There's a saying about you get what you reward.
We want politicians who are strong leaders with good policies, but we reward those who sling the most mud.
I agree completely. I used to be a reasonably conservative voter, but in recent years, couldn't in all good conscience bring myself to vote for a party that had so little empathy for the most vulnerable in our community. Or that had no understanding about the needs of our natural surrounds for our continued survival. That scares the shit out of me to be honest. I could also not bring myself to vote for a party that is driven by factions and has lost all touch with their philosophies. Leaves me in a very difficult place as a voter, because I take my right and responsibility to vote very seriously. In the last election, I was sorely tempted to vote for Mickey Mouse.
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From someone born in a corrupt and dysfunctional place, we are still a great nation,
We've just lost our way a little, but we will get it back! Here is hoping Malcolm will be different, and can silence those extreme parts of the Liberals and The ALP can rediscover it's purpose! Lol
Now back the AFL talk lol"
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Hmm, Am I allowed to push a political bandwagon here?
Consider voting for Sustainable Australia Party. I have some influence with these guys. Still a bit political for mine, but I will see if I can turn them a bit more leadery. They have some pretty sensible policies if you ask me. See
http://www.votesustainable.org.au/philosophy_values for info about the policies.
Unfortuneately by the next election we wont be a legitimate alternative party to the major ones, that will have to wait until the one after, but we are trying to get there, trying to bridge the gap between the couple of major parties and the hundreds of divided smaller ones. You can see the general voter disillusionment with the current major parties and no matter which one you vote for you end up getting the same result (basically). The leadership mantra that dominates Australia is of the model that has served the corporate world well, however, the capitalist system is a selfishness based system (one that puts individual interests ahead of the interests of the whole) and this is a poor model for what you need for running the country. The leaders inserted for election have little to no appreciation of the situation of the majority of Australians, they are not from the same wealth level in particular. Something I want to push for S.A.P is that if elected we would voluntarily have salaries equal to the Australian median salary. So you live the world of your people. That's just one example.
If you like what you see about us, can you please spread the message about us to other people like yourself. We don't have the massive media or exposure budgets and that's the hardest thing, to get heard amongst all the noise.