My family are all lefties and so you can imagine the amount of comfort alcohol that was consumed over the weekend.
What is frightening is that with the help from one minority party in the senate (AKA: Family First, but don't get me started), the coalition can do anything they like. This is where the whole issue of senate reform comes in - the senate was designed to protect smaller states from unjust laws and so technically senators should be approving legislation that benefits their state. The trend is that senators are increasingly sticking with the party line and this is dangerous when potentially one party can control the senate. So much for a House of Review. Huh. It is a sad reality for left wing politics in Australia because we no longer even have the power to obstruct privatisation etc etc.
I take comfort in the fact that at least I will be old enough to cast a vote in the next Federal Election in three years. Perhaps a fourth term and conservative senate control will be the spark needed to jerk the population into change - although I dread to think of the damage that will be done. Historical trends show that long term conservative control results in social divide and, quite simply, market deregulation does not work.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2004-10-10 06:49 pm (UTC)My family are all lefties and so you can imagine the amount of comfort alcohol that was consumed over the weekend.
What is frightening is that with the help from one minority party in the senate (AKA: Family First, but don't get me started), the coalition can do anything they like. This is where the whole issue of senate reform comes in - the senate was designed to protect smaller states from unjust laws and so technically senators should be approving legislation that benefits their state. The trend is that senators are increasingly sticking with the party line and this is dangerous when potentially one party can control the senate. So much for a House of Review. Huh. It is a sad reality for left wing politics in Australia because we no longer even have the power to obstruct privatisation etc etc.
I take comfort in the fact that at least I will be old enough to cast a vote in the next Federal Election in three years. Perhaps a fourth term and conservative senate control will be the spark needed to jerk the population into change - although I dread to think of the damage that will be done. Historical trends show that long term conservative control results in social divide and, quite simply, market deregulation does not work.
A very left-wing and disheartened Victoria.