"Swan firm on mining tax... Independents, Greens want change" - Australian Financial Review
"The first cracks have appeared in the Gillard government's alliance with the crossbench MP's, with the Greens signalling they may side with the Coalition on some issues..." - The Age
I feel like I want to agree with former Labor Party leader Mark Latham. Excerpts from Latham's column in today's Australian Financial Review include:
"[E]lection results in Australia are determined by voters who are blasé about politics: those who visit a polling booth only because of the coercion of the state, the threat of fines and court action under Australia's compulsory voting laws...
"This means introducing voluntary voting and dismantling the intrusiveness of the nanny state. In a free society, people should not have to vote against their will..."
"Up to half the bureaucracies, rules and regulations of the state could be abolished without any noticeable impact on the life of the nation."
Blimey! That's almost something I could vote for. Although I think Latham is being a bit too kind on the Canberra bureaucrats, "Up to half", I'd argue you could get rid of 99% of them and it wouldn't have any negative impact on the life of the nation.
However, as for democracy, I tend to agree with Doug Casey's view:
"Democracy is no solution - it's just 51% bossing the other 49% around. For God's sake, Hitler was democratically elected. Democracy is just mob rule dressed up in a coat and tie."
