General Chat

Liberal Party Treasurer Scott Morrison has been sworn in.
(Televised on Sky News)

Yes, but for how long?

No doubt he will take us to the next election, due early next year, but after that, who knows?

Seven PM's in eleven years, and not one of those has gone for a full term of Office :-|

The last one to so do was John Howard who I always considered a bit wishy-washy, but compared to the last seven he was a Titan.

In most democratic countries, even the USA, politics is driven by a rough n ready set of principles so you know what kind of thing Labour/Tory, GOP/Democrats are likely to serve up.

In Australia it is not like that at all. Politics from Canberra down to State and city government is driven by envy, hate, fear, nepotism and cleverly disguised corruption. Some of this goes back to Oz aristocracy ( "the Squatters" ) , some more to hatred of "the Poms" and to quite a high degree racism. The average Australian is fed up with it.

Oz should not be thought of as a big country either. The population is about 20M. It is essentially an archipelago of islands surrounded by desert rather than the deep blue sea. It is the refusal to come to terms with this which is at the root of the failure of the counry's governments, one after another, to cope with climate change. More coal mines is not the way to go.

Of course Oz is far from unique in having governments located in la la land. The UK for instance is also governed from there. Oz here today soon gone has only been emulated by Italy.

None of them matches the stature of Bill Hayden who was man enough to put the party before himself.

A true politician, in my opinion.

I remember that period clearly and the feeling his self-sacrifice created among the voters.

Jeez, Rollo, I'll have some of what you're having.

You are so wide of the mark that I wouldn't trust you to hit a tethered elephant with a peashooter.

The first sentence of your second paragraph just about summarises all the so called democracies of the 'free world'

But now it is the era of the party room
Party games

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE6wxDqdOV0

down the coal hole

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/aug/27/malcolm-turnbull-to-trigger-byelection-by-quitting-parliament-on-friday