Let's be totally honest. The last eight years have not bestowed a lot of trust in our federal government.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Between leadership spills, broken promises and the lack of actual change in policies, the public is fed up with the lack of accountability and choice we are given.
Sure we got gay marriage rights but even that took 10 years longer than it should have.
Surely when the majority of Australians are behind an idea then the politicians should reflect that, but they do not.
- WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE YOUR SAY? Click here to send a Letter to the Editor
They seem to be totally out of step. Why? I say that it is because of outside influences. It baffles me how nobody cares about big business giving money to the parties, or the unions giving money, or the banks, or the mining companies, or ... well you get the idea. We all know they are buying influence, we call it political donations. If we didn't we would have to use the only other term that describes it. Bribery. Yes Bribery. money given, sorry ‘donated’ for special treatment.
The parties say there is no influence on their decisions, that they always make policies and vote for what's best for the country. If that is correct than removing political donations all together should make no difference so long as there is fair compensation.
Well the following is just that. The solution. If implemented it would clean things up and get the pollies to think of the people.
- First we look at parties holding no seats, We average all the donations they have reported over the last four years. That will be the minimum for non seat holding parties.
- Then we look at every party holding seats and average the last four years of political donations the same. Then we divide that by the amount of seats in Parliament so we now have an amount to give per seat. This seems fair as the more seats you hold the more you should receive as right now the more seats you have the more donations you get.
- So now we have the minimum amount a party gets and then add per seat on top, that will make it more money then most parties raise now. Once this is calculated and passed it must be tied to inflation to stop the pollies giving themselves more money whenever they want, like they do with their own pay packets. Once done it is paid after the federal election and must last the parties till after the next one.
This money comes from the taxpayer not anywhere else. Political donations are banned. It is an archaic system set up to allow the rich to influence politics.
If the money comes from the people and is tied to inflation as well as to the popularity of the party "seats won" then the parties will be more mindful of the people. Maybe they will stop this coal fire power station crap and just get things done. Yes, it may be a big amount all up; about 400 million every four years.
But to remove the propensity for influence and corruption from the system is worth it. Besides 100 million or so a year is not a hell of a lot when compared to the waste of money going on all the time in parliament.
Maybe my way is not the best way to do this but one thing is true. We need to stop political donations or we will never achieve the highs Australia deserves.
G. Greenfield
Dubbo
Have your say:
We welcome your comments which may be published on this website and/or in the newspaper. Please provide all the required information below. Only your name and suburb will be published.
NOTE: Your submission may be edited prior to publication and a correct email and telephone number must be entered for verification purposes.
