Continued by Rehctub

As for shopping hours, I have been involved in retail my entire life and I can assure you that extended hours have robbed many families of quality time, not to mention eroded profits for many small businesses, as they simp,y don't have the resources to compete.

Praxadice is right in saying it was all about big business and their relentless push for market share.

With online shopping being what is is today, there is simply no need for extended hours and it is my view that we should go back to one late night per week and close at midday Saturday.

I remember the start of it all (in QLD) when Sat arvo hours were extended, it was 1989.

My Sat sales were about $2400 and my sales never increased on Saturdays after that day.

Of cause my wages increased, but the law makers didn't care about that.

It also caused hassles with rosters, as prior to this, a common week was Monday to Friday and sat morning with an afternoon off mid week.

EVERYONE WAS HAPPY, except the interfering labor law makers.

What these stupid people don't get, is that money can only be spent once, so extended hours hurt small business and hurt families for the benefit of a few shoppers.

Now days, we almost have shopping centers within walking distance of each other, all competing for the same amount of dollars, so retail has become a dog eat dog world, all in the name of increased competition.

If I had my way I would go back even further and have specialty shops where meat, bread and produce can only be purchased from specialty stores, I would allow supermarkets to sell only the basics, sliced bread, white, wholemeal and grain, very basic produce and dairy and no pharmacy, stationary or new agency goods.

This will create jobs and help protect fakirs lifestyles.

Of cause, that just a dream, but all this could have been protected.

paul1405 - the rest of the package was a vote winner, now the whole lot is trash

Thats what happens when too smart for their own good politicians who attempt to delude the sheeple into accepting sugar-coated faeces on the pretext of 'Take this, its good for you' & 'Trust me, I'm a politician'.
Maybe they got away with it once, but even the sheeple wake up sometimes.

praxidice
Agree, the Citizen Initiated Referenda is a worthy goal and I hope similar gets passed in the future. I think the Pirate Party were working on something similar. My vote won't be going to the two major parties even though inevitable my preferene will have to mark one over the other, but it is important to vote IMO to push the message that the majors have lost the plot - and to keep doing it until the message gets through and politics stops being about mindless team sport and back to an important aspect of the democratic process.

There are other parties and independents looking to make a mark to improve democracy and transparency who are getting my vote over any of the majors. They include The Greens and fairly new on the block - The Pirate Party and The Wikileaks Party.

I don't buy the hype that both major parties are putting out about the importance of winning a clear majority in both houses based on the hyped up failures of minority government.

Minority governments have been successful in other countries for years. Last time Australia had a clear majority in the Senate, we got WorkChoices which was a policy foisted on Australians and which was not put on the table prior to the election. Whether you agree with WorkChoices or not, or the Carbon Tax etc etc all plans, policies and programs should be on the table fully costed before an election. The Opposition's nonsense about the Carbon Tax was verging on histrionics when it was well known that Abbott was willing to do 'anything' to get the top job including a CT.

There also needs to be reform on political donations and power of influential lobby groups which ruin the very premise of a grassroots democracy.

Paul
I get your point about it being easy to be the good guy when you are an independent or a party of one. However having independents and minor players in Parliament is a good thing if nothing more to keep the government and opposition honest, and to bring legislatoin where the major parties have been reticent eg. Wilkie and Xenophon with the pokies, sports betting/televising reform pushed by the Greens.

The recent decision to exempt parliamentary departments from freedom of information relating to expenses is mind boggling and it is only the Greens and Independents calling out both sides of government on this travesty. In fact the legislation is being pushed through despite the review findings not yet being tabled. Something not right there.

The fact is it is going to take voices of 'one' so to speak to turn democracy around and stop the vested interest groups taking over. We are more and more like the USA where money and influence make policy. The 1% do not deserve a greater share of the democracy pie than any other citizen.

I think you will see a very small amount of support for ind, unless of cause they show their hand prior to the election, as anyone who voted ind last time, will be gun shy, and who can blame them.

I think we will see a white wash this time around, and it wouldn't surprise me to see the likes of big Clive out poll labor.

As for the boats, we need to throw out the softly softly approach and bring out the big stick.

Furthermore, we need to stop all aid to Indonesia until they stop the boats leaving, because if they do this, we don't have to stop them from arriving.

In any case, we are Simon,y BORROWING MONEY to add to their bank account, because unlike us, I believe they are in surplus, you know, how we used to be.

Finally for those labor lovers out there, dont bother telling me to give it a rest, because I will be paying for the past five odd years for the rest of my life,thanks to you lot, and even then, I will probably have to pass my share of the debt on.

Thanks heaps!

I think the bottom line is that we desperately need a quantum change & that won't occur with ALP or LNP holding the reins. Both major parties have shown total lack of ethics. Other than that mysterious 30%, I'm not aware of one individual who supports the red-headed witch. RAbbott seems to still have some following although none of my circle was even slightly impressed with the vote funding fiasco & if thats representative, it could well translate into a major setback. My particular electorate could well be a gift for Big Clive as the sitting (LNP) member is arguably the laziest & most useless fat-gutted ex cow-cocky slob who ever drew breath, if there is an ALP drone, he or she has never been seen or heard from in living memory, and the Palmer candidate is relatively young, very presentable, speaks exceptionally well, has plenty of relevant business experience, is full of beans, and to date at least is getting well received in the electorate. We'll probably get a few rats & mice candidates, anyones guess how they will poll in a mixed bag region which includes middle to upper class workers & retirees, tree-hugging greenies, assorted bushies / hobby farmers, eco-tourism & an assorted mob of 'proper' farmers. State & local members are, and always have been conservatives but then the boundaries are completely different.

Another electorate in which I used to live a while back has a sitting ALP member, a lame duck LNP candidate & a quite impressive Palmer candidate. Its been an ALP stronghold traditionally, albeit with slim margin, but recent state & local elections brought conservative members. For one reason or another, the sitting federal member got embroiled in state / local affairs that were well outside his brief and hence he copped quite a bit of flack for not fixing something over which he had no influence. I suspect that electorate will go to Palmer as a consequence of a continuing move away from the ALP, a substantial ethnic shift that certainly won't benefit the ALP & the weaker than water LNP candidate.