The problem is, unfortunately, Australia is a country of poorly educated, poorly informed people who, for the most part, are comfortable in their present lives and see no need to involve themselves in politics. We have no press independence or freedom; no independence of either TV or radio. We have permitted a presidential style dictatorship to develop as the preferred political system, and in their ignorance, 90% of Australians simply vote for more of the same because they are not given any useful information that might enable them to hold informed opinions.
Only one other so-called democracy is less democratic than Australia, and that is the U.S.A.
Until…
1. political donations are limited to individuals and capped at, say $1,000.00, and made transparent,
2. no politician may campaign outside his/her electorate
3. professional advertising companies are prohibited from running campaigns for individuals.
4. a limit of, say, $100,000 be placed on political advertising
5. all political parties are banned
6. parliament is the government and decisions are arrived at by consensus
7. civil servants are independently employed and their independence is strictly guarded
8. all government business is transparent
9. a total ban is placed on political advertising
10. no politician may hold any sort of political office for more than seven years – i.e. no professional politicians…
then we have no hope of achieving any sort of democracy in which intelligent people have a say.

I'm going to be putting up an article on OzPolitic with some electoral reform ideas for QLD and Australia soon.

Ybgirp,

I don’t believe that Australians are more “poorly educated” than any other nationality; nor do I believe that they are “poorly informed”. I do believe that the average Australian is a non-starter when it comes to interest in politics but, again, are Australians any different from other nationalities?

What do you mean that we “have no press independence or freedom”, “no independence of either TV or radio”? Compared with other countries, how much more freedom and independence could the media have? Freedom and independence from what, exactly?

Which countries do you believe are more democratic than Australia?

Your ideas (10 points that you say will lead us to democracy) are a little hard to follow. No 1 is fine. Can’t see the sense in No.2 or No 3. With No.4, you have limited political advertising to $100,000, but in No. 9 you want ALL political advertising banned! Which is it?

No. 10 is good. Politics was never meant to be a life-long career, but the other points I don’t refer to seem to be pretty strange, as does you last remark about “intelligent” people having a “say”. What about fact that you think most of us are not educated enough?

“The problem of Australia's over-population will never be solved. Immigration will cease only when Australia is reduced to a desert, and people will no longer wish to come here.”

You are probably right Leigh, but gee, we’ve gotta believe that there is a ray of hope, otherwise people like you and I who are concerned to the core of their being about this sort of stuff will just go completely bonkers.

“I don't know why Ludwig wants Rudd (if elected) to carry on with Beazley's mumblings. Beazley often said, proudly, that he was a big immigrationist!”

Beazley was a Howard clone, with growth at all cost as his mantra. But my interpretation was that in the last weeks of his leadership he was exhibiting genuine moves away from that.

I would dearly love Rudd to continue the momentum of change…. and certainly NOT just carry on as Beazley did throughout the majority of his reign.

I hope you won’t go “completely bonkers”, Ludwig. I don’t intend to. I think that we have to accept that there are things that we can change and things that we cannot change. All we can do is express our concerns, and hope someone who can make changes listens. Currently, there seems to be nobody who will listen, and I can’t see Rudd being any different from the average Australian politician if he becomes PM.

It is inconceivable that the people who are responsible for our downward run are suddenly going to make things right.

I’ll take your word that Beazley, in his last moments, started to talk about change. I stopped listening to him long ago. Probably he was desperate to hang on, and tried something else.

All politicians are becoming more and more irrelevant. It is pointless to rely on any of them. It’s the nature of the beast I’m afraid

I suggest the Leigh's and Freedivers in this thread who oppose new children set an example for the rest of us by not producing any offspring.