Producer - The reality is they got less than 50% of the vote

Such are the advantages of the gerrymander. Mind you neither Teflon Pete nor GoAnna the Blight perceived any reason to 'fix' the system and they certainly had more than sufficient time. Obviously the Newman / Seeney / Nicholls won't tamper with something that works to their benefit, likewise the RAbbott given his part in the demise of One Nation.

It all comes back to the reality of humans with uncontrolled authority being inherently corrupt. Sure we need to 'fix the system' but to be effective, the 'fixing' needs to be set in concrete well before any authority is conferred.

Dear Betty and other ALP tragics

You people persist in the mistaken belief that the ALP is the only true political party & that its impending federal defeat is the fault of a few. Fact is that **ALL** the present crop of politicians (regardless what colour jersey they wear) have lost the plot entirely. None of the clowns have divine right ... they are merely SERVANTS of the people (or more correctly sheeple in Australia) elected for a finite time to carry out the wishes of the majority. Ultimately the people / sheeple are the bosses, they alone have right to hire and fire. Quite obviously the major parties (as well as many smaller ones) have actively conspired to de-rail the system for the benefit of the union movement (in the ALP case), big-business (LNP) & the IL-legal / IN-justice establishment (both major parties).

I've long suggested an a-political citizens union be established to represent the interests of the people / sheeple against the political circus generally. No doubt if we had more people in Australia than sheeple, this might be achievable. Why for example, do we allow these turkeys to adopt the 'honorable' title the moment they take office when in reality the words 'honorable' & 'politician' are for the most part mutually exclusive. Some will immediately jump on soapbox & scream I don't show the clowns 'respect'. Why indeed should I ?? Respect is EARNED as a result of doing something of value, its certainly not an attribute automatically conferred on a person just because they happen to be in whatever position. It would be far more apt to demand politicians respect their electors, after all they only get their nice cushy overpaid jobs because WE put them where they are. Given the myriad examples where our elected officials have knowingly and intentionally sought to lie, delude, mislead, rip-off, con & perpetuate all manner of mischief on us, they have no right whatever to respect. We should in fact demand that henceforth they be addressed as the DIS-honorable member until or unless they prove they are otherwise

Dear RObert,

I'll try again.

As one political observer commented:

"Since the PM announced the September 14 election, the
man who once wanted cameras to follow his every move has
noticeably reduced his media commitment, abruptly walks
away from press conferences and is keeping tight-lipped
in Parliament Question Time (except for the odd
interjection he seems unable to restrain). It looks like
now that the scrutiny is being applied, Mr Abbott has
nothing to say."

"Last year, we endured a political debate mired in the
personal, the trivial, and so often, the downright nasty.
Yet beyond the grounds of Parliament House, the desire is
for a debate about real issues and real plans."

"Labor has set out its plan - a plan to ensure a strong
economy and support jobs and growth. A plan for education
reform, health, and aged care and a National Disability Insurance
Scheme and to boost skills and innovation so we can succeed
in the Asian Century."

"Do we know what Mr Abbott's plans are for Australia?
The Libs spruik a supposedly "ready to go," set of policies,
yet we have no idea what they are. No details have been
provided on substance, how much they'll cost or how they'll
be paid for. Their strategy for electoral success is to make
policies a policy-free zone."

I watched Joe Hockey on the "Insiders," yesterday.
When questioned by Barrie Cassidy, Hockey could not give a
straight answer, he was all over the place - it was confusing
to say the least. He kept contradicting himself. Possibly as
a result of saying what he really thought, and then remembering
he had to toe the party line. It wasn't a good look and
certainly did not inspire confidence in his Party's
economic credentials.

Now that is something that is amazing.

Lexi,

Perhaps we shouldn't be too hard on Hockey.

He was probably still recovering from being bounced around by Alan Jones.

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/joe-goes-into-bat-and-is-hit-with-a-jones-bouncer-20130517-2jrlo.html

: )

Dear Banjo,

As economists tell us:

"Australia's economy has grown by 9% since the onset of
the GFC. Our unemployment rate was only 5.5% last year and is
not expected to rise above 6%. Yes we're in deficit but it's
a tiny one - $18 billion in underlying cash terms - our deficit is
only 1.1% of our gross domestic preduct. By the time the budget
returns to surplus sometime in the next few years Australians
will have a government debt of only 11 per cent of GDP.
A negligible figure by any sensible judgement. Anyway you look at
it ordinary Australians are doing okay under this government.

"Nearly a million jobs have been created. Much legislation has
been passed. Inequality has steadied, perhaps even fallen.
Standards of living have kept rising. Interest rates are at record
lows." And the list goes on.

BTW - just to remind you...Andrew Wilkie rejected Tony
Abbott's $1 billion hospital offer. He angered Senior Coalition
powerbrokers who felt betrayed after Wilkie rejected an offer
from Tony Abbott (to get Wilkie's support) that would see
the Tasmanian MP's local hospital receive $1 billion.
Coalition front-benchers were furious that they had been
snookered by Mr Wilkie who labeled the Opposition leader's
offer as "over the top and irresponsible."

For every bad thing that you list - there's always heaps
of goog stuff to balance things out. Still, invariably the
way we colour the world will be from our own agendas, our
own unique view. And that is rarely black and white.

Cheers.

Dear Poirot,

Thanks for the link.

Who'd have thought that could happen?

Dear Belly,

As I've stated many times in the past - Labor needs internal
reform and grassroots level re-engagement with people.
A contest between Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott is a poor way
to try to win government. Labor's job is especially
difficult when the likes of the big media, big business, and
big money are lined up against them - it's hard to get any
message out. And of course in the mediascape polls trump
policies every time. And people buy it. Lets hope they're
not all gullible.