Shadow Minister - for all your feigned impartiality, you consistently only bag out the coalition. Your choice to vote labor (supposedly to prevent a liberal landslide) is no surprise, as I bet you have voted labor or green all your life.

Blind as a bat I see, maybe you could try asking the regular labourites how many times I've use the terms 'red-headed witch' and 'JooLIAR' :) :) :)

Lexi

Some approximation of the 'party' system does exist in very big businesses in that there are teams with different objectives all competing for the same resources. As you suggest, the differing agendas are every bit as divisive as they are in the political circus. Assuming you are headed where I think you are, yes the political circus could certainly be improved, but to do so we'd need to do away with the pretend adversarial party system & to do that we'd need to handle the inevitable faux cries re 'death of democracy'. Good idea but ......

Dear prax.,

The point of my suggestion was to try to get ideas
from others as to a better political system in this
country. Because none of us seem to be too enthralled
with what's currently on offer.

How successful do you think minority groups are going to
be at the next election?

Lexi - How successful do you think minority groups are going to
be at the next election?

With three months to go its anyones race, although its difficult to see the ALP making up lost ground now. The LNP is also lurching from one disaster to another & I believe only the lack of a clear alternative has been keeping its support artificially inflated. Big Clive has a massive financial advantage over the rats & mice but we won't see the Palmer mob get up to speed til late June when he plans to have 150 candidates, that will change the rules of play considerably. According to an interview today, Big Clive thinks he'll end up with as much as 100 seats in the house & at least thirty senate seats. If that occurs, he'll take government without having to do a deal with anyone else and also control the senate. None of the rats & mice are in the same league however Katter is bound to win at least two or three in the house plus a senate place, the DLP & the CDP are likely to take another seat or two each in the house & Madigan looks to have enough support to keep his senate seat without difficulty, maybe Pauline Hanson will be a late starter & there is still a handful of also-rans that are bound to win a few more seats between them. Personally I think Big Clive will take a LOT of seats from both disaffected ALP & LNP regulars and his 100 seat projection isn't too far off the mark. Its never happened before because we've never had a third option. Even in the worst case, I can see Big Clive having enough seats in the house to have the upper hand in any coalition, more likely with rats & mice parties than the LNP since the differences of opinion between himself and the LNP heirarchy are pretty substantial.

P,

You're correct, I just did not see them. However, proposing voting for Labor after the disaster of the last 2 terms, just because they are going to lose so badly makes no sense.

Dear Prax.,

Thanks for that.

I guess it all comes down to who you want.
The party that supports big business, big money,
big media and cuts everything in sight for the
people who elected them - to make their lives
easier. Or those who have to clean up after them.

Not brain surgery.