Federation

I might be banging on a bit about the states lately - but the sooner we get rid of them and their obnoxious ways - the better.

The latest work of "The Australian Constitutional Values" survey undertaken by Griffith University demonstrates that Australian's are not very happy with our system of Federalism - and in particularly the states. Many of them want a different system of Government from what we have today.

Griffith University Professor AJ Brown says the results show support has grown for removing the state level of government.

"When asked about what levels of government, and how many governments they thought Australia should have in 20 years, 66 per cent of respondents in 2008 indicated a system different from today," Professor Brown said.

"In March 2010, that figure has increased to 75 per cent of respondents."

The truth is that the states and their administrative and political processes are a massive drag on the nation.

Aside from the huge amounts of waste, duplication and unnecessary bureaucracy, the states have perfected the art of milking their citizens while ensuring everyone works to the lowest common denominator - the states work hard to keep their citizens in the dark and fed BS - because uninformed people are less likely to ask the hard questions.

State taxes are far too numerous and far too high - the states tax everything they can and when they can't work out how to tax something then they make it illegal and invent arbitrary and sometimes imaginary numbers - against which their citizens are tested. As an example, the state based road safety regime is seriously out of control.

Back in 2000 there was an agreement to introduce the GST - where the revenue would flow to the states and they would drop all the inefficient, ineffective and discriminatory state taxes. Has that happened as promised and advertised? Of course not - and worse, there are bureaucrats and puppy politicians in most state governments whose job it is to find ways to tweak the state revenue system - not to reduce revenues - but to raise them!

There is more than one state government where new "ministers" are "blooded" by having to do the dirty work of finding increased revenue for selected state services before then can move into a more "relaxed and comfortable" ministry. And they cop it because the party system demands it.

And as we all know many State services are a joke. I can understand why Health is such a challenge for them - but Education?

Education is the future for our kids and grandkids - how is it that our state governments have not invested every spare cent in the education system and made sure that it is properly resourced with adequate support and infrastructure? Why do the teachers feel threatened and think they aren't valued?

It's simple - state governments are temporary. They get 2 or 3 terms to sit on the big red seats and drive around in the big white cars and they use that time to feather their own nests and make themselves feel important. Because post politics it's only an exceptional politician that would find himself in demand - most of them are treated with the contempt they deserve. Nothing is more perishable than a second hand politician - and that is how it should be.

Which is why we should abolish the states.