Dear Paul,

The Communist Party was dissolved in 1991 and fragmented
into oblivion. Basically the extreme Left died out
decades ago. The hardline Leftist views have lost their
expression in Australia's mainstream politics. Today
there is little difference between the parties. Voters
are searching for alternatives - they want to have their
concerns listened to and realistic policies put in place.
They want a vision for the future - not just more spin and
slogans.

If the extreme left died out years ago the 'moderate' Antifa mob certainly have shown themselves to be tantrum throwing facist who use violence and shut down free speech. Hate to think how much worse these 'extinct' leftist were.

runner at least you keep your posts to an even standard
Was the pipe bomber a leftist communist?
How about the murderer in the Jewish place of worship.
Are the mass murdering Saudi Arabians leftist communists
Great to be able to throw the sand of a non-existent left in the public eyes, that way they can not see the real danger

Hi Foxy,

I have always been a believer in social justice, that's why I am a member of the Greens, the Greens are not perfect, but better than most. I'm not a great environmentalist, although I understand and respect the need to preserve the environment as being of particular importance in maintaining life on earth. Just as I understand the need for a strong and stable economy.

What I find particularly irksome is the way our political leadership continually refer to the economy, and "I'm a better economic manager than the other bloke". Its as if the only thing of importance is the state of money, and little else matters. In their speeches many politicians, particularly the conservative ones, will continually stress the point of the better economy they can deliver, rarely if ever mentioning a better society for all through social justice.

At one time I thought the Labor Party was the party of vision for the future, and I was happy to be a member, I joined in the Whitlam days, hated by the conservatives, loved by the radicals. Then along came Hawke and Keating with their macro economics and populists politics, and the vision went out the door, and so did I. To this day no politician from the Labor side, I expect nothing from the conservative side, has been able to reignite that vision for a better society through a real concern for people. You never know, someone may come along one day, but I can't see that person on the horizon yet.

Hi Paul,

I was never interested in politics prior to going
to the US - that's when things changed for me.
Living and working in the States had an enormous
impact - so much was happening there - and we got
to see politics in action.
Coming back to OZ - I began to pay closer attention
especially more to policies.

My family - always voted Liberal. They were the
Menzies generation - when "reds under the beds," was
a real scare - a especially for most people like my family
who had fled communism and whose relatives had been murdered
or died in concentration camps. That's why today I find it
weird to be called all sorts of names by some of the
posters on this forum who make false assumptions about someone
they aren't even remotely familiar with.

Anyway, today I tend to look at policies more than political
parties. And so far as you say - nothing much impresses me
either. But we'll have to wait and see. I'm still optimistic
that things will change - that somehow there is a leader
waiting in the wings who will surprise us all. We have elections
coming up in Victoria in November - and hopefully things
will not run along the same old, same old, lines of attack.
I think that most people are so sick and tired of those
outmoded tactics. I'm in a safe Liberal seat. It will be
interesting to see if there will be any ramifications here
to the dumping of our former PM.
Perhaps not.

Paul,

With you all the way on that, except the coloured bit!

The Australian Labor Party went wrong when it severed its working class roots and started pre=selecting candidates from those who couldn't make it in the Liberals