Game Changer

Just back after a week in Asia - must be getting old because I was knackered and slept for ~20 hours ;-)

Plenty of thinking time on the way back and that caused me to wonder if it isn't time for us to have a re-think about our system of governance.

Because the current one of *pseudo democracy* clearly doesn't work. If it did them we would have a Federal Government competently looking after the big picture items and State Governments competently delivering key infrastructure and services. All in the national interest. The place would be humming along like a well oiled machine.

Plainly, none of this is happening. And it hasn't been for more than a decade.

It looks like changes are afoot at the State level - with Victoria going conservative and NSW, QLD and SA Labor Governments being seriously on the nose - WA is already there.

Pretty soon every state will be run by the conservatives and then free enterprise will magically bloom and blossom and save us all Virginia ;-)

Although State Governments have more of a service delivery role than the Feds, it really doesn't matter which political colour gets to pull the levers there - because usually they are all incompetent.

So the best strategy for voters to adopt is one of constant change. If the Federal Government is Labor then install a Liberal State Government - and vice versa. If a State Government has been in power too long then turf them out and install anyone else. Muddy the waters by electing a few Independents and Greens when things get too cosy. Be contrary.

This is really the only way that long suffering voters get to express their displeasure - and have some level of control over proceedings. Voters know that State Governments have become irrelevant and so they will continue with this strategy until they can actually get to abolish the states. One day.

Now the political parties and their politicians also understand this and so they use their term or two or three in power to feather their own nests and to do what they want - while ever obfuscating with spin. And then they take their gold pass and pension and retire to somewhere exotic.

I think everyone understands what the game is.

But my question is - "Do we really want to keep playing it"?