The great Australian revolution

Back in October, I told friends in the Queensland Liberal National Party that they would lose the election they faced in 2015. They looked at me kindly and quietly wondered whether the first signs of dementia were emerging.

I spelled-out the reasons for my forecast. Too many bad political calls, some of them being very politically naïve. I said these issues would lose them 25 seats, but still leave them with a comfortable majority in normal circumstances.

But, the circumstances were not normal.

I sadly mentioned the killer blow, pointing-out that voters hold politicians of whatever colour in the lowest possible regard and despise them deeply.

Most of them firmly believe they are being screwed mightily every day by governments, banks, oil companies, energy utilities, supermarkets, doctors, media, etc, and reckon they have only one means of defending themselves and taking revenge.

This is the power they possess to toss-out governments every three years, no matter what their politics or how well they have governed, and they intend to exercise it mightily. The baseball bats are out of the cupboards and they will not be put back.

At Federal, State and Local levels, we are about to experience a long succession of one-term governments resulting in significant political, social and economic instability over the next couple of decades.

Where and when did this tragedy begin?

I reckon its origins can be traced to the day when Kerr, in a drunken fit, sacked Whitlam in the most illegal abuse of the Constitution in Australian history, aided and abetted by a power hungry Fraser.

The vitriol that was spewed-out in the subsequent election was disgraceful and tore away the fabric of decency from Australian society.

Parliaments have gone downhill ever since, to the point where personal viciousness dominates and grows worse by the day. There are no rational debates on the great issues of the day, just insults, spin and downright lies. We now have totally degrading spectacles of once great institutions that are in terminal decay.

While the stench of politics continues to sicken them, voters will perpetually take their revenge in an ever-increasing degree of righteous irrationality, causing Australia to suffer badly.

How I long for the days of Menzies and Chifley.

They were political opponents who were good mates, meeting regularly for drinks where they would agree on important matters that needed to be above politics.

When Chifley died suddenly of a massive heart attack, Menzies wept tears of genuine grief.

The respect that Menzies built into the Office of Prime Minister was awesome. When he entered a room everyone would stand and applaud, even his most trenchant political opponents. Can any of us even vaguely imagine this happening to Abbott?

I pray that these elements of common decency will return to our Parliaments so we can renew our respect for our institutions and our leaders.

A good start would be to have Parliament agree unanimously to a Charter of Dignity within which the politics of the nation will operate in future.

The alternative is for voters to buy even bigger baseball bats and continue to use them with every bit of strength in their angry being.