I have been a watcher of Australian Politics for some time and have started to become annoyed at the level of waste that passes for public policy these days, especially at the Federal Level.
While the almost new Labor government has had some victories (the Apology to the "Stolen Generation" of Aboriginals, Ratifying Kyoto etc) in the past couple of months it has lost its way. It seems to have forgotten about its "Big Picture" and instead seems to have focused on things that should really be State matters. We have had "alcopop" taxes (a tax on pre-mixed spirit drinks, that really does nothing to combat alcoholism). We have a Labor government who believe they have to do something about grocery prices and petrol prices. Now we have a Carbon Emissions Trading scheme that basically is a carbon tax on all industries, but which is then given back to the public and business through subsidies (so it basically does nothing at all). An exercise in futility that won't have any effect on our carbon footprint. For a government that campaigned on its "Green" credentials, it is disappointing.
Yet there are serious national issues that confront us. The Federal Government cannot get lost in the trivia. It has to get back to the big picture leaving the States to do the detail work. I believe the Government should work a bit like the legal system. The lowest levels should do the vast majority of governing.
So with that in mind, this blog will attempt to add to the debate that Government should be decentralised and smaller. Local and state government should do the majority of law passing and management, leaving the federal government to issues of national importance, like defence, immigration, economics and yes, Environmental issues that affect Australia.
