Just to be clear - my previous comment was not about the merits or otherwise of a FTTP NBN, nor was it about the legitimacy of petitioning.
Petitioning is legitimate, obviously. I was commenting on whether or not this petition reflects the will of the electorate and whether it will make any difference to policy anyway. It doesn't (there are too few respondents), and it won't. The coalition went to the election with a clear policy based on the FTTN model. For better or worse, they got elected, and that's what they're going to implement. That's not going to change. Do I wish they would implement a FTTP NBN? Of course I do. Are they going to? No. Whether you like it or not, you have to work within the country's political system. It's not perfect, but it's the best we've been able to achieve so far. "Forcing the govt to listen to the will of the people as issues arise" simply isn't practical, but hey, if you want to change the system so that the government makes decisions using alternative methods (irrespective of whether they are made of straw) then I wish you the best of luck in your political career. On 5 November 2013 14:02, David Burstin <david.burs...@gmail.com> wrote: > > On 05/11/2013 2:10 PM, "Grant Maw" <grant....@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > "I find your version of democracy very entertaining." > > > > Well the only alternative that I can see is getting people to vote on > every single issue. Is that what you are advocating? > > I imagine that if you think about it you will find that there are many > other alternatives, not just the strawman you presented. One that is quite > close to the reality is that as issues arise, the government is forced to > listen to the will of the people and at least reexamine its policies. Fear > of losing marginal seats has this effect. So, how do the people make > themselves heard? Signing petitions is one legitimate way. >
