I agree with Business SA (The Advertiser 11 January) that we need serious parliamentary reform in South Australia. But I don't quite understand how the abolition of compulsory voting would add to this, unless we want to encourage people not to take an interest in how we are governed or what our elected representatives get up to, which seems the very opposite of what is being proposed by the business lobby.
It is trite to say, as Peter Vaughan apparently does, that 'democracy' requires the abolition of compulsory voting. Democracy requires responsibility, and the key responsibility for the elector is to vote.
In the end we are not required to vote for any one particular person or party in Australia, we may choose to exercise our democratic responsibility and vote informal. But it is to our credit as a nation and as a state that all adults are permitted to vote and are required to act responsibly by so doing.
2 comments:
Peter Vaughan also thinks if we don't deregulate shopping hours we SA shoppers will go interstate to do their shopping. Business SA wants what's good for Business SA not anyone else
I agree with this sentiment. Sometimes, perhaps even often, Business SA's interests willl also be good for SA, but not always.
I don't always/usually find his comments well thought through, but am intrigued how he always seems to get press coverage on Sundays. Maybe that is the only time he manages it.
Post a Comment