Hi Foxy,

What do you mean? Its not the Melbourne Cup, its a two horse race, and besides 'Ladbrokes" will give you your money back in bonus bets if your nag runs second.

Check with Issy, he backed the winner each-way last time, after the race, got 10 to 1. Won himself a Goggomobile for his trouble, he's still racing that three wheeler around the backyard. One day he'll get in and have a drive for himself! See politics can be fun.

Just because you were born in England doesn't
mean you have to play cricket?

OOOOps - sorry - wrong thread.

To 'thinkabit'.
I also agree with you in principle.
But in practice, local representatives are chosen, even if indirectly, by the leadership team of a party.
They are chosen to represent its values and outlook.
They are effectively carbon copies of the leadership.
They vote unerringly in line with its recommendations.
Of the leadership team, we pay most attention to the leader of that team?
We see him as representing who they, and the rest of the party, are.
Quite reasonably we are guided by the leader's qualities when making a decision on how to vote.
So it does come down to assessing Morrison versus Albanese when deciding?
But we should also take the trouble to find out about the local hopeful?
We don't want to elect an absolute drongo, even if he is part of the team we want?

And then there's the Pauline Hansons......Thank God.

T paraphrase part of a speech of Paul Keating -
given decades ago:

" If we begin to allow fear, ignorance, or prejudice
govern us - it will not be you, or me, or our older
generation who will pay the greatest price. We'll
simply drop off the cart. It will be young Australians
who will have to ride it into the next century - and just
now they should be seriously planning the means by which
they can get hold of the reins."

Still relevant today.

Cheers for James Paterson and Peter Malinauskas.
Future hopefuls.