Jay of Melb>> Winston Churchill
The only way a democracy can work is if suffrage is limited, the young, the thick and the mentally feeble should not be allowed near a polling booth.<<

Jay another quote attributed to Churchill.....but probably comes from Georges Clemenceau is:

"Any man who is not a socialist at age 20 has no heart. Any man who is still a socialist at age 40 has no head."

Either way Jay, it has some currency.

JoM: the Green and Coalition parties would become the duopoly.

Heaven forbid.

Counterfeit currency, sonofgloin — there's no truth to it whatsoever, but it's frequently used to discredit socialist viewpoints.

Sonofgloin,
Most of the older people who support the Greens are conservatives in the left wing authoritarian vein, it was remarked upon the terrible events at Utoya in Norway that Breivik by targeting leftists had actually killed the next generation of Norwegian social conservatives due to the fact that while kids are attracted to socialist idealism almost all those who were murdered that day would have become conservatives in their thirties.

Dear Graham,

I have been a supporter of Jackie Lambie from the get go much to the chagrin of many of my friends and relatives. I don't have much time for many of her policies and her ignorance on some subjects can be disconcerting, but she represents a section of Australia whose voices and concerns are not often aired.

If we believe as I do that the Senate should be a house where a wide representation of views can break free of the constraints of party politics, then she epitomises that ethic.

In the very least Jackie forces those in power to justify their actions to the Australia people.

What people see in her is a deep sense of right and wrong. Her right and wrong may well be different to mine but it is certainly reflective of a healthy number of Australians. She is their voice and on occasion she is mine. But regardless, every time I see her I think 'You go girl!'

In theory Australia votes for candidates and not political parties, Lambie's vote in Tasmania was relatively good compared to Leyonhjelm in NSW and Muir vote in Victoria, both got elected. The Senate works on a quota system with six to be elected from each state. A quota being 14.28% of the vote. With the preferential voting system its possible for a candidate with a very low primary vote to gain a quota, the for mentioned did exactly that. The quota system sometimes works in favor of the major parties as well, the Liberal/Nationals gained 3 positions in NSW even though their third candidate only had 0.6 of a quota and relied on others preferences to get elected.
Lambie's not the first politician to resign from a party and remain in parliament. I prefer what Lambie did to a liar like Kristina Keneally who asked the people to vote for her, giving an assurance that if elected, but defeated as Premier, would remain for 4 years to represent her electorate, 18 months later she resigned, forcing a by-election.