Dear Mr. Opinion,

«How about we get politicians to swear an oath to be honest?»

The question below should be added to the candidate nomination form, this information will be published before the elections, then successful candidates will need to take an oath according to the box they ticked:

"If Elected, my first loyalty will be to:

1. Myself
2. Whoever pays me more
3. God
4. My church
5. My parents
6. My spouse
7. My political party
8. Australia
9. China
10. Her Majesty the Queen
11. My state within Australia
12. Those who elected me
13. My electorate as a whole
"

Any elected member who can no longer follow what they declared must immediately resign. Failure to do so would be a criminal offense.

Good on you Mr O, some here are out of touch with reality. Such abstract nonsense, swear and oath to be honest, who's going to swear an oath to be dishonest. How about an oath to like strawberry ice cream, or Frank Sinatra records. Some people here are all worked up expecting politicians to swear meaningless oaths.

Dear Paul,

«Some people here are all worked up expecting politicians to swear meaningless oaths.»

As I suggested above, let members of parliament swear oaths that are meaningful to them, whatever they are, so we all know in advance, before electing them, what their intentions are, then let them stick to those intentions for which they were elected.

And let us go back to the ancient form of oath that sends a powerful subliminal message to the brain:

"If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy" [Psalms 137:5-6]

In other words, let me have a stroke if I do not keep my promise to my electors!

Hi Yuyutsu,

Do you agree that swearing an oath to an old woman in England is archaic, and irrelevant to Australia in the 21st centenary.

Paul,

"Do you agree that swearing an oath to an old woman in England
[Great Britain] is archaic, and irrelevant to Australia in the 21st centenary"

Of course it's archaic, but do you believe that lying and perjury are acceptable for members of Parliament, Greens included?

How about we get ScuMo to swear an oath not to smirk at others misfortune?

As if.