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INDEPENDENT
PARLIAMENTARY
REPRESENTATIVES
THE OBVIOUS
CHOICE!
Australians
are disillusioned with poor governance and badly behaved politicians.
In his
Mackay Report, July 2001, social researcher Hugh Mackay states:
"Australia’s contempt for Federal politics and its leaders has plummeted
to new depths … If it (the Mackay Report) was a family newspaper, we would
scarcely be able to print the things Australian’s are saying about their
politicians … In the 22-year history of the Mackay Report, political attitudes
have never been quite as negative as this."
In the
1999 Republic referendum, probably the most devastating criticism of the
republican model on offer was that this was "a politician’s
republic". Even the "Yes" proponents used the public’s disdain
for politicians by arguing that a president should not be elected because that
would produce a politician. Both sides, in effect, associated politicians with
self-serving sleaziness and corruption.
A
dispassionate observer of the Australian political system today could hardly be
blamed for seeing it as essentially a struggle by two mafia-like groups to
control the national treasury to distribute funds for themselves, their
supporters, special interest groups who fund them and to buy votes for the next
election.
In
1992 former secretary to the office of Governor-General, Sir David Smith, wrote:
"… there is much
that is wrong with the way this nation is governed and administered: never
before have we had so many Royal Commissions and other enquiries into our
process of government and public administration; never before have we had so
many public office-holders and other figures in, or facing the prospect of,
prison; never before have the electors registered their dissatisfaction with
the political process by returning so many independent and minor party
candidates to Parliament; never before has Australia had so many of its
citizens who are hurting because of what has been done to them by governments
and by their fellow Australians."
Reinforcing
all this is the fact that while some 29 years ago about five per cent of voters
did not vote for the political establishment, today that figure is around 35 per
cent where the choice is available.
There
appears to be three groups of reasons why we have reached this level of
alienation and dissatisfaction with politicians and the political system.
The
underlying structural faults of the political system that exacerbates and
facilitates 1) and 2) above. Political scandals and resignations of MPs seem to
occur at increasing frequencies at both Federal and State levels of government.
Party
infighting, electoral rorts, ever-increasing junketing, pre-selection wars,
branch stacking, jobs for the boys and girls, parliamentary abuse and bad
behaviour, endless pork-barrelling, blatant partisan behaviour and disregard for
the truth, all destroy public confidence.
The
spectacle of party leaders attempting to project images of integrity while
twisting and diving for years on such issues as parliamentary pensions or
campaign donations continually reinforces the self-serving and hypocritical
nature of the system – as does the continuing trend towards funding political
parties out of the public purse. Add to this the increasing nepotism and
development of a political class restricting entry to parliament. In the case of
the Labor Party the union movement from its shrinking base seems often to be
largely a vehicle to achieve parliamentary sinecures and pensions.
Federal-State
infighting and endlessly attempting to shift blame adds to disillusionment and
the public perception that virtually no issue can be considered except in terms
of partisan or parochial interests.
All of
these controversies when exposed are rarely faced honestly. Instead they are
obfuscated, referred to committees or inquiries or buried in any possible way.
In fact, the more inquiries, Royal Commissions, Codes of Ethics, appointment of
commissioners of all types to oversee the system that are initiated, the worse
the system seems to become, not to mention the haemorrhaging of public funds to
pay for all this mostly ineffectual superstructure.
The
second group of reasons for the collapse of public faith in government is the
"future shock" of rapid globalisation and the apparent reversion to
laissez-faire 19th century capitalism. National governments, let alone the
public, seem relatively powerless faced with the trends to asset selling and
privatisation, whatever the merits. Not only do governments seem unable to solve
public problems, but increasingly, they are painted as ‘the enemy’.
Tax
avoidance has almost become a badge of honour; the rich appear to be getting
richer; egalitarianism is dead; the quality of health and education now depends
on personal wealth; co-operative and mutual public services are disbanded at an
increasing rate. There seems to be few common values and the law-of-the-jungle
attitude seems prevalent.
Whatever
the truth of these public perceptions, none of these problems is unique to
Australia and public despair seems common in governments around the world.
While
human failings and the corruption of special interests will always be present,
nevertheless many failings are systemic. Democracy is a relatively new system in
the world’s history. In a recent international study into the level of
democracy of the 21 industrialised countries, Australia ranks almost at the
bottom based on our defective voting systems and continual minority governments.
Single-member electorates and preferential voting eliminate minority
representation but entrench minority government and distort the will of the
people.
Winner-take-all
electoral systems and adversary politics result in truth being irrelevant.
Oppositions have little role in government except to disrupt and negatively
oppose. Failure to confront the corrosive effects of huge private political
donations combined with lack of openness and accountability encourages
corruption, both direct and moral. The failure to have proper separation of
powers, and the domination of legislatures by executive government, are major
causes of scandals and breakdowns in democracy.
The
winner-take-all, two-party system that has caused a political convergence of
policies (the Tweedledee and Tweedledum syndrome)
and a mutual interest in preserving a self-serving duopoly often leaves the
public powerless and frustrated.
While
ever ‘representative government’ restricts public political participation to
a manipulated vote every three of four years and remains largely
self-regulating, public disillusionment and frustration with government will
continue.
Source:
Ted Mack - 15 July 2001
Ted
Mack was Independent Member for North Sydney from 1990 to 1996, an Independent
MLA from 1981- 1988, and Mayor of North Sydney from 1974-1980.
PROFILE: TED
MACK
