Policies - Democracy

People before Politics

Over time, governments, both Labor and Liberal, have come to focus more on the economy at the expense of their need to represent their constituents and provide for their needs. In the 1990s, a rash of privatisations within the public service led to decreased service quality and increased costs. I believe that the focus should be on reducing inefficiency (for example, the current moves in establishing an Office of Shared Services) while keeping the departments and agencies firmly under Parliamentary scrutiny.

Parliamentary Responsibility

The current system is good for some, but not for most. We are treated to the spectacle of politicians and parliaments paid by us, the taxpayers:

• demeaning each other during question time;
• being involved in scandals due to factional and corporate conflicts of interest;
• throwing up distractions to avoid debating legislation;
• making decisions that affect us all without appropriate levels of public consultation, or limiting public consultation to filling in a loaded survey;
• passing (or advocating while in Opposition) laws which are retrogressive but are a "cheap shot" to get votes;
• blocking or "gagging" debate using standing rules.

As an Independent, my goal would be to raise questions and submit resident contributions which are aimed to keep Parliament on track. On issues of specific local interest, I would be responsible for following up with departmental staff and dealing with the media to ensure that the process is as transparent and accountable as it can be.

The Electoral System

The preferential voting system in place in Australia has served us well in its present form for about 40 years, especially given that Australia's geographic and demographic requirements also place unique requirements on the electoral system.

But with changes in the political landscape, there is clearly a need for reform. I believe that Western Australians are mature enough to develop a system for their own unique needs, which throw up challenges on a scale not seen anywhere else in the world.

Two distinctly undemocratic features of our current system which I would target as an Independent are "group ticket votes" in the upper house, and number-all-boxes in the lower house. I believe that people should be allowed to direct their vote without having to preference all parties against each other, and as such, am a supporter of optional preferential voting in both houses as exists in New South Wales and Queensland.