out major political parties and for once voted on INDEPENDENTS then the political party members will shudder and realise their game is up and they better act appropriately.
While Rodney goes on about the 1922 abolishing of the Queensland Senate, I for one, assisting a person in his litigation, in a CONTEMPT case on 9 March 2009 filed an ADDRESS OF THE COURT that was extensively dealing with the issue of that constitutionally the Queensland Senate actually was never constitutionally validly abolished and remains applicable. Well, on 16 March 2009 Her Honour ordered a PERMANENT STAY of the proceedings. No surprise to me there. The issue is too complicated to set out in this post.
Constitutionally “local government” is the State Government! And the ADDRESS TO THE COURT also challenged the validity of Municipal/Shire Council as a “local Government". And, the council already were ordered to leave a hearing, so their lawyers, when I submitted they had no legal standing to participate in the hearing.
On 19 July 2006 after a 5-year epic legal battle I defeated the Commonwealth in both cases on all constitutional based submissions, including that it could not compel me to vote in federal elections and the CEA Section 245 purporting compulsory voting was unconstitutional.
Again, I defeated the Commonwealth on this.
So, lets get down to the real constitutional facts!
Posted by Mr Gerrit H Schorel-Hlavka, Tuesday, 25 August 2009 1:55:03 AM
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Thank you for defining my argument for me so clearly! The fact that "local government" in Australia is larger than 2 or 3 European nations is an appalling state of affairs. No wonder local communities feel powerless, they have 2 almighty powerful and distant levels of government that can overrule their sovereignty! What does some Latte sipping bureaucrat in Perth know about conditions up in Derby, 2200km away? Drive that far in a straight line in Europe and how many countries do you drive through?

Those ARE the constitutional facts that I am appalled by, you have described them perfectly! Thank you.

However, you haven't justified why we need 8 different driver's licences, 8 different websites on diabetes, 8 heads of departments instead of 1, 8 different sets of legislation on various business practices, and all the duplication and waste.

Instead, lets save 50 billion dollars a year (Mark Drummond's PHd) and have a unitary government with real LOCAL government service delivery and decision making. We need consistent, clear, and streamlined National laws. We need service delivery and important planning powers at the local level.

And there are far better democratic "checks and balances" than the old outdated, bureaucratically dead, unaccountable, buck-passing, antiquated, progress-defying Federal system. In the age of the internet, it's time for this massive dinosaur of waste to finally go extinct as we enter a more streamlined, efficient, ACCOUNTABLE National / Local model of politics where local government elections will finally mean something again!
Posted by Eclipse Now, Tuesday, 25 August 2009 11:52:36 AM
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