Even on the side a chose to be part of politics has become bland,I sometimes get the view they all take us for granted, however there are contributing factors, both side to get anything passed in the senate must deal with parties that ,at best get one in nine votes,so real reform is hard,we have however had good leadership from both sides, it is my view they will come again, in both parties, reform is full of promise not threats

Belly,
Even though you disagree with my views I like to offer you an idea regarding the bland thing of choosing a side.
I decided a couple of years ago that it is pointless to support either ALP or LNP.
I feel much better about it all now except that little festering, unreachable pimple that are the Greens.

Dear O Sung Wu,

«Unfortunately not all people are like you. For this reason, we need to deal with some members of our community in a much harsher way and in a much harsher environment.»

Unfortunately, the law does not distinguish between the good and the bad, the soft and the hard - ask Foxy, the chief OLO ideologist and spokeswoman for the power of the state, the rule of law and "equality before the law", as she wrote: «I think it all depends on the letter of the law - which the courts follow.»

The bible says "eye for an eye" [Exodus 21:24] and so the question was raised: "what if the offender only has one eye?", then they would become completely blind, suffering much more than their victim...

Yes, for some, prison could be a kind of a holiday, especially for the baddies, but for the goodies it is an unimaginable horror. Good people, myself included, suffer nightmares about being dragged to jail. Anyone can make a mistake, but some get to prison without even making one, just recently we heard about someone who was imprisoned for 20 years for a crime he did not commit. Worse still, the state has the ability to legislate in such a way that even the most benign things that good people do can overnight become "crimes" in the eye of the law (real historical example: living one's life peacefully and failing to enlist to go to war in Vietnam). The state can even legislate against morals, conscience and religion - and nothing can stop it!

Is it worth, for the sake of getting rid of criminals, say the 5% who are real baddies, to have 95% of the population who are essentially good and honest, live in constant anxiety, uncertainty and helplessness?

I say that the damage to our health, quality of life and well-being that results from the fear of prison, is worse than the damage done by criminals. The "cure" is worse than the disease!

Individual I understand, you may remember the theme I live with is * while I live I grow* pinched it from a tree on top of the Razor back mountain,we change as we age, the youth that once thought, briefly thankfully, Communism was the answer is now an embarrassment to this older me,long ago my *my party right or wrong* suffered injury and never recovered, this pragmatic me knows no party can ever be all the things we want it to be, no leader can be other than the party, single issue parties, small ones, senate blackmailing ones, in my view are road blocks to democracy and in the end exist to blackmail the majority,BUT both sides, in both the Trump era and after it, will be batter lead than today

Wot! no free incarceration?
Our rights are being slowly eroded.....
where are the unions when you need them?

hopefully unions would agree with my view, but in truth like quite a few in this federal government some who come from that group would be in prison.