What we're talking about

Jan James on Di Fingleton I would like to contact Di Fingelton- Her story on Compass, helped me so much- Jan JAMES WA. more
Colin Simpson on Hayden Sargent wish to contact Hayden, I knew his mum & dad who lived at Lakes Heights NSW. Her name was Jenny, My mum & dad were great ... more
Sharon Massey on Hayden Sargent Just a question did Hayden Sargent drive a bus for a sunday school in wynnum. If so I would love to ask you a question. ... more
Norma Kawak on Hayden Sargent I listened to Hyden for the early 70's but listening now he doesn't sound a bit like Hyden.PS. Greg, your still my ... more
Barbara Berg on Memorial removal I dont see the harm in having roadside memorials as when i see them it is a reminder of how sudden a life can be taken away ... more
Cary maids on Mal Brough with Greg Cary Anyone who has anything good to contribute should be allowed to just jump in and do it. If its just that easy ... but its ... more
Cary maids on United Government Anna Bligh, maybe you should get the ball rolling. You have captured the confidence of your constituents. There are other ... more
Cary maids on United Government It takes a calamity to unite a nation, a government. This should serve as the catalyst to sit down and work together instead ... more
Greg on United Government United GovernmentDonâ??t know why I am responding Anna Bligh was inspirational she hasnâ??t stopped for days giving a press ... more
barry norwood on United Government what i would like to know is were are all the greens gone you now bob brown and co have not heard a word from them have we. more
Drakos on United Government APART THEY ARE LIKE KIDS SCRAMBLING,TOGETHER THEY CAN DO IT..!!! more
Maria ten Lohuis on United Government "Incorporating some from outside Government". Are you aware and Anna Bligh, as well as Mr. Newman, that the Dutch ... more
Trevor Beetham on Memorial removal Our sons road side Memorial has been so important throughout our grieving. We go to the site often & reflect on Michaels ... more
Roxanne Beetham on Memorial removal This is absolutely ridiculous to suggest grieving parents and relatives not put up roadside memorials. I hope to God people ... more
joan cavanagh on Formal rules I agree wholeheartedly with Richard Ray 10/11/10. Many young girls are in love with their teachers, queen bees, and movie ... more
Lee Patterson on Daniel O'Donnell Is this the latest up-date you have for this page. August 2010. Is the Daniel O'Donnell show still on? more
ken on Memorial removal For gods sake LOGAN COUNCIL whats more dangerious than the great lumps of concrete you put in the middle of the road, just ... more
Jennifer on Special treatment Greg this whole issue of special treatment for this Man really angers me.Here is Australia assuming the high moral ground - ... more
Jennifer Nash on Special treatment You are right Greg and I also share your belief Australia would in fact extradite Osama Bin Laden to the US, no matter what ... more
Brian on Special treatment Greg you have hit the nail on the head, not only is the federal govt hellbent on accepting illegal immigrants for future ... more

A bit of a mess

Posted by: 4bc.com.au | 27 August, 2010 - 10:25 AM

With no more undecided seats left in parliament, where does it leave the two major parties? The independents seem to be holding all the cards. Gary Hardgrave, Former Howard Government Minister, discusses with Greg Cary that the speaker also plays a very important role in the outcome.

Blog comments

Or is it a mess?
The country continues to function with no government.
Italy had a hung parliament for 18 months with no problems.
England, USA, NZ and other nations that have a Westminster system also ran for lengthy periods with no elected government.
There is no vision from either party that is getting delayed because of the hung parliament.
No party has a mandate to make any major changes or policies either.
Is that such a bad thing?
Let it hang for ahwhile I say.

Let it hang Tuesday 31 August, 2010 - 8:29 AM
Australia is a democracy once every three years, the rest of the time it is a parliamentary dictatorship (Robert Menzies). Does Gary Hardgrave really believe Australia is a genuine democracy, even though we are the only Western democracy without a bill of rights and unlike Europe, Canada and the US, Australia will not tolerate Human Rights Watch? Further, Australian NGOs such as Amnesty International, Transparency International and United Nations are strongly politicised and staff are not scrutinised and democratically elected by the people, from the people and for the people.

What democracy turns a blind eye to a family protesting outside the electorate office of the Speaker of Parliament for thirteen weeks and counting, on denial of electoral representation, serious human rights abuses and judicial corruption against an unrepresented Australian child? This sort of maltreatment of a young citizen and the accompanying media silence is unheard of in Western democracies, where the media is free to report what is going on.
Reporters without borders once ranked Australias press freedom equal to the 3rd world African nation of Mali, prompting ex-Fairfax CEO, David Kirk to lament my concern, quite simply, is that we as a country cannot preserve our democracy if we destroy the institutions that serve our democracy. By international standards, we are a lightweight democracy (Media fights free speech restraint, Courier Mail 11/05/2007)

Despite promising me in front of the media on 17/03/2010 he would look into our documented and corroborated complaint, Attorney General Dick continues to be incommunicado. We fear our allegations will again be swept under the carpet under a pretext, when he responds to our e-petition http://bit.ly/aueuVm on 02/09/2010.

Further details: Australian Press Council fails judicial corruption and school bullying victim http://bit.ly/bvw1AO

Jennifer Nash Monday 30 August, 2010 - 6:33 AM