It's Broke

Pic courtesy Caterina Sullivan 

There's an old saying, gentle reader, which goes something like this - "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". When it comes to the state of Australian politics, I believe it is indeed "broke". 

You don't have to look very far to understand the level of this dysfunction. 

Where do I start? 

Young people can't buy homes, they are exploited by their employers because of the power imbalance created by the fading union movement, and even when employed, their jobs are often insecure and they haven't seem a wage rise in their living memories. 

At the other end of the age spectrum, our elderly are languishing in "Nursing" homes (without nurses), being fed baked beans, and dying from Covid because their paid carers have to work across a number of institutions to make ends meet whilst transmitting the virus from one site to another like pollinating bees. 

At the same time, our political class, irrespective of party affiliation, is rife with corrupt practice, blatant cronyism, and bereft of any semblance of much needed reform. 

Remember "reform"? 

That was stuff that happened when we had leaders like Hawke and Keating. 

Perhaps this situation is the culmination of a slowly developing distortion of our system of government, which was not based on party affiliations, and the power of those mechanisms, but on the notion of a local representative caring for the needs of his/her constituents. The membership of these parties, although it is improving, is still not reflective of the communities they claim to represent, no matter whether gender, race, sexuality or identity is considered. 

 Even the selection of these candidates, as we have seen recently, is a top-down process, usually controlled by the party apparatchiks.  

It's not incorrect to claim that the interests of the parties, through the power they wield, is always placed ahead of the interests of the constituents. When you think about it, this is an inevitable trend, if only to ensure the survival in power of whatever party we're considering. 

A more recent phenomenon, that of oligarchs taking advantage of this dysfunction to coerce voters through their extravagant spending in the media by the fulmination of lies and misinformation, is even more sinister. 

We have only to look across the Pacific to understand the consequences. 

So it is "broke". 

 How do we fix it? 

 Obviously, the quality and motives of the candidates is vital. 

We need the best and the bravest. 

They won't be found using branch-stacking, factional warfare and grooming political advisers as they rise through the ranks of the party. 

 Often they self-identify. Some of our best independent politicians have emerged simply as a result of their authenticity and courage. Ted Mack and Peter Andren are examples. 

 So I'll be looking at the quality of the candidates in my electorate when the PM visits Yarralumla, which could happen as soon as today. 

To be honest, none of them are actually inspiring