@Paul

Come on, Paul. It was the Greens & the ALP who vowed to love, honor and cherish each other in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better for worse, and forsaking all others, be faithful to each other for as long as they both should cling (to power)--remember?

Surely you haven’t forget all that. Let me jog your memory with some of the happy snaps. Just look at Wayne & Adam looking on like proud parents of the newly weds:
http://tinyurl.com/7ekuzeq

And then there was this joyous moment:
http://tinyurl.com/7nccuve

Since that time we have all gotten a lot poorer (and are likely to get a darn side more poorer when some of happy couples policies start to sting. And suddenly the Green’s want to renege! What a pack of philandering, peacocks the Green’s are!

@Luciferase
<<the coalition, they'd only be culpable if they gave a damn about refugees>>
Please do not confuse real refugee with the mob that have been landing on our shores. They are too entirely different/distinct classes.

Lucerferase,
Don't you think that after 800 deaths and thousands of illegal arrivals it would dawn on Labor that they made a mistake and revert to the previous policy.

But then Labor does not care about the deaths or what it is costing us, it is just politics. Worse than mere incompedence.

Luciferas I admire your thinking and stance, you will be targeted by Banjo , who is a mate,and others who are not.
See they are right, Labor got it wrong, very much so, in saying that know, only Labor is truly trying to fix it, you do too of course.
We came up with a working model they say no.
We offered them their solution they said no.
Weighted down by Gillard, the wrong leader the wrong woman an anchor, we can not sell TRUTH.
Liberals Weighed down by their Muppet leader says we will do nothing!
Why fix it! it helps us win the polls Muppet Tony in truth is not capable of coming up with a solution.
Gillard just the wrong leader.
Now Paul! extraordinary stuff 12% 12 in every 100 support the madness known as the greens.
Morris Dancers of the Forrest,and he like his foolish leader claims the majority support them?Both sides should clean out all upper houses,they exist now for minority's to over rule the majority.
Have one house vote for you team no preferences.
Democracy should support the wishes of most not radicals.
Greens, not one bit different than Abbott trade in deaths, to use those deaths to win a battle in politics, both are acting in less than human ways.
Greens end result? incoming Abbott government will have total control over every issue after his DD election one that sees the greens very near death never to be returned from results.
That single event will be a good out come.

The posts on this issue have little to do with the virtues of having upper houses. And they overlook the pernicious effect of the winner-takes-all regimen of the Westminster system. This allows the present government with the support of half the voters to control the government while the other crowd with the support of half the voters, is left to play political games.

Because gaining an extra vote by either side of our political spectrum may be crucial to their having all the power or none, each side will spend all the money they can get to achieve a majority. In turn this gives immense power to people with money and influence, allowing them to control the governments we get.

In summary, the Westminster system is obsolete, its original purpose of avoiding civil war in the eighteenth century having been achieved. There are better models of governance that are inclusive rather than adversarial. We should aim for that sort of reform. Tony

"Please do not confuse real refugee with the mob that have been landing on our shores. They are too entirely different/distinct classes."
Yeah, SPQR, and it's amazing how your mob is able to instantly "process" them on the high sea, clarify the "confusion", then rightly force their unsafe boats back out to sea. More efficient than both onshore and offshore processing, eh?

Third try, welcome Tony.
As the thread starter I want to say yes to some thing better than the Westminster system.
But is it your view currently this country's upper houses are Democratic.
Is the balance of power, a power in its self, good?
Is it good that more people will drown trying to get here?
Is it ok that two individuals in NSW shooters party combined to sell NSW power clearly against the wishes of most.
Are you sure this thread is not talking about the real issue.
Power transfered to smaller party's,even individuals, because our system demands we vote more than once, and for some we truly do not wish to vote for?
Are you pushing for a continuation of lost soles such as the greens ruling because the system is broke?
It will remain my view every ones views should be heard.
But too that they should have equal value.