At 07:23 AM 1/01/2005, Debra Walker wrote:
Garth Cartledge <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: But here in Australia our government took us into that war following Bush's war wagon despite the fact that 70% of Australians were against it.
Do you have a parliamentary system? Can the Prime Minister get a vote of no confidence? I thought that parliamentary democracies could change leadership more often than Americans could. A lot of Americans are pretty depressed right now, because, barring a miracle, we appear to be stuck with Bush for four years. What a ghastly thought!
I read that Midnight Oil's Peter Garrett is a Member of Parliament. I love his music and his lyrics, so that interested me. Is he very active in Parliament? I hope so.
Yes - we have a Parliamentary system - Westminster style although of recent years the elections have been appearing more and more presidential. There can be a vote of no confidence but the votes on these are always on party lines - whom is going to vote against their own party leader if it results in the loss of government. And we too are stuck with the same Prime Minister for the next 4 years - in our recent national elections the opposition party just did not appear to be a viable opposition to the government that we are all heartily sick of - I personally am less than enchanted with both parties and generally vote on the basis of which one I think is likely to do the least damage to my country. Whilst I abhor Bush and his actions/policies I do not think that Kerry would have been much better - but at least he would not have been Bush. Yes Peter Garrett is a newly elected member of Parliament but in the opposition. Most of us here hope he is not going to be active because he is so erratic and does not think before he speaks - I believe that he has a lot of maturing to do before he will be effective. To be as gauche as he is does the causes he espouses much more harm than good. Sorry - I guess we do not agree re him
Garth Cartledge
" Despotism sits nowhere so secure as under the effigy and ensigns of Freedom", From Imaginary Conversations of Greeks and Romans (1853) by Walter Savage Landor 1775-1864
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