King Hazza - well done and well said!

What about the rest of you guys?

I have already made my case, and it is in broad agreement with Hazza's.
MY last QLD rates bill is up by a third, to pay for an amalgamated council that about 80% of the population didn't even want.
A popularly elected President with the power of Veto could have insisted on a referendum, to ensure the will of the People was being represented.
We still need to Keep The Bastards honest, and it has been proven that can only be done (on a permanent basis) from the outside. The fourth estate has also proven to be less than effective, or impartial.

Thankyou Sense and Grim. Having a more direct degree of accountability of the people over government is really the only strong reform I can imagine. The assumption that parallel government bodies will regulate each other only works when the members of one tries to push an adverse or unethical issue that the members of the other would not personally agree on- this of course doesn't always happen, though.

Are you lot all lawyers? The only people who will get anything out of constitutional change will be the lawyers who will make hundreds of millions in fees, with challenge after challenge.

It is a pity to see that so many Ozzies are so immature that a few words written on a bit of paper mean so much to them.

Do you have so little of worth in your lives, that you have to take this crap so seriously.

Name one person, other than said lawyers who will be better off for any change. If you can't, get real.

An interesting thread.

When's all this going to happen?

I love the references to the Westminster system.
The Westminster system is the illusion that the
Australian government works, or should work, on the
same principles as the British government. The
similarities between the two systems are largely
those of decor, like the sue of the mace. The major
difference between the two systems is that Australia
is a federation, a concept totally incomprehensible
to the British. An appeal to the "Westminster System"
is a slogan used by Opposition parties in an attempt
to trick their opponents into foolish resignations.

By the way, I'm for a popularly elected President.

In all the past and future decisions regarding governing our country, the main thing has been pushed to one side. The people are the ones who are to be thought of, and have not been since inception of government of any country. The whole area of government must have an ensurity of public control, not just a band of people calling themselves "Labor, Liberal" or any other name and expecting to be treated with respect when continually creating recessions or depressions or grabing to the dishonest president to send our soldiers to war. The salary and any perks - if any - of the persons choosen to represent us, must be decided by the people, and the people who presented for election, should not be only that one which we are presented with now to represent that party in each electotate.