I don’t understand this. Isn’t this like insulting sea turtles? Both have little to do with life outside their homes, are rarely seen by most Australians, and don’t run for office?
Sea turtles aren’t people, dude.
I don’t know a damn thing about NS-D or what she stood for, but I think you are being a bit frivolous about Lees. She may have been graceful in defeat, but who gives a damn. IMHO politics shouldn’t be some sort of good manners competition, it should be about representing your constituents. On that score, Lees was a straight out traitor.
As I understand it from my father (whose pretty active in the Dems) the simple facts are these. Meg Lees was told by her party, (the people that voted for her, the people that got her where she was) that following a popular vote on the subject, the Democrats were not going to support the GST and she was not to do so. Under any ircumstances. At all. Period. She did anyway, against all principles of democracy. She was therefore kicked out as leader. Surprise, surprise.
You may agree with the GST, you may not, but Meg Lees got exactly what was coming to her, and air of slightly hurt good grace was playacting, pure and simple, for the benefit of those who think that such trivialities are more important than principle, and who choose their politicians accordingly.
Look, it was a really bad analogy. Thats all, OK?
Princhester, whilst it’s not quite on the up & up to talk about the Democrats in a thread on Hanson, but …
You see, the problem for the Democrats is the distinction between their constituency and their membership.
If the Democrats only drew the support of the Democrat Party membership, they’d be less than inconsequential. Lees was representing her constituancy and the majority of the parliamentary room in wanting a role determining government policy rather than being perpetual spoilers. The only section of the Democrat constituancy that emphatically prefered to be ideologically pure were the Democrat membership, or more precisely the 22% of members who voted for N-SD as leader, [80% of the Democrats didn’t bother to vote]
So the views of a couple of hundred members had primacy over the views of the 6% of Australians who voted for them. 'Tis therefore unsurprising that they are in the position where a double dissolution (with triggers piling up) will spell out their oblivion at the hands of The Greens.
The Democrats have had troubles now for years. They lost control over the Western Australian branch, and were going to take them to court in 1994 over the use of the name of their party. The demolition of the Democrats at the last WA election, in which the Greens caught a big chunk of the vote, shows how out of favour they are.
I’m a little surprised that no one has mentioned Hanson’s famous video (“If you are watching this my fellow Australians I have been assassinated…”), or the photo of her wrapped in the Australian flag. You’d think, setting aside the racism, people would recognise her for the idiot she is.
I have no time at the moment to respond to this, Woolly. I may start a thread on it in the next few days. I’ll post a “heads up” in this thread if I do. Suffice it to say that I disagree with your views on many levels. However, to begin with, it would help me to know how you consider yourself to know what the constituency wanted?
My view as well.
Meg Lees deserved what she got, many Democrat supporters felt betrayed over the GST. Natasha S-D presented a sound social justice platform, its a pity the back stabbing and infighting caused the downfall of the party. Maybe someone older and more experienced might have held it all together, who knows. The media’s insistence on presenting her as a ‘blonde bimbo’ certainly didn’t help.
As a disenchanted Democrat, there was the GST, and before that the sell-out to Labour in 1987 over media ownership in exchange for political advertising on TV. Can’t stick to their guns.
I actually kind of liked NSD. She had broad appeal amongst the young (not just because she is a babe, but because she marketed herself well), is articulate and apparently intelligent.
Woolly, the last two posts are part of what I am talking about. You suggest that people are leaving the Dems in droves to go to the Greens because they kicked out Meg Lees etc. and (according to you) allowed the Dems who did so to have primacy over the general constiuents who voted her in.
I think this is upside down. I know a lot of people who used to vote Dem but now vote Green, and just like Auliya and Alcibiades, it was precisely because of Meg Lees backing down against their wishes over the GST, and the Dems generally going wishy washy, that people prefer Bob Brown, who at least holds definite liberal views and (so far) sticks to them.
To nicely end this thread back on the OP, final results for the NSW Legistative Council have just been announced (the NSW Electoral Commissionhasn’t updated the web-site yet) and Hanson as missed out the last place after allocation of preferences.
Oh dear, how sad, never mind.
As to the Dems, well I had a post on mandates and primary and preference support partly prepared but RL intervened. Another time, maybe.
Woohoo! Democracy does work! I can put away my plans for taking over the NSW Upper House!
Great to see the citizens of NSW are not as stupid as I feared.
If you can count voting for John Tingle in the Shooters Party and that other bible basher in Fred Nile’s party as intelligent then yes you’ve got a point.
Of course they ARE consistent in their position and make halfway intelligent spokespersons. Pauline has never been the brightest of folk; should’ve stuck to the fish’n’chips.
I’d like to see a Let’s Not Be Complete Toadies and Allow Unlimited Foreign Ownership Party since this issue is always welded to more racist anti-immigration issues. I have no problem with someone making Australia their home and doing well out of it. Pay your taxes and employ a few of the locals and I don’t care what language you speak or what food you eat. My issue is with foreigners of all descriptions (this most definitely includes Brits and Americans) owning bits of the land when they contribute nothing to it. This drives up the price of real estate for legitimate purchasers - those wishing to buy their own home, for instance - and devalues us as a nation. :dubious:
Rupert Murdoch had to take out American citizenship before he could buy Fox. Why do you think that was?
Allied to this in the Major Suck Factor is old Australian companies being bought out by multinationals. I worked briefly at Arnott’s and it brought me no end of joy to see highpaid US executives swanning around the place, let me tell you:mad:
Hanson lost?
(Gets up out of chair, with hat in hand)
Wah-hoo!
(throws hat in air)
Quiet you! I get so little joy out of current politics in Australia. At least let me have this moment!
In regards to the rest of your post, aren’t the ALP and the Greens adopting some of the positions you advocate? For instance, both parties intend to vote against any Liberal party legislation allowing greater foreign ownership of the media.