Lost Faith

chickenman

i cannot remember the last time an elected Australian Govt. did what was right for Australia. politics here now is a contest between two groups of "walking fruit bats" whose only agenda is to be top dog and reap the benefits. i do have a question though, and it is this: how can a political party govern a Nation when it can't even stick by its own leaders/members, or agree on its own policies??

Jenny31376507

I believe there are genuine hardworking ones out there but most of the time I don’t think they’re helpful. Mainly because of what I hear in the news and how they’re portrayed. I’m not really sure what to think of them tbh.

Bigfoot

How can anyone put 100% trust in 99.9 of the pollies. I can only think of 3 or 4 off hand. I say when they quit their job in Parliament ALL their perks, travel expenses, free air travel etc should stop just like the ordinary workers does when he/she retires. We have people like Shorten and Turnbull who are so busy slinging off at each other that our beloved country is sinking. Look at our huge imports racking up our Financial debt. Free Trade? get rid of it, become more (But not completely) isolationist--this will create more jobs in this country but the at the same time the unions must be more controlled. We are told that Australia is doing OK by our pollies--why are we losing so much NT and Qld land to the Chinese and other foreign interests? And to top it all off cut back on this PC rubbish, let our kids play in the dirt, let them have a bit of a barney if they want but NO weapons.

Pete

You're not alone! We currently have a Prime Minister who always wanted to be Prime Minister but doesn't want to govern the country! This can be seen by the number of about-faces he's made on many subjects, when public opinion or his own party room has forced him to shift from previously stated positions. I've been following politics since the 1960's & used to be very committed to the core beliefs of one particular party, it's not relevant which. These days I & I'm sure many others base our voting patterns on supporting the individual or group who in our opinion is less awful than the rest. Was a time people entered politics with the intention of making a difference. I'm totally convinced that now the great majority do so for the benefits they personally gain &, probably, in many cases, because they'd be flat out holding down a job in the real world!

pjohnw

Politicians are more worried about keeping their jobs than doing what is best for Australia , and the reason why ??? , Voters . Yes voters , because voters no longer think of what is best for our country , but only "what is in it for me " , what can i get out of this , and as long as this attitude continues , you will see politicians acting and behaving the way they do . If by doing what is best for Australia , they get voted out , what do you think they are going to do ...

Bigfoot

I have just been watching a TV section where the Federal Government have been questioned by the Opposition. It just degenerated into a mud slinging match without the question that had been asked being answered. Two questions now-- why do they get paid so much money, and why do we put up with it??

PARROT

I agree, I am 77 years of age and I have never seen a worse Parliament , by that I mean both parties and both houses of Parliament, the Senate is a joke and unnecessary. It is all about retaining or regaining power.

margcafe

I agree, I am 77 years of age and I have never seen a worse Parliament , by that I mean both parties and both houses of Parliament, the Senate is a joke and unnecessary. It is all about retaining...

Hi Parrot you would have seen many come and go over the years. l agree with all of these negative comments about our government how have they ever been helpful to us. We are seeing a circus of power in Australia, it is one big joke. Our votes don't seem to count.

aedna

Yes I agree. I feel the LNP self-destructed and Abbott threw every bit of mud at them while he was in opposition and now he's PM he's still doing it. How can you vote for a party that is so busy arguing amongst themselves? I wonder
Abbott is busy saying how bad things are at the moment really laying it on thick and in 12 months time will he give a better forecast just to prove how good they have been. And of course by then he can give them all a pay rise with back pay!!! Can I believe anything any of them say? Is it all a con-job just so they can prove in the next year or so just how good they have been. "Look how well we have done in improving the economy". I'm not angry just disillusioned. I didn't vote for Abbott but I don't think there was really any choice to make at the time. Do you find their unprofessional behavior in parliament is upsetting. If I behaved anything like that in the workplace no one would ever have given me a job. I just would like to know I am hearing the truth when I hear the news.

lazza larder

I agree, All they care about is themselves, It's a joke. they travel around making promises and never keep they, They waste tax payers money time and time again without a result it pisses me off!. We the people should have a say on what they spend and how they spend it. the cost of living is going up and up and we the Australians seem to go further behind due to wasted spending.
Merry Christmas all

Dingo

We need to go back to politics not personal mud slinging and power grabbing for ones own ego... How about worrying about the average Aussie for once not their personal vendetters...

edna

I agree. Politics should be about policies for the good of Australia not mud digging and behaving like a bunch of naughty school kids. I don't want to know about 20 years ago I want to know what the government is doing about our country today. How is it helping us to have good jobs, support local farmers, produce, support local manufacturing. Even today I saw a packet of cranberries that was imported from China. Mr Rudd got us through the tough times when the rest of the world was financially in a mess. All we got from Mr Howard was Work Choices and GST both of which were bad choices in my opinion. I know my friends voted for him not because they wanted GST but because they couldn't see a better alternative.

I have to ask does Mr Abbot have any respect for women? Does he have any policies to put on the table or is it all about trying to block the government in every way possible. Does he have any ideas about what would be good for Australians? Does he care?

Politicians are paid soooo much money shouldn't they have a basic code of conduct, a basic respect for each other? I am trying to balance the budget, turn out the lights, shorten my shower etc while they are earning huge sums of money and behave in such a primitive fashion. Why isn't there a code of conduct in parliament?

havalaugh

They are so detached from the reality of our lives. It's a joke! They make decisions without consulting the majority. That is the short fall of it... why don't they take polls, like the way we vote. Why can't they bring up subjects we can vote on and voice our opinions. Instead of sitting around bouncing their ideas of another bunch of morons that don't know any better than themselves...

LastTimeLord

Unfortunately hellanol, you need to take them seriously. The next federal election campaign will be characterized by vitriol from all participants. Get a score card ready because promises, claim, and counter-claim will pour forth from both sides. Somewhere along the line, we have been conditioned to accept being lied to by both the parties and our free press falls short of keeping us informed and up-to-date. Consider the half-life of a political story these days; a feeding frenzy for a couple of days then the story is lost in the news cycle.

Clint Marchant

You got that right all politions should be liable for there promises if voting wasn't compulsary things would be very different

Wasabe

I think we keep hoping that our politicians will make the changes that we perceive are needed. But the reality is that it takes a certain personality type to be a politician, and those that are best at being politicians will never deliver what we want. Before we see the changes we have to change the way we select our politicians, and most people are swayed by the "act" politicians present (tell them what they want to hear).

dingodan

I think we keep hoping that our politicians will make the changes that we perceive are needed. But the reality is that it takes a certain personality type to be a politician, and those that are...

Paddy says :-I remember Sir Robert Menzies saying we needed to pay MPs more to get a berrer class of Politician. Well we did and look what we got , 50%Union Officials
and A$ ioo,ooo,ooo a DAY interest repayment .

Schelle

I totally agree and cannot believe that anyone can take them seriously or feel that one party can be more effective longterm than the other party. Really I don't believe any of them can make more than a marginal difference on any policy that is significant ie crime, economy, pollution, the breakdown of the family, greed, dishonesty etc. They are only men at the end of the day and the worldwide system of things is already sinking like the titanic. Trying to patch it up is of no use and these men only get a short time to make a difference, even then they have to gain a consensus of opinion to make any changes and that rigmarole usually takes a whole term to bring about. Isn't it interest that so many promises are made in an election year and yet so few real changes ever come to fruition in the following term of government, not matter who is in the hot seat.

Steve49

I totally agree and cannot believe that anyone can take them seriously or feel that one party can be more effective longterm than the other party. Really I don't believe any of them can make more...

Voting the liberals back in would be the same as shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic. It won't make any difference at all and who needs workchoices back anyway.

anna

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules.

hellanol

I agree, I don't even listen to them anymore.

JOHN

THEY ONLY LOOK OUT FOR THEMSELVES AND KEEP ON TAKING OUR MONEY FOR THEIR POCKETS AND RETIREMENT FUNDS