Democracy reform is long overdue!
“When people are engaged they will listen, if our elected leaders are accountable, they must listen, and if we all spent more time listening to each other, democracy will thrive.”
from “Why Democracy is Broken – A Blueprint for Change”
My week with Malcolm and the hypocrisy of our democracy
Otto von Bismarck (in)famously said: “Politics is the art of the possible, the attainable - the art of the next best”. It is a sentiment I abhor. And Malcolm Turnbull’s tome of atonement - “A Bigger Picture” - unwittingly demonstrates with abundant clarity that the...
Clever Politics is Rarely Visionary – the Particracy Rules
We live in a particracy, not a democracy. Clever politicians rule the roost, devoid of vision, focused on the short term and sheltered by a complicit media. There is only one way to change it.
Political bribery and a Federal ICAC
Political bribery includes donations of all kinds. Being clear about this should precede establishing a federal Independent Commission against Corruption .
Getting voters involved!
Interview with Adam Jacoby – founder of MiVote and a man with much to say about how we can remove the vested interests from the political descision making process and getting voters involved. Adam offers interesting solutons, but above all he offers hope!
The more things change…
Mr. Smith went to Washington and found that the system of democracy was broken. Not much has changed since.
A Ministry of Mediocrity
In the (in)famous words of Donald Horne: “Australia is a lucky country run by mainly second-rate people who share its luck.” The new Morrison Government is a mostly uninspiring group lacking in diversity and bereft of vision.
Game of Votes
Just as Game of Thrones seems likely to end with a whimper, leaving someone in charge as corrupted by the process of getting there as the psychopath who crumbled under the weight of the rubble that killed the incumbent – Cersei Lannister – the Game of Votes may well end up proving that the more things change, the more they stay the same…
Keep it Simple, Stupid!
KISS – Keep It Simple, Stupid – was widely used as a slogan in the computer industry throughout the eighties and nineties. “The Office” made it a meme – but it is an adage worth resurrecting as a guiding principle.
Democracy decline – it’s not just about elections!
Democracy is in decline in the world. Australia is now among one of only twenty full democracies according to The Economist’s annual Democracy Index, but we cannot afford to be complacent!