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THE COUNTRYMAN

NEWS

An Independent Queensland Regional & Rural 

On-Line Publication

(Cairns... Far North Queensland)

 

Thank you for visiting my on-line office.

I appreciate your interest in the issues that effect not only Queenslanders, but all Australians.

Please let me hear from you about your views on the issues that matter to your Family, your Community and your State.

Sincerely

Selwyn Johnston

Editor

 

One person, with the support of the community, can make a difference

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REPRESENTATIVE AND RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT 

One of the great advantages that Australia has always had is its Westminster System of Government under Australia’s Constitutional Monarchy, which is both representative and responsible.  

Representative in that it is elected by a majority of electors but once elected represented the whole community, and responsible in that once elected, the elected Government is responsible not only to the people but also for the day-to-day administration of the Nation. 

Over the last thirty years or so we have seen these simple but effective principles eroded away by successive governments until we now find these very same elected governments want to remove the ‘protections’ and ‘freedoms’ of our traditional Westminster principles, by advocating Australia becomes a ‘republic’. 

In the 21st century it is not difficult to believe that our government does represent us, provided only that our interests are concurrent with some loftier international agenda.  

In other words our representative government represents international interests firstly, and then represents us within that framework. We are all familiar with phrases such as  “the level playing field”, “in order to comply with the treaty”, “in the interests of free trade”, “we have international responsibilities” and, we must be more “pluralistic”, whatever that means.

On the concept of responsible Government, when did you last hear of a Minister resigning for “misleading the House”, or even for that matter, the electorate? Again, over the last thirty years or so we have seen an even greater erosion of this concept until we have arrived at the point where public servants, and not even senior ones at that, can decide what their Minister, and for that matter the public, should or should not know of any particular incident.

How many non-elected bodies do we now have setting Government policy?

How many of our politicians voted along party lines for the US/Australia Free Trade Agreement, whether or not it was in the interests of Australia. How many have supported the operations of the World Trade Organisation, which in many cases has simply meant the exporting of Australian jobs, or even for that matter, who supported the present escapade into Iraq?

We are, right now, certainly at a defining point in our history. At the coming Federal election the major questions will not be the ‘red herrings’ that will be pulled across our paths, but rather for the elector to decide if they want truly representative and responsible government for Australia, or for some other internationalist cause.

I believe the answer is obvious.

 

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Written and Authorised by Selwyn Johnston, Cairns FNQ 4870