Political donations: buying votes?
Listening to ABC’s QandA last night (17/02/20), I had a light bulb moment.
When the politicians whom we elect are members of a major party, we elect puppets.
What makes me think that?
In discussing questions concerning donations, Jacqui Lambie drew a direct connection between a donation and the desire of the donor to influence her campaign.
The Labor and Liberal party members, however, knew they received donations but saw no direct connection between the source and their performance.
Why the difference?
(Drum roll, please!!)
(Light bulbs flashing!!)
Because the donations to the major parties go straight into party coffers, to be doled out when and how is deemed appropriate.
Because behind the scenes party apparatchiks have considerable influence on party positions on policy matters. (Why do you think so many people like Phil Gaetjens are political advisers before becoming Public Servants?)
Because Labor and Coalition politicians are told how to vote – that is why those parties have Whips!
I think the Greens have a consensus approach.
I just remembered, there was an interesting situation, I think in the Senate, some months ago when the how to vote message did not reach the Coalition members in time and the matter had to be raised again the next day so they could change to the ‘correct’ intention.
Yes!! My memory is better than I thought! This is the record from 16/10/2018 – the day after the incident!
For anyone who really thought that elected politicians, as individuals, have to examine their brains and their consciences when voting on Bills and motions – relax! They merely follow the Party directions, and any dissent is kept in the party room, to ensure a united front in the House or Chamber.
In reality, the amount of money we spend on bringing politicians to and from Parliament is a total waste. They could just stay in their constituency offices, travel to regional centres, cut ribbons etc and stay in contact with the Party by Skype.
They can get more information that way as to their constituents’ wants and needs and email them back to the relevant (Shadow) Minister’s office.
Meanwhile the Ministers and Shadow Ministers could be in a smaller and cheaper to run building in Canberra, connected to their Party HQs by mobile, and nut out the discussions at a more intimate level.
We have lost trust in politicians because we no longer vote for individuals if we vote for a member of a major party.
They have no choice but to vote on party lines or leave the party – and without the party, and all its influential donors, they lack the funds, at least in most cases, to cover the cost of the campaign.
And because such massive donations are allowed – and reducing them will be fought, tooth and nail by all major parties – it is hard to impossible for an honest candidate, who genuinely cares for the country, and acts with integrity and transparency, to raise sufficient funds to establish a public profile and gain a seat!
As each day goes by, I find it harder and harder to remain optimistic about the future for my great grandchildren!
We do not trust the government which we have ourselves elected.
We are told by Scott Morrison that he ‘believes’ in climate change.
Now if he said he accepts the science on climate change I might be a little happier, but I still would have difficulty in accepting he means what he says.
Why?
Because there is so much planning needed and he has not even started.
Also, because he says he ‘believes’ in Jesus Christ and that is not true.
Because if he did, he would be following Christ’s teachings and that he most definitely does not do!
Once more – this is my 2020 New Year Resolution:
“I will do everything in my power to enable Australia to be restored to responsible government.”
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10 comments
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Phil Pryor -
Stephengb -
Ill fares the land -
Andrew J Smith -
New England Ccoky -
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Roland Flickett
Return to home pageThere is one thing you might get from a great anus like Morrison and it is brown, smelly and unpleasant. You will never get truth, decency, care, responsibility or proper service. He believes in a fictional, fraudulent, fake, fantasy world where rules are invented, egotistical turds appoint themselves as saved, blessed, in charge, supreme, triumphal, righteous. It is all lying shit and sickening superstition, widely abused, enlisted to coerce the dummies, the fearful, the simple, the unsure. Morrison and most of the crew of careerists, profiteers, henchmen, are filthy frauds preying on society, totally uncivilised, un-Australian, UNWELCOME. FAR COUGH!
Rosemary Jacob
In your article you seem to exclude the Greens in your condemnations.
“I think the Greens have a consensus approach..”
Rosemary – like you I watched that Q&A. At least I watched until it became too nauseating. Each politician did nothing but speak politically. They didn’t quite resort to the customary and glib “snide attacks”, but they came very, very close. Each really failed to address the substantive question about “trust” and in so doing, revealed, in part, why we don’t trust them. Lambie, the perennial blusterer and boofhead-trash talker is actually the worst example. Her support for or opposition to Coalition bills is, at best, erratic and seems to lack any unifying intellectual underpinning – she blunders from one self-judged piece of brilliance to the next, leaving nothing but destruction and the further diminution of the standard of our politics. That is no surprise given Lambie’s intellectual limitations, but how could anyone, other than a myopic supporter, “trust” her judgement. The same argument applies to Hanson and her “alien-kidnap victim” Roberts (the aliens sent him back).
The LNP and Labor representatives were certainly smarter than Lambie, but the LNP member simply glibly trotted out the LNP’s non-policies using more polished rhetoric. The LNP doesn’t have a climate and emissions policy because it doesn’t want to. Its policy is to continually massage its commentary to 1) make it look like they do and 2) that they are committed to a significant emission reduction. In the final analysis, the major parties tend to “agree” on much of what they facetiously and superficially “debate”, so it’s not really a surprise that they both tend to serve up the same kind of drivel and why neither side manages to build any trust. Mind you, I “don’t trust” Scotty from Marketing way more than I “don’t trust” Albanese. But they all tell us how much we should trust them and are mortified to discover that we don’t when our reactions are an inevitable consequence of their behaviours.
Of course, no-one mentioned a critical point – where did this demolition of trust begin? And therein lies a horror story – it is us. We have actively participated in the creation of the societies that have deteriorated to the point where the election of white, ultra-conservative, power-crazed dickhead males like Trump, Johnson, Morrison, Erdogan, Bolsonaro, Oban, Chavez and more dickhead white middle aged males is assured. Of course this raises an interesting question – how smart are we in working out who to trust and who not to trust? We thought we trusted Morrison, but he has shown himself to be the archetypal hollow man and sloganista, who sees the impact of his actions only in terms of how they affect his “brand”. We vote in incompetent buffoons who campaign on a series of lies and we are surprised that when asked to perform under pressure they have nothing real to offer but more flatulent lies and blusterings. And yet we continue to support them. Of course, not all of us is a member of the “we”, but we are all part of the society that could have made different choices and we didn’t.
Don’t watch Q&A but in a motel in bush so watched a little.
However, when I heard the theme ‘trust’ …… what’s the point, like talking about ‘values’?
Me thinks this helps LNP as many will think back to Howard’s trust and values, central BS for right wing conservatives…
Lambie appalling, Allen now promotes non action on emissions and renewables while O’Neill gained free promotion…. for any internal Labor rumble…
Rosemary Jacob, I think you are proposing the solution first suggested in “The Year of the Angry Rabbit” by (author???) where elections are held every three years, the policies go to Canberra once then the Opposition returns to their respective electorates to do good works until the next election while the “government” gets on with the business of paying off their political donors.
I am at the point where I do not listen to;
any politician from the LNP;
a number of the ALP politicians;
Adam Bandt of the Greens;
because I know I am most likely be listening to misinformation, misrepresentation and downroght lies
I also avoid certain names on Facebook because I am more likely to be talking to a complete imbecile .
NEC: Russell Braddon. Vastly underrated book.
I am really enjoying the new Q/A , although not so much on the answers of trust,how on earth can u trust this government when they go from one rort to another, How can you trust Lambie when she won’t reveal the deal that she done with the government to repeal Medivac ,joined the government to pass the Indue card ,scrap penality rates, trust isn’t given,you have to earn it ,
My say re:
They did (earn it.) Won the last election didn’t they? What other proof is needed in our particular representative democracy? Or have you something else in mind? If so – then what? Care to share?
If you consider the governments we most take notice of in this benighted country, you realise the bleedin’ obvious; that there is no hope. The three stooges – Trump, Johnson, Morrison, are each utterly unsuited to lead ANY community, let alone any nation.
In Australia there is no coherent, charismatic leader to inspire an effective opposition, and no powerful media to highlight such a leader anyway. We have no Whitlam, no Dunstan, no Wran.
The UK Labour Party has not thrown up one decent candidate, and the US Democrats are hoping that the hapless Biden can avoid his false teeth falling out again. In vain, I suspect.
George Galloway – the rogue truthteller who was ousted by the Blairites in UK Labour for denouncing the mendacity of the WMD war which was simply intended to allow the US to steal Iraqi oil – had a US speaker on his radio programme today who alleged that the threat of a Bernie Sanders presidency may well prompt the various oligarchs to invoke the Kennedy Solution – and the whole world (excepting the USA) is pretty sure the patsy LH Oswald was not a lone assassin. Muttering should of Civil war are reported within the ranks of the moronic MAGA base, if the mandarin-hued maniac loses in November.
We live in interesting times…