The accepted “cabinet” processes, where robust, non-personalised debate occurs in camera leading to a conclusion, hopefully based on a combination of qualitative and qualitative data, followed by all members supporting the final determination appears to be gone in our political sphere. It seems that both sides of politics, at all levels, leak like sieves, and sensible analysis and debate has been replaced by dumb, self serving, short term “policy” development.
What has gone wrong?
My view, the whole structure, both major parties and their support structures have allowed their sense of “mission” and “purpose” to erode. They no longer know why they do what they do, beyond the motivation to gain and hold power on both a party and personal level.
They say you get the politicians you deserve, and it would be easy to dismiss the whole lot as self-serving power hungry grubs, but that would in most cases be wrong. I am sure there are good people on both sides. It is the structures, processes and prevailing culture that prevents the delivery of a quality outcome to Australians, combined with a profound lack of leadership. If Australia was a business, shareholders would be clamouring for change, and the authorities would be calling in the corproate investigators.
It is up to us to demand the changes.
