How to Hold Government Accountable for Their Actions (or Lack of Actions) ?

IMadeYouReadThis on 17/01/2018 - 08:04
Last edited 18/01/2018 - 10:16

I am not a huge fan of political discussion but few of the things that are happening is just making my blood boil, be it state or federal government, they just don't care about us which makes me wonder that apart from showing them door during elections, what are other ways that we can hold them accountable for?

To start with I want to whine about:

A. We all know how poor NBN has been planned but federal government is still spending billions on a technology which is already outdated. Now NBN has confirmed that 3 out of 4 people won't get the top speed when NBN is fully rolled out Latest story

Video

B. Public Transport chaos in Sydney (NSW) where many trips were delayed by hours and at the end all we got was an apology (no refund)! Story

C. Why people still have to pay hefty access fee to get to the airport? $87m Annual Collection

NSW is a richest state in Australia and surely we deserve better transport system than we currently have. What is the point of having billions in surplus (NSW budget)when we can't even rely on our transport system?

It is not about Labor, Greens or Liberal - its not about left wing and right wing - but it is about the people of Australia who is in between this left and right wing politics. What will change politics in our nation? Are people concerned about these things or are they just happy with the way life is moving along?

Edit: Added video re NBN from TheProject

General Discussion

Comments

  • boomramada on 17/01/2018 - 08:27
    +5

    You should play simcity :)

    • Wystri Warrick on 17/01/2018 - 08:31
      +1

      I play cities XL :)

      • sss333 on 17/01/2018 - 08:41
        +1

        Should play Cities: Skylines :)

        • Wystri Warrick on 17/01/2018 - 09:05
          +1

          Wow looks good I'm gonna have to get that one :).

    • IMadeYouReadThis on 17/01/2018 - 09:20
      +1

      You should play simcity

      yeah that's what I did until I was 23 but now my priorities have changed ;)

      • boomramada on 17/01/2018 - 09:39
        +1

        I don't know why people disagree with you, same applied to me as well, Simcity just as WOW, very addictive. I used to call it unemployed game.

        • IMadeYouReadThis on 17/01/2018 - 11:33

          I don't know why people disagree with you

          When I was into Simcity, I disagreed with pretty much everything too as I lived in my own cocoon. But in reality, the real world is more complex (albeit beautiful).

  • Quantumcat on 17/01/2018 - 08:27

    Agree with you except for c), they'll charge the right amount so there are enough people catching the trains, but not so many that it is horribly crowded. If they made it too cheap the trains would be overfilled, and if they made it more expensive then the trains would be travelling too far under capacity.

    If you don't want to pay the extra $13, you can get a friend to drop you off/pick you up, or, walk the 20 minutes to/from Mascot. Since you now pay extra for checked baggage on most flights, encouraging you to have carry-on only, this wouldn't be a bad choice in most cases because you wouldn't have a massive suitcase to lug behind you.

    • IMadeYouReadThis on 17/01/2018 - 09:17

      If you don't want to pay the extra $13, you can get a friend to drop you off/pick you up

      Yep that's what I did, I caught Uber with 2 other mates and it was cheaper. The point I was making that if it doesn't cost government $13 in access fee then why charge it? And to make it more painful, we are still running non-AC trains on the airport line. Surely as the wealthiest state we can do better?

      • scrambledeggs on 17/01/2018 - 09:21
        +4

        The government doesn't set the air train fee, a private company owns and runs that part of the line.

        • scrambledeggs on 17/01/2018 - 09:23

          Just joking, it's like this in Brisbane but not the same in Sydney. My bad.

        • SirFlibbled on 19/01/2018 - 16:25

          I'd assume their contract will be up soon. It's been almost 20 years.

      • Quantumcat on 17/01/2018 - 09:46
        +1

        if it doesn't cost government $13 in access fee then why charge it?

        Otherwise the trains would be overcrowded. The cost is a disincentive to take that form of transport - balance out supply and demand.

        Transport is usually subsidised, anyway. Imagine you're taking a bus with 9 other people and you all paid $3 each. The running cost of the bus and driver is a lot more than $30. If the government charged what things cost, bus and train tickets would be more like $8-$20 and there would be a lot fewer running (since if a bus only has two or three people on it, it would run at a loss - so better to cancel that route altogether).

        • scrambledeggs on 19/01/2018 - 18:44
          +1

          PT is a form of social welfare, only 2 cities in the world run their PT at a profit, Tokyo and Beijing.

  • inherentchoice on 17/01/2018 - 08:54

    I want to whine

    First world problems much?

    Can't get cheap/fast internet for gaming/streaming and can't get to the airport cheap for your jetsetter lifestyle?

    It's easy to whine. But it takes good leadership and a lot of effort and hard work to deliver and execute big public infrastructure projects well, whether for transportation or communication.

    And effort and hard work = paying a lot of money to a lot of qualified and experienced people.

    On one hand you whine about bad public transport and on the other you whine about the cost. Things don't happen for free. Especially not in Australia where wages are higher.

    Just gonna put this out there, but perhaps part of the reason why our metropolitan train systems are expensive and unreliable compared to China and Japan is because over there their whole culture revolves around working much harder and longer and for much less pay. But I kind of like that in Australia we have got a much better work life balance and good pay.

    It's easy to blame the government for everything, but our culture is becoming more and more bent on entitlement and what can I get. "It's my right to get this from the government." Gimme gimme gimme!

    Look on the bright side, Australian cities are rated amongst the world's most liveable anyway.

    • ThithLord on 17/01/2018 - 09:10
      +8

      "It's my right to get this from the government."

      Well, it is his right. The Government is for the people, of which OP is a member. OP pays taxes (we can assume), they contribute to society in some way or another. They can complain that the Government is investing in poor technology.

      And Jesus Christ, man - enough with the "First World Problems"; you're not witty in the slightest by adding that at the top of your comment.

      • boomramada on 17/01/2018 - 09:16
        +4

        whining about gov is NOT a first world problem, maybe OP should live in 3rd world.

        And in some countries, you not even allowed to publicly whine about the gov.:)

      • inherentchoice on 17/01/2018 - 09:38
        -5

        https://youtu.be/PzRg--jhO8g

        Government is not the fix-all solution with endless cash. The government represents the people and has limited funding based on what people give it. There's many things that citizens themselves could work together and crowdfund or solve, without demanding money or contributions from the government itself.

        Unfortunately government debt is going up up up which indicates we are all getting much MORE than what we put in. We are putting our future generations in debt.

        It's true there's a lot of wastage but perhaps a lot of that wastage is what we're consuming all the time and demanding more of? Most of the federal budget goes to Centrelink payments, and this is just a massive indicator of an increasing entitlement-filled culture.

        Even your reaction here is kind of affirming what I'm saying. Every + vote on your comment is another person demonstrating an over-zealous sense of entitlement.

        • cwongtech on 18/01/2018 - 09:25

          Unfortunately government debt is going up up up which indicates we are all getting much MORE than what we put in. We are putting our future generations in debt.

          Or it means reckless spending on things that don't matter (military), or lovely $5000 helicopter rides. But don't worry, the Libs have got this, they'll sell off all government assets in the name of budget repair, they'd sell you off if they had a choice.

          The NBN will be sold off sooner or later as long as Liberals are in power, it's inevitable.
          Turnbull has shares/investment holdings in France Telecom which wants 60% fibre in france, yet when he's communications minister under Tony Abbott, he went and destroyed the 93% FTTP NBN for Australia by using a ridiculous figure in a cost benefit analysis report commissioned by him, to use a 100% FTTP model, to inflate the costs to compare to his seemingly favorable MTM crap.

          The general public is to blame to only read headlines and not important details.

          " Fibre to the premises scenario (FTTP scenario) — this scenario assumes delivery of
          FTTP to all premises in the fixed line footprint, complemented in high cost areas by
          fixed wireless and satellite solutions (as set out in the ‘radically redesigned’ option of
          the NBN Co Strategic Review)." - from the Cost Benefit Analysis
          https://www.communications.gov.au/sites/g/files/net301/f/Cost-Benefit_Analysis_-FINAL-_For_Publication.pdf

          http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/government-it/turnbull-likes-fi…

          Most of the federal budget goes to Centrelink payments, and this is just a massive indicator of an increasing entitlement-filled culture.

          See this link
          http://www.abc.net.au/news/story-streams/federal-budget-2017…

          Have a quick look at some info, you might find it fascinating:
          $64.3b has gone to "Assistance to the aged" - pensions
          $38.5b - Assistance to people with disabilities
          $36.9b - Assistance to families with children
          $10b - Assistance to the unemployed and the sick
          $6.3b - Assistance to veterans and dependants

          Quite simply put, most of the money is due to aging population, people with disabilities, family assistance.

          Unemployed and sick with vets make up 10% of the "Social security and welfare $164.06 billion"
          Even if you somehow magically make people employed and healthy, it's still approximately 148 billion spent on social security and welfare.

        • Slippery Fish on 18/01/2018 - 10:34

          @cwongtech: so your saying for every new young imported worker we should kill off one old person starting at the oldest/most cared for?

          This will increase taxes returned and lower the aged assistance spend.

          Lol I couldn't resist sorry.

        • cwongtech on 18/01/2018 - 12:13

          @Slippery Fish:

          so your saying for every new young imported worker we should kill off one old person starting at the oldest/most cared for?

          I didn't say to kill anyone off.. but the below comment is just completely wrong.

          Most of the federal budget goes to Centrelink payments, and this is just a massive indicator of an increasing entitlement-filled culture.
          This will increase taxes returned and lower the aged assistance spend.

          Well.. if you want to talk numbers that does work out, highly unethical though. But hey, when did ethics ever get in the way of "budget repair"?

        • Slippery Fish on 18/01/2018 - 12:29
          +1

          @cwongtech: it actually wouldn't work out. If you shrink the elderly all of a sudden old age workers and services have less demand, less jobs. Unemployment go's up, taxable incomes go back down and there are less elderly spending on tourism and hospitality related businesses. Less taxi/transport useage meaning they put prices up ect.

        • cwongtech on 18/01/2018 - 12:34

          @Slippery Fish:

          Ah, move one screw, the whole system is affected. A complex situation :)

    • IMadeYouReadThis on 17/01/2018 - 09:25
      +5

      First world problems much?

      No Sir, that what I have been saying it until now but now its becoming a bigger problem. When I get home late due to public transport havoc and can't pick by son from a day care on time, it becomes my problem.

      It's easy to whine. But it takes good leadership and a lot of effort and hard work to deliver and execute big public infrastructure projects

      The question is, do we have leaders for the future?

      but our culture is becoming more and more bent on entitlement

      Jesus, is that you Joe Hockey? I pay tax and deserve better ROI instead of poor train infrastructure and third grade NBN. Instead, I end up paying for MP's entitlements!

      Look on the bright side, Australian cities are rated amongst the world's most liveable anyway.

      This is why I love Australia and care for it and thought it will be good to know what fellow Australians think of it..

      • boomramada on 17/01/2018 - 09:53
        -6

        yes Sir, you getting your blood boil over slow NBN, public transport and air port fees are first world problem, although whining about gov isn't. :)
        Having said that, I'm good with my NBN connection (had FTTP before NBN roll out), public transport (10min to work) and air port fees (haven't notice much difference), good to be in CBR :).

        • IMadeYouReadThis on 17/01/2018 - 10:14

          I'm good with my NBN connection (had FTTP before NBN roll out), public transport (10min to work) and air port fees (haven't notice much difference), good to be in CBR :).

          You just highlighted the real issue here, "Your Attitude". This is what our politicians think, they have - taxpayer funded Telstra 4G dongles, Cab/Helicopter Vouchers to travel for their so-called business meetings! So they just ignore my problems because it is not their problem.

          I don't blame you sir, this is a common issue in our society that we don't speak up until it affect us personally. Probably I would have done the same if I were you!

        • boomramada on 17/01/2018 - 10:26

          @IMadeYouReadThis:
          No Sir, what I'm try to say, gov can't make everyone happy.
          Gov have obligations; make the party happy, voters happy, them self happy then future voters happy but they get their funds from tax/fees/fines etc.
          And you still have choices, you can vote for different party (not that politicians always keep their word), be a politician, or relocate to somewhere better.
          Well that's what I did, and their are some small sacrifices but still that something you can do very easily in Australia.

        • mattyman on 18/01/2018 - 12:35

          That's a pretty crap attitude mate. "FU, got mine."

  • Halo375 on 17/01/2018 - 09:02
    +3

    Armed revolution or vote for someone you think will be different. Or - step up and run for office yourself.

  • Diji1 on 17/01/2018 - 09:44
    +1

    its not about Labor, Greens or Liberal

    The (profanity) it isn't.

    The problem is the Australian population acts like it's braindead. It literally DOES NOT MATTER what Australian politicians do, braindead Aussies will vote for them next election.

    Recent examples include committing war crimes by invading a country that is not agressing on anyone - Iraq - after the largest protests in Australian history. After this tragedy - which led to the formation of ISIS BTW - the Australian population voted in the Liberal Party with John Howard still as it's leader. That's the war criminal that just committed war crimes.

    Fully one-half of Australia lives pay check to paycheck - they broke - and yet a LIBERAL GOVERNMENT is voted in. Voted in by the braindead.

    The first thing that needs to go to fix this is compulsory voting. The two major parties are well aware of this and hence compulsory voting is a great idea according to them. Are you going to listen to them like a braindead vegetable?

    • BigBirdy on 18/01/2018 - 09:08
      +1

      Optional voting leads to … Trump
      When it’s not compulsory, you incentive the partisans to make it harder for their opponents to vote. Think remote polling stations, no parking (partisans leave their cars there all day), huge crowds (partisans hanging around to deter you), election on holiday or grand final weekend (or working day), people harassing you at polling stations … “it’s a hassle, they’re all the same, I’ve got better things to do”

    • Speckled Jim on 19/01/2018 - 11:09

      Anyone old enough will recall that Howard was Fraser's Pomeranian; an easy-meat wet dream for political cartoonists. An awkward, babbling genetic delta suffering a double-curse: ill-equipped for his sporting aspirations and slammed daily in the Lower House by (comparitively) charismatic giants Hawke, Keating, even Simon Crean and others.

      An intensely, universally disliked treasurer who became party leader. Not because of public opinion, but internal power-broking. Keating lost because of a sound-bite for the recession we had to have. He was a pragmatic realist; the majority wanted a dose of unreality.

      The following events kept Howard in power:
      1. Port Arthur — established his legitimacy as Statesman despite addressing gun owners wearing a concealed, but still obvious, ballistic vest.
      2. Tampa disaster. The lies are a matter of public record and widely reported.
      3. 9/11. BBQ buddy Bush and demented clown Bliar being just three heads of that Hydra.
      4. 7/7 & Bali. As above, fear is a great motivator.

      Lubricate that fear with middle-class welfare and the sell-off scams (be a shreholder!) and you have eleven years of political water-treading.

      If I had a Tardis I'd return to 1996… paradox be damned!

  • Diji1 on 17/01/2018 - 10:05
    +2

    Also I consider representative democracies to be useless at this point because it's controlled by wealth at everyone else's expense eg. electricity, internet, gas, toll roads, no business in the top 500 by market cap paying more than 2% effective tax rates.

    The current system evolved because communication was as fast as horseback - a representative was needed to convey the supposed will of the people at Parliment. This system as already noted is completely broken.

    The system needs to be replaced with something much closer to Switzerland which has instituted a form of direct democracy where citizens vote on bills - not representatives that are allowed to take bribes from wealth.

    Obviously Liberal and Labour would never allow this so DON'T (profanity) VOTE FOR THEM. They exist to (profanity) you and by (profanity) you I mean take your money and pay it to wealth.

  • yellowrain on 17/01/2018 - 10:12

    By auditing them

  • apple2016 on 17/01/2018 - 10:25
    +5

    How to Hold Government Accountable for Their Actions (or Lack of Actions) ?

    with your vote!…

    • mskeggs on 17/01/2018 - 11:36
      +2

      Or run for parliament if you feel no candidate is adequate.
      Or write a letter to your local member .

  • tonyjzx on 17/01/2018 - 16:18

    Theres not much you can do except vote them out. Doesnt help if you're in a blue ribbon LNP seat but hey, representative democracy…

  • Bystander on 17/01/2018 - 20:12
    +1

    I'm glad you posted this OP. It annoys the hell out of me how parties run for election by making a few random promises and once they get in the claim that they have a mandate to do anything they please. Irrespective of whether it's good for the Australian people or not. Examples that come to mind are

    1. Insisting that Australia be bound to secret agreements, eg. TPP, without any consultation at all. The only people that were allowed to see details of the TPP were a few individual politicians of the respective countries as well as representatives from large USA multinationals. Yes, profit making businesses were allowed to see it, and influence the wording, but not the people. Fortunately it has been killed off despite MT's desperate attempts to have it ratified.
    2. Foisting the highest immigration rate in the world upon us (per capita) even when the Govt is well aware that the majority do not support these high numbers. The additional costs and stress are borne by the existing citizens.
    3. Refusing to make adequate changes to the political donations system. How is it that donors and lobby groups have more influence on public policy than the people?

    The political system hasn't changed much for many decades and nor will it while the beneficiaries of the status quo are the same ones who regulate change. To my mind there is a lot that is broken. But how do we change it? The simplest answer is to boycott the 3 largest parties. They simply don't listen otherwise.

  • bghunter on 17/01/2018 - 23:17
    +1

    Thanks for making me read this :)

  • Candour on 18/01/2018 - 09:59

    unfortunately trump shows how a liberal [republican in the US] establishment in bed with crony capitalism can purvey false economic agendas and use their money power to hijack democracy. Labour also gets in bed with capitalists to hedge its bets and come to and remain in power. leaders then lie about the values of public policy and destroy institutions created over centuries.

    we need a less gullible public who vote with their hip pocket and believe propaganda, emboldening even parties to lie to get into office. We believe these lies and are not amenable to changing over views.

    what trump shows may also be happening in the lucky country. it happens in 3rd world countries pretending to be democratic. It happens in communist fascist dictatorships.

    we need a new force focused on the benefit of all citizens [or permanent residents?] first before the interests of the apples, googles, and their greed at the expense of citizens, the coal lobby, climate change naysayers while the planet is suffering etc.

    start the change with people you can find with common ideas and change will happen. in time.

  • IMadeYouReadThis on 18/01/2018 - 10:14

    I just watched this video regarding NBN that TheProject tweeted more than an year ago - https://twitter.com/twhittyer/status/953480422888845313 what a mess we are in!

  • Candour on 18/01/2018 - 11:09

    just read this biting analysis of liars in the US. it applies to the lucky country to except we have not descended to these sordid depths yet as we are civilised enough to hide our two faced leadership.

    https://heisenbergreport.com/2018/01/16/cory-booker-served-k…

  • [Deactivated] on 18/01/2018 - 12:24

    It really is about not voting on the liberal party, maybe even the Labor party

  • mattyman on 18/01/2018 - 12:24

    C) This is what happens when governments privatise infrastructure. I personally believe that infrastructure should be owned by the government and wholesaled to service providers.

    • boomramada on 18/01/2018 - 12:41

      And this what happen if you didn't, https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jan/17/union…

      • cwongtech on 18/01/2018 - 13:01

        Hospitals could go on strike as well.
        Lucky for the government, those who work in public health care have too much duty of care in their hearts to abandon their post over small amounts of money.

        Union strikes are the result of unhappy workers. Either they strike for a pay rise, or turnover rate just increases.

        • boomramada on 18/01/2018 - 13:09

          Correct, but at least people have some choices since pub and private hospitals.
          I remember when dr's on strike in public hospital, some of the patents did transfer to private (gov expenses) here.

        • cwongtech on 18/01/2018 - 13:26

          @boomramada:
          Privatization only works when it's a free market with competition.
          Infrastructure has no competition.
          Transport definitely has none either.

        • boomramada on 18/01/2018 - 13:32

          @cwongtech:
          Correct, but its possible to have competition withing state funded Infrastructure. I have seen in other countries, both bus and rail system got public and private transport.

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