An end to " Political Stability ? "

Australia has been served well by the traditional competition between the Australian Labor party and the Conservative coalition of Liberal and National parties.    The balance of power has continued to change between them and as a result this country has enjoyed two centuries of political stability.  To the consternation of many, that stability is now at risk.

Two Labor power brokers, NSW Labor secretary Sam Dastyari and Australian Workers Union secretary Paul Howes have called for preference voting for the Greens to be abandoned  and placed last on Labor's order of preference.   It has become clear that this embrace of the Greens to form a minority government has become poisonous - and stands a good chance of destroying the once mighty Labor movement.


Any coalition can only work if both parties adopt a " give and take " attitude to issues.  To gain power, Labor adopted the Greens demand for a carbon tax, despite that decision breaking a major promise in the run up to the election.   Labor could reasonable expect a Greens reciprocation on the offshore processing of asylum seekers.   It is now clear that the Greens are totally dogmatic in their left wing ideology and it is their intention to " take ", but not to " give " anything in exchange.

Dastyari and Howes view the opinion polls with alarm.  Labor has been recently decimated in state elections and the writing is on the wall that the next Federal election will see a similar result.   If Labor does not cut the shackle to the Greens, there is every chance that this grand old worker's party may be destroyed beyond the point of no return.

Politics in Australia has divided the electorate into almost equal numbers of Labor and Conservative supporters, with a balance of swinging voters deciding each election.    If this swing against Labor reduces Labor numbers in both houses to a rump it is certain that the void will see the emergence of a number of small, single issue parties.

Two scenarios are possible.   One is that the Conservatives will gain such a hold on power that they will dominate politics for decades.   Unfortunately, we are best served by regular changes in government to bring new challenges and invigorate the decision making process.  Total domination by either side of politics will inevitably bring decay.

A profusion of minor political parties would usher in the same type of politics that has made several European countries ungovernable.  In particular, the life of Italian governments has been measured in months- and sometimes in days.    We would not like to wish on Australia a misery of constant groupings of small parties in unstable coalition, but breaking and reforming to suit their leaders ambitions, as it now happening in Greece.

Dastyari and Howes are urging Labor to stand up for it's principles, abandon the coalition with the Greens and take the punishment that the voters will surely hand out - but survive as the Labor movement of this country with the ability to rebuild itself.

That would seem to be good advice.   The two major party system has served Australia well.