Comments on: Queensland ALP in dire straits http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/03/19/queensland-alp-in-dire-straits/ now with extra source Sun, 12 Feb 2012 02:14:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Neil Bishop http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/03/19/queensland-alp-in-dire-straits/#comment-3766 Neil Bishop Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000 #comment-3766 The most important thing to have come out of this election is that there is clear and present need to abolish the states and simply use a two-tired system of the kind that served the United Kingdom rather well for the best part of three centuries. After all, 20 million people don't need three tiers of government! Competent government is such a rare thing at any level. Let's just have one level of government with greater competition for places (so that hopefully we will get a few more competent federal politicians) and let the dregs of the system settle in local government where most of them are anyway.<br /> The most important thing to have come out of this election is that there is clear and present need to abolish the states and simply use a two-tired system of the kind that served the United Kingdom rather well for the best part of three centuries. After all, 20 million people don’t need three tiers of government! Competent government is such a rare thing at any level. Let’s just have one level of government with greater competition for places (so that hopefully we will get a few more competent federal politicians) and let the dregs of the system settle in local government where most of them are anyway.

]]> By: chasmac http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/03/19/queensland-alp-in-dire-straits/#comment-3767 chasmac Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000 #comment-3767 So Neil Bishop, while you idle away our time planning to abolish the states, would you take one teensy moment to propose a process (within cooee of the Australian constitution) by which such an abolition could take place. A referendum? No hope. A revolution? Fat chance. A coup led by state premiers? Yeah right!<br />Abolition of the states is a proposal of the bored to do something useless for the boring. It's a wank. So Neil Bishop, while you idle away our time planning to abolish the states, would you take one teensy moment to propose a process (within cooee of the Australian constitution) by which such an abolition could take place. A referendum? No hope. A revolution? Fat chance. A coup led by state premiers? Yeah right!
Abolition of the states is a proposal of the bored to do something useless for the boring. It’s a wank.

]]> By: ECS http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/03/19/queensland-alp-in-dire-straits/#comment-3768 ECS Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000 #comment-3768 If (and that's a BIG if) the polls are right, then it is looking like a change of government in "Bligh one day, Borg the next" state.<br /><br />But as we know it's not over until the fat lady sings and that may not be until the end of next week. Elections are funny things you know. Most voters will tell you that they can get really p****d off at election time because the pollies (or their support them) have this inane desire to shove paper in your face and monotoning the phrase "Vote One whoever" or what ever the catch phrase of the day happens to be.<br /><br />Elections are probably the only time when sane rational people who wouldn't say "boo" to a goose become maniacal, red faced, spitting and over the top choleric stereotypes. This is particularly predominant in the ALP camp because the unions are standing behind them telling them if the other side gets in they will definitely lose their job. Thinking of the mortgage and the other associated bills in the letter rack they go into maniac mode until they are relieved when with chameleon like swiftness they revert to their normal like selves, proving that to be a member of the ALP one must wear two hats to go with the two faces.<br /><br />Saturday beareth down like a woman in Labour (pun intended) and as the electorate having suffered several weeks of the "first stage", the "second stage" will commence when the booths open and build to the "waters breaking" (re: flood of voters) to the birth of either a new government or yet another stillborn effort as there has been for several births in the past. If (and that’s a BIG if) the polls are right, then it is looking like a change of government in “Bligh one day, Borg the next” state.

But as we know it’s not over until the fat lady sings and that may not be until the end of next week. Elections are funny things you know. Most voters will tell you that they can get really p****d off at election time because the pollies (or their support them) have this inane desire to shove paper in your face and monotoning the phrase “Vote One whoever” or what ever the catch phrase of the day happens to be.

Elections are probably the only time when sane rational people who wouldn’t say “boo” to a goose become maniacal, red faced, spitting and over the top choleric stereotypes. This is particularly predominant in the ALP camp because the unions are standing behind them telling them if the other side gets in they will definitely lose their job. Thinking of the mortgage and the other associated bills in the letter rack they go into maniac mode until they are relieved when with chameleon like swiftness they revert to their normal like selves, proving that to be a member of the ALP one must wear two hats to go with the two faces.

Saturday beareth down like a woman in Labour (pun intended) and as the electorate having suffered several weeks of the “first stage”, the “second stage” will commence when the booths open and build to the “waters breaking” (re: flood of voters) to the birth of either a new government or yet another stillborn effort as there has been for several births in the past.

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