SteelRedux Paul, yes my views are confronting for you, never the less they remain my honest view REMEMBER Labor too has had its legs cut from under it by the house of lost soles,and will again,I can not justify minority's over ruling majority's any time, and believe me this Labor to the boot straps man,trusts the electorate enough to know dreadful policy in a world that has both houses elected at the same time, will see governments thrown out of office,One nation takes conservative votes but after the election votes with them Greens take Labor votes and SOME TIMES votes with Labor, the rest? who knows?

Belly, that is a rather conceited notion that the only rightful decision making as far as the nation is concerned should be confined to the members of the big two parties, and others should be excluded from any say in such matters. If the government has problems with its legislation passing its not due to the cross bench and Labor, its due to the governments failure to win majority support at the election.

The other irksome notion is that in someway minor parties etc steal the rightful votes of the big parties. Not so, no party, Labor or the Coalition included, has an inalienable right to votes. The big two parties problem is simple, the don't have sufficient popular support.

I quite like you Paul, once even handed out your how to votes with my own party's, you here use words to justify and rebut my view, but what if the minor party was the NAZI party? the extreme right or left, sorry your mob fill the last roll, see perfection never existed in any thing, it can not be found in our two party teams either, BUT how can the majority not have the right to say what they want from government?I firmly and forever think if any minor party had voters behind them they would not remain forever minor
Greens are a party of the dreamers from middle income back ground who dream of things others think are quite silly

Hi Belly, //what if the minor party was the NAZI party?// In a democracy the Nazi Party has as much right to exists as does any other party. Say I put it thus; What if the minor party was the Christian Democratic Party? Its a slippery slope when one starts banning this or that, simply because its not agreeable with your thinking.
What keeps extremists from government, is by not creating an extreme society in the first place, where radicalism thrives, and eventually things become so intolerable the radicals take over.

In my view, with the Liberal and Labor Parties being like parties in principle, and with only degree and emphasis being the only defining difference between the two. In a moderate society like Australia, one should expect the two similar moderate parties to command overwhelming majority support, in the 90% range in fact, with no more than 10% of voters dissatisfied with both. This is not the case with the base support for the big two, down around 75% and declining, that being surprising considering the electoral system favours them. The question is why is the two big parties moderacy failing so badly to resonate with voters. Giving rise to minor parties, along with one issue groups and individuals. How do you answer that.

Paul in another thread I just said this *taking away majority's rights to save the rights of minority's is quite silly* no party that ever existed, no government,could or did best serve every one,Democracy if it is not the best system is the best we have found so far,I again ask if small party's use our senate to wedge the big ones is that democratic? and why has this states house six year terms for some three for others? if it is the states house and it is not, why so many senators? why is it so hard for after winning the lower house, a government to win the senate? do voters want that? I have highlighted your party's behavior in the house of lost soles but why should any small party over rule so many voters?

Belly, the reality is not the case, //but why should any small party over rule so many voters// The Greens with nine Senators cannot overrule the government. In the end it is the opposition Labor Party that call the shots on opposing. All The Greens and others can do is side with one or the other.