To end controversy over election promises "broken", parties could be required to establish, say, ten mandated policies during an election campaign. They must, if they win, implement these policies, and the High Court, sitting as the court of mandated policies, can judge if they have. Moreover, if a party wins, the Opposition loses the right to vote against one of these policies, even if the Opposition controls the upper house, which is supposed to be a States Rights house not a political house, because the people (remember them?) have clearly ordered the winners to mandate those policies. Details would have to be tweaked, but it would return confidence and trust in politicians.

There needs to be legislation that an opposition has to butt out of Government business for the first half of the term of a new Government. After all most of the effort of new Governments is always concentrated on changing previous Government policies either good or bad. That way the voters could tell by the next election if the Government is good or bad. We wouldn't waste an extra 3 years getting rid of them.

Clem they all break promises.
Some times they have to.
Some times as events change we want them to.
To get the best results out of politicians we, yes all of us, must take more notice of what they get up to.
Right now as jobs fall like rain I will not complain if Abbott moves to protect them.
I would however be stunned if he did.

Politicans should not make promoses they cant keep.If you are not sure about them dont make them.

the problem..is party/loyalty..[other paid/heads
thinking for/their members]sack..the head..there is no contract

Politicans should not make promoses they cant keep.If you are not sure about them dont make them.
KarlX,
Some promises need to be made to obtain the votes of the the swinging voters. It's that minority which rules.

The Australian Constitution allows mandates to be obtained through section 128.

Then again, review confusion caused there...

In the 1967 Referenda the vast majority of Australian voters believed they overwhelmingly voted to extinguish, to eliminate, to make unlawful, all legislation within their Commonwealth which applied the use of racial discrimination between Australians.

Commonwealth continues misleadingly to tell us that Referenda was to enable Commonwealth a wider ability to practice racism through discriminating between Australians on grounds of race.

Consider how much they have wa$ted doing that... whilst they remain racist in treating people, and they still segregate Australian families...