Who's More British...

[DucksNuts]

Originally Posted by Aliantha

The government represents the people. I could be cynical and say they can't make a difference, but if I do that, it's like giving up on change. Giving up on a better future for all Australians, and I don't want to do that. I want to be hopeful. There is hope. We can do better than we have done in the past. All of us. But only if we are committed to change.

I am.

Are you?

Politicians only represent the people when its election time.

[Trilby]

Originally Posted by DucksNuts

Politicians only represent the people when its election time.

Astute.

[xoxoxoBruce]

But even then, they are representing themselves, as a champion of the voters.

[Aliantha]

Originally Posted by DucksNuts

Politicians only represent the people when its election time.

I disagree. Politicians make promises going into elections and if successful these promises then become mandates.

John Howard promised to keep interest rates low. He failed. That's one of the main reasons he wasn't re-elected in my opinion. I don't really think the war in Iraq etc were big issues for people here. Another reason was because he increased taxes for middle and low income earners while decreasing them for higher income earners. When the majority of your constituents are low to middle income earners, that's a fatal mistake.

Kevin Rudd promised to ratify Kyoto which he did. He also promised an apology on behalf of the Austalian government, which he did at the very first opportunity. So far, he and his government have kept their word and I'm happy with that. Time will tell if things will continue in the same manner or not, but as I've said, I'm hopeful that they will.

To me, believing that politicians only care about themselves means there's no point in even caring about the political process which governs our lives. It means that being interested in what happens to people is pointless. It means that there's no hope of change. I can't believe that. If I did, what would be the point of living? If we didn't have a democratic process, I could understand your point more, but then we wouldn't be having this conversation anyway.