Disarray !

We are seeing a world phenomenon in the rejection of how politics worked in the past.  The days seem long gone when the voters sat close to radio broadcasts on budget night to learn which taxes would rise and what new laws would come into force.  Today's national budgets seem more like a wish list that may - or may not - become a reality.

The fiasco masquerading as parliament has given the voters more reason to turn away from both of the traditional political parties that used to have the public trust. In recent decades the voters have chosen to give neither a mandate to govern and the balance of power has been entrusted to cobbled together minor parties which form a shifting array of self serving alliances.

We now learn that the ACCC bill which was meant to reign in the most militant unions holding the building industry in their nefarious grasp has past the last hurdle and become law - except that it has been virtually gutted by the various compromises necessary to gain the support of those Senators who hold the balance of power.

Sadly, a tax bill to determine the rate of tax to be paid by backpackers has fallen short of the numbers - because a Senator who had given his handshake on the deal has chosen to renege.   The fate of this years harvest hangs in the balance.  Unless some sort of agreement is reached the overseas visitors who provide the labour to pick fruit and tend vegetables will be taxed at 32.5 cents on each dollar they earn - and may choose to go elsewhere.   Determining the tax rate has descended into a spiteful clash of political point scoring which could seriously damage one of our vital industries.

The danger is that the more the traditional political parties splinter the greater the tendency for voters to widen their choice and "Balkinize " the parliament.  In each of the past elections the number of "independents " has grown and we now have tiny political alliances coalescing into ever changing voting blocks.

This seems to be a disarray that is sweeping the world.   Perhaps the most disturbing outcome has been the recent American presidential election. That political convulsion saw Donald Trump emerge from the pack running for office and change from "unelectable "to become "President elect ".   He will take office this coming January - and the world will hold its breathe to see what sort of regime emerges.

The British have taken a rather irrational decision to leave the European Union and across the channel in France their presidential election looks like delivering victory to the National Front. There are similar tendencies in other European countries and we are seeing a new form of isolationist thinking creeping into and replacing common market thinking.

It is a fact of life that as voters become desperate for political sanity they are forced to make decisions that they later regret.   In 1933 the citizens of Germany saw no other option than to elect Adolf Hitler to run their country.   The outcome of that decision - was the second world war.

The danger is that politics as we knew it is no longer working for us - and it seems that the world is on the cusp of change.  Just what shape this new emerging entity takes will control our lives and the direction in which Australia develops !