When Your Vote Counts
If at all your vote counted, then why has the government refused to fix the mass voter fraud exposed last elections by the AEC? Why won't our elected members sign the Fitzgerald Principles put forward by our High Courts to protect our democracy?
Why are they legislating fraudulent methods for rigging the elections? Why won't they hold referendums to keep the government in check?
"Democracy in Australia has largely been reduced to a contest between the Coalition and the Labor party. They dominate public discussion and debate, and elections are heavily weighted in their favour. Legislation which THEY enacted provides public funding based on past election results and gives them an overwhelming electoral advantage over others." - Tony Fitzgerald QC
What part of "overwhelming electoral advantage" spells "Fair Elections"? Why does Rupert Murdoch get a bigger say in who leads our country, complete with the ability to overthrow and install new leaders?
If none of that twitches your ethical compass, consider the fact that betting agencies have turned our federal elections into a fun-filled game where they not only profit from our losses and anxieties about the future, but they also greatly influence the outcome and then, later, continue to influence politics to suit their own ends. What we have just witnessed this election is a fundamental corrosion of the democratic process.
Your vote only counts when the voting system is not corrupt, gamed and rigged - which ours clearly is!
What makes your vote count more than others?
Russia and Venezuela vote too, but apparently their votes don't count. If voting is all that constitutes "democracy", then EVERYONE'S vote should count irrespective of where they live. Since this is clearly not the case, then it stands to reason, there must be more to democracy than simply voting.
One of the primary elements of a democracy is the existence of a Constitution to keep government powers in check. A constitution is vital to a democracy for two reasons: it protects us from tyranny of the government and tyranny of the majority. Again, Russia and Venezuela both have constitutions, yet they're constantly condemned as undemocratic, so there must be more to democracy.
What are the other elements of a democracy?
Two dozen prominent High Court and civil society representatives and the Australia Institute have described the following as principled commitments to democracy in Australia (otherwise known as "Good Governance" in our Constitution):
To act honourably and fairly and solely in the public interest
To treat all citizens equally
To tell the truth
Not to mislead or deceive
Not to withhold or obfuscate information to which voters are entitled
Not to spend public money except for public benefit
Not to use your position or information gained from your position for your benefit or the benefit of a family member, friend, political party or other related entity
While this list of democratic principles is what the High Court - protector of our Constitution - deems to be required of our politicians, it may come as a surprise to learn the overwhelming majority of our parliamentarians disagreed with most points and refused to sign the agreement to enter into our parliament.
It may come as further surprise to learn that this list was devised by (and as a direct result of) several Royal Commissions - that We, The People paid for - into government misconduct, including the Wood Royal Commision, the Fitzgerald Royal Commission and various other commissions of inquiry.
Why are we paying for commissions that are powerless to hold government to account?
The fact is, our constitution specifically provides the power to hold the government to account is vested in The People, not the commissioners. It is up to us to make sure the government acts on the recommendations put forward by the commissioners that we pay to investigate corruption.
It is high time we had a Royal Commission into our voting system. We can no longer rely on a corrupt system to remove them from power - they will continue to resist by bending the rules and/or inventing new bent rules until WE hold them to account.
If at all we are to to remain sane, we should be holding them to the same standards that they hold Russia, Venezuela and other countries to - not queing up to vote them back into power using a broken voting system!
At the top of our list of demands is signing the "Good Governance" agreement before they're permitted to sit in our parliament. If they don't agree, then it's their choice to LEAVE PARLIAMENT! This is the same standard that any of us entering employment are held to.
Why can't we just protest or lobby our elected members?
In case nobody has noticed, the ability to protest has been severely restricted of late. Whenever there is a protest that the majority doesn't like, they immediately demand it to be made illegal. This is a clear example of "the tyranny of the majority" deliberately preventing a democracy from practicing freedom of political expression.
Destruction of property, violence and trespass are all applicable democratic Common Laws, but outlawing protests is almost at the top of the "dictatorship" scale.
Likewise, the ability to lobby our local members has also been severely restricted by the state Fixated Person's Units who may determine consistent lobbying as stalking and may use the Mental Health Act to physically restrain and forcibly inject anti-psychotic substances into people it deems mentally unwell, with no legal means for remedy.
This type of Human Rights abuse and torture is at the top of the "dictatorship" scale, right next to public executions.
If we won't protect our own democracy, then who will?
The Australian Electoral Commission will fix the electoral fraud - wrong! Nobody has been fined and the fraud loop-hole still exists. Again, the power is not vested in the commissioners, it is vested in us! They have given us notice, now we need to act.
The High Courts will make our elected representatives behave honestly - wrong! The High Courts can only interpret the constitution, the power to enforce "Good Governance" is vested in us. They have given us notice, now we need to act.
The Legislative Council will fix the electoral funding imbalance - wrong! They're the ones who deliberately created the imbalance to begin with. The politically impartial Australia Institute has given us notice, now we need to act.
The Australian Electoral Act will sort out referendums - wrong! The Federal Government gave itself exclusive powers to alter our Constitution without referendums and has been doing so since the Australia Act. If there's no referendum to enact the Australia Act, then we never did act.
The more we let slide, the further from democracy we travel and the harder it will be to recover.