How are policy decisions being made and who is administering them?
We are yet to come to terms with the fact that we are of this part of the world, rather than an outpost of the northern hemisphere – a forward base for asset stripping on an expeditionary basis in the interior of the continent. Is this what economic globalisation is all about? What is the role of the public service in this? Is it simply to facilitate the decisions of the executive as directed, loyally identifying with the political agenda of the party in power? Are the political staffers and their media relationships eroding the capacity of the public service to do otherwise, promoting the interests of those public servants who most closely align with the ideology of their political masters? If this is what is happening, what about the people and their legislatures? Do we have enough checks and balances in our system of government to protect them from the powerful trends in the global economy?
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I truly and passionately feel that, almost all checks and balances, that were built into our democratic system, have either been systematically dismantled or destroyed. And thus It seems at this juncture that the only real recourse left is enactment of a Bill of Rights.
A Bill Of Rights, it could be argued is the Ultimate Accountability Mechanism. It would, one hopes, mitigate against the stacking of the high court, by extreme right wing ideologues.
Apart from Kirby’s lone dissenting voice, the majority, appointed during the howard years, have made some appaling decisions. One particular one regarding refugee rights, comes to mind.
Do these people live in some vacuum?