Mood:
sharpTopic: aust govt
An unelected swill, err fine upstanding over achievers 1,002 in number at the 2020 summit, or many part thereof, have suggested a wholesale reorganisation of state and federal relations. At least so PM Rudd's machine are reporting via Micke Steketee. It's the broken federation sings the chorus.
Costello as former treasurer has apparently leaked a similar 'reform' previously considered by the Howard Govt to veteran Laurie Oakes writing Bulletin style stories out of place in the Daily Telegraph cartoon book:
[offline] Howard plotted to scuttle the states April 26 2008 p26
Maybe a leak so Costello can shore up his dormant leadership ambition? Or to sell his memoirs? Or even to distract from FoI expert Peter Timmins (SMH today) who implies that Costello's Govt deliberately squibbed criminal sanctions for cartel behaviour (like big Liberal Party donors and a certain cardboard box king).
Big business and PM Rudd are keen to break down the federal state model too. Talk of root and branch review of taxation, or in Howard-Costello terms, clawing back of the GST to take power off the states.
Only it's a naked attempt at centralised vertically integrated power free of checks and balances by the duopoly major parties prostrate to big business.
Take out of 2020 Summit: Rudd Inc showcase is Rollerball style monolith
Mood:sad
Topic: aust govt
Picture: The World Corp's CEO in his lair in movie Rollerball, like PM Rudd inviting the Big Media into his interview room at the Summit, surrounded by his powerful machine in parliament house rather than the usual press conference format.
Remember the old saying - Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The plan is about as opposite to the Green Party principle of grassroots democracy as you are likely to find.
The reason the Australian public voted down a minimalist presidential republican model 10 years ago is because they didn't want to bless yet another sincecure of the bunyip aristocracy to the craven major parties.
How much less will they want to deliver over more centralised power to political parties already largely annexed by Big Business donors to build $5B truck tunnels from Port Botany, or sell off $15B in energy assets?
In every shallow discussion of streamlining and reduction of the 2 main federal and state and 3rd level of (local) government there is one grand purpose of the set up that the vertically integrated major parties and revolving door media never acknowledge. What many call inertia and calcification of governance is probably actually stability and safety.
The reason Australia is such a stable country is because of the three levels of government. There is a forum above or below for agitation against another level of govt on anything that gets the people steamed up. That's why Australia is a stable country for over 106 years now. Sure there is nothing like a monolithic totalitarian stitch up like Mussolini's Italy, or the 'Democratic' Republic of China to simplify things and yes save resources. No doubt about it. Popular authoritarianism of Big Brother.
Such systems may be many things but healthy stable democracy is not one of them.
