SR,

Don't misquote me!!

What I said was: "There is no other country with a democratically elected parliament that has a body like the senate that is elected in such an undemocratic way with the power to PERMANENTLY block legislation from the parliament." The house of lords can only send legislation back twice. The third time it passes. JL getting elected on 3% of the vote is also not democratic.

As for my position on the senate, it hasn't changed ever and certainly not since I joined OLO 12 yrs ago. It is a vestigial institution whose purpose has disappeared in the 119 yrs since it was founded.

We take our bias with us in this thread, every thread about our chook pen Senate
That house of fools is not near the house it was meant to be
We, at least some of us, gloat that a few not representative of the most, can bargain with their vote
Or even stop a government passing its bills
We, oh yes we do! cry in pain, when it is our government that is stalled
Scream in rage, if Jacky's deal, millions of dollars, see,s cuts to education hospitals or pensions, to pay for it
Democracy is not about minority ruling
This time I side with Shadow Minister, if we must have the chook pen make it a three year term make every election one for both houses, full houses
Halve the number of senators,double the number of votes needed to win a seat

ALTRAV,

Well, you know what they say about voters getting the politicians they deserve. There are a lot of morons out there. Particularly in the small gene pool of Tasmania. It is unfortunate that such an idiot, foisted on us by so few idiots, can wield such power over the rest of Australia. That, clearly, is a massive fault with the Senate, which otherwise works reasonably well. The rest of us are suffering at the hands of a senator ONLY Tasmanians deserve

ttbn, I think you're being a bit unfair.
Why don't mainland bogans deserve Jacqui Lambie too?

Dear ttbn,

Don't worry, things will be a lot different when China takes over the country!

PS If you want to get a feel what it will be like living in a Chinese dominated Australia you should spend a few days in Sydney. Just make sure you brush up on your Mandarin and Cantonese otherwise you'll have difficulty communicating with the locals.