Spectator Politics

Attended a talk given by M Costa last night. He argued for a smaller government, less layers of bureaucracy and for more community involvement in politics but stressed that it cannot happen overnight and that people who want to effect change should look at constructive feedback and changing things bit by bit through policies that made government more productive, efficient and transparent.

He also thought that the dominating 2 party system was here to stay and that the rise of fringe political parties were unlikely here, unlike other parts of the world. He felt that the best way to change the political system, for an aspiring politician, was to lobby for significant reform within either of the major parties. I think he pretty much dashed the hopes of the Libertarian party people there. A couple of libertarian party members I spoke to were hoping he'd make his political comeback through their party as they felt his political leanings were in line with their political ideology.

Two things that sprung to mind last night. M felt that, unlike Europe, fringe political parties were unlikely to gain much credence or power in Australia, because of the differences in histories and cultural mores. I was just wondering what those differences are, and whether it's really inconceivable, since we've had One Nation and the Greens making their presence felt before. Apart from that, he didn't quite address how, as a concerned citizen, one might participate in and support political reform without getting into politics or working as a civil servant. Perhaps part of the equation is about personal influence on key political figures and given the current political system, your everyday citizen has no real voice.

Tonight, it looks like I might be attending a Q & A panel made up of a couple of local political figures, media players and a rouge (if you believe what you read in the media) business head. Not generally that interested in political discussion but was more keen on tonight's topic as they were going to address the economic policies of the current and previous government. Some really interesting questions raised in the blurb on the topics for tonight, but I still can't think of any questions to ask, insightful or not. I wonder if it's because my grasp of economics isn't too good yet and I need a review of macroeconomics.

Which brings me back to a topic discussed with someone last night. With the current (un)employment situation, would abolishing minimum wages really encourage businesses to hold on to employees at reduced wages? Or would it be more rational for business owners that as business slows, they reduce the number of fulltime employees but possibly re-engage them as contractors or part timers to suit the demands of work. Is handing out money to businesses really an appropriate incentive to keep on apprentices, trainees and other staff. A tax cut in a way, is like giving money back, but indirectly. It has been shown in psychological studies on decision making that people view levys, tax cuts and handouts quite differently even if the implementation of either 3 result in the same net income for them.

I feel compelled to ask a question tonight, but what should I ask?