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Politics, The Way Forward! - Howard Emanuel

For too long politics has had a poor reputation in this country, at times bordering on a loathing. Read More.........

By Howard Emanuel - 3rd October 2004 - Back to News

For too long politics has had a poor reputation in this country, at times bordering on a loathing. Such a fundamental platform of society and our lives as the democratic decision making process needs the confidence and respect of the people, or else we struggle for a sense of security, for meaning both in a personal and community sense.

Perhaps it is that our politics of the past 100 years has still left us with a great many unanswered questions, a great many tensions, no matter that they run below the surface, that disappoints the most. Perhaps it is this lack of understanding of how to progress these tensions that the community is so concerned with that encourages them to rightly or wrongly sheet home the blame for our shortcomings to our political process, and by association politicians. If we are not developing solutions to our fundamental woes then perhaps it is because of the way in which we debate the issues among us, in the parliaments of this country.

Perhaps too much energy is wasted on semantics and theatre, on point scoring and character assassination, when what we really require is to glean from each of our parliamentarians, their innate abilities and gifts to ensure we continue to offer the community the best this countries legislators are capable of.

The federal parliament in Australia has a reputation for its boisterous and often poor behaviour, for its "bully boy" approach to debate, for its use of sarcasm and innuendo, those most unattractive forms of human dialogue. The so called two-party system we have in Australia encourages this type of behaviour as party politicians vie for positions of power such as ministries within government and are bent on achieving that goal at any cost, by pleasing their political masters. Their behaviours are designed to frustrate an opposing view, to ensure the proponent of an idea is silenced and vilified, no matter the value and credibility of the initiative.

 Whereas a parliament comprised of a consortium of Independents and parties, some large, some small guarantees not only vigour and diversity of opinion in the debating process and an opportunity for cooperation and consensus, but a hedge against the need to placate the party chiefs, to stoop to ridicule to secure the path upward. With Independents and in minor parties there are also less places to hide both wrong views and mediocrity.

It has often had me wondering what our children think of all this, these behaviours we as parents constantly coach as being inappropriate, are emblazoned across the national stage by the ones we are supposed to respect and admire, our leaders. What sense of confusion does all this engender in the young mind?

I think many of us recognise that we need to enter a new epoch in politics in this country to ensure we cooperate to search for those elusive solutions to our deepest problems. A start would be to scrutinise and discuss the policies of Independents and minor parties and ask ourselves, are there not others in this country apart from the major parties who are concerned with our future? And are these often small organisations not prepared to articulate an honest view as a way of prising open those issues amongst us that hurt us so much, the issues the major parties are too afraid to touch?  And why? Perhaps it is because the big parties, the political heavy-weights prefer the comfort of power and inertia and not the uncertainty of new ideas and leadership. Or perhaps they are removed from and lack an understanding of the issues, or maybe they have quite simply, just run out of ideas.

Thank-you,

Howard Emanuel - "Bringing the People back into Policy!"

Independent Candidate for the Federal Seat of McMillan

Website: www.HowardEmanuel.com

E-mail:    info@howardemanuel.com

Mobile:   0400-158 896

www.HowardEmanuel.com

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: kris@howardemanuel.com