Dear All-,

Your dissertation would have to be more than just a title. Your hypothesis would have to have some substantive backing before it got approved and given the go ahead. Sounds a bit too complicated for my taste - but if you're prepared to do the hard work - go for it.

I thought we were a democratic community, but it seems we are only obliged to be democratic once every 4 years.

This issue is important to all of us, our palimentarians are divided and some are even gagged by party lines.
Surely this is of such importance that everyone must have a voice, but it seems that most of the people are to stupid to make up their minds and must be ruled out, nearly everybody nowdays is interested in whats going on because we have much more information at our fingertips,computers,TV,newspapers to name a few, not like a couple hundred years years ago when communication was by horse and cart.

If issues come up that are devisive then why not have a vote every time?

It seems to me that the technology of the world is advancing but the political system is still stuck in the past, it needs to move forward so that we are capable of ALL having a say without it costing millions of dollars to do it or spending millions of dollars to force feed the point of view of the government.

AHHH, I see the problem, It would also mean that the politicians would have to be more open and have freedom of information available so that free decisions would be able to be made.

Someone earlier suggested a conscience vote.

If Abbott was sincere he'd support a conscience vote on carbon tax by all parliamentarians.

Nah, $70 Million plebiscite instead - guess he learned the word 'plebiscite' at Oxford. I can dig that.

:-P

SM, surely the matter has been done to death. You cannot by any imagination say that Mr.Abbott's word can be trusted. You could go back years producing videos where he has been caught out lying.

It is up to you what you believe. Some do believe she changed her mind.

What is important is whether the proposed policy is what Australia needs.

Why you are continuing your obsession with the alleged lie, the rest of Australia has moved on.

Well, Well,
What a bunch of armchair politicians.
Just like the Media, which, incidentally, think that their opinion(s)which are usually incorrect, should be taken up by Government and other Politicians we have the misfortune of listening to nearly every day.
It is surely obvious that we have a new PM, and like all other newbies we should cut Julia (NOT JULIAR) a bit of slack.
I am sick of listening to "Show pony Tony aka Misogynist" and Christopher Pyne bleating about (and I quote) " The Liberal Party's job is to bring down the Government)....what a load of BS. The Opposition (on either side of politics, no matter which side forms Government) is there to place checks and balances.
I am glad that Tony Abbot and his cohorts are behaving like spoilt little 5 year olds, it can only serve to enhance the Gillard Government.
Surely someone 'out there' has re-neged on a proposal, Julia Gillard would certainly not be the first. EVERYBODY has the ability and right to change their mind. A carbon tax IS a good thing, and users SHOULD PAY...I live in Western Australia, which has become a mining field for big Companies (some of them from other coutries) why should they be exempt from a carbon tax.
Politicians cannot please all of the people all of the time...give the incumbent government a fair go.

Flo,

Really, where has Abbott lied, made a promise and then backtracked on delivery?

Abbott is far and away more trustworthy than Juliar. I heard her this morning claiming not to have meant to deceive anyone.