[John]

I am very tired of hearing this mantra about most if not all politicians only caring for themselves and their own benefit. In common with the general public of course there are people in politics who are lazy and/or selfish and focused on their own priorities. Nonetheless over the years these self-absorbed politicians amongst others have delivered many landmark programs like compulsory superannuation, Medicare and the NDIS that are significant benefits for the general population. In addition, much of the good work politicians do to assist citizens with personal issues and problems through their electoral offices and their ongoing involvement in community activities is minimized or ignored. There is also their unsung work on parliamentary committees in drafting legislation and developing policy that is not generally recognized and acknowledged. On a personal note, I have known or met a number of politicians in my life and, whilst a minority are cynical and self-absorbed, most have been distinguished by altruism in serving their electorate and their country. It is easy to be critical of politicians who are trying to balance the many disparate influences and forces in our society. Politics is the art of achieving the best possible outcome for our society as a whole and greater awareness and understanding of the difficulties of being a politician whose lives are frequently not their own would be a more helpful attitude rather than making cynical comments. Try talking to your local member – it may help to give you a more balanced view. After all we vote for them.

[John]

The Labor government is dismantling much of the previous government’s legislation because it was a failed government that, after governing for eight years, left a legacy of neglect, incompetence, maladministration and confusion in most areas like education, defence, foreign affairs, energy, climate change and welfare (Robodebt). It was also led in its later years by probably the worst PM since Federation. The statistics cited by Jan Fisher indicate that the hotline was a costly and ineffective failure and hence the Labor government has decommissioned it. KSS is not thinking clearly in implying that Labor ideology is to favour rorting of the welfare system and has also bought the myth of Labor governments being higher taxing governments and poorer economic managers. The issue of how best to ensure “princely” unemployment benefits go to those who deserve them is a difficult one but the failure of the “jobdobber”system surely indicates that it is a very small minority who view unemployment as a lifestyle choice. The unskilled and uneducated will always battle to find employment as they do not have the skills and /or training in a society where blue collar jobs have reduced over the years.

[Author]

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