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6 days ago | 
independentaustralia.net | Klaas Woldring
After the historic election results, progressive action is now needed to reform Australia's system of government, writes Dr Klaas Woldring.
REMEMBER THE FAILURE to get the republic proposal accepted? And the failure of numerous constitutional amendments? And the Voice disaster? Here is the chance to fundamentally improve a deeply conservative political system by addressing its flaws and defects.
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1 month ago | 
johnmenadue.com | Klaas Woldring
The creation of a new flag may well be the first step to re-commence constitutional renewal, something that sadly seems to have been avoided altogether by the Albanese Government. The Australian Flag is not mentioned in the Australian Constitution at all. To develop a new flag is entirely up the people and, of course, the federal Parliament. The origin of the existing flag is based on the prior colonial relationship of Australia to the British Crown.
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1 month ago | 
johnmenadue.com | Klaas Woldring
The recent decision by PM Albanese not to proceed with an important ALP election promise unless the Opposition supports the proposal surely runs counter to the two-party culture often claimed to be a holy aspect of the Westminster political system. At issue is the ALP’s promise to protect the right of religious schools to practice their faith while also shielding teachers and students from discrimination on the basis of sexuality.
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1 month ago | 
johnmenadue.com | Klaas Woldring
The Government is planning to introduce a package of reforms to make it harder for Independent candidates to attract donations to win seats. This articles argues that it would be much better to concentrate on major electoral system reform: Introduce Proportional Representation - Party List.
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1 month ago | 
johnmenadue.com | Klaas Woldring
The Australian Republic Movement has been silent on the need for major constitution renewal. The reason for that no doubt is that it is considered to be too difficult given the many failed constitutional amendments. This article proceeds from the position that the many failures could well be a major cause to block the Republic proposal. Who wants a Republic with a dated essentially colonial and barely amendable Constitution?
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1 month ago | 
johnmenadue.com | Klaas Woldring
The re-election of the Albanese Government cannot be taken for granted. That is inspite of several credible achievements by Treasurer Chalmers. Recent opinion polls suggest support for the ALP Government is insufficient for even a minority government win. Given the stunning election win by Trump, a similar disaster could happen in Australia. The approach by the Albanese Government, with the questionable exception of the AUKUS decision, has been extremely cautious.
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1 month ago | 
johnmenadue.com | Klaas Woldring
In recent years a growing number of Australians have lost confidence in their system of governance, but few journalists and political theory academics have suggested alternatives. If Australia is to improve its governance system and its democracy, it should look to European alternatives. The Australian system of governance is usually described as “Westminster”.
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1 month ago | 
johnmenadue.com | Klaas Woldring
In a recent lengthy article in Inside Story, Brett Evans discusses a credible Teal threat to the Liberals in Sydneys Bradfield seat and raises the question: would minority government be so bad? A similar question could be raised in the seat of Cowper where the challenge is from the Independent Caz Heise, who came close to taking the seat in 2022, assisted by strong ALP preferences. The seat is held by the National Party MP, Pat Conaghan.
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2 months ago | 
independentaustralia.net | Klaas Woldring
If the ALP hopes to win the upcoming Election, it's vital to introduce electoral system reform and improve Australia's democracy, writes Dr Klaas Woldring.
THE ALBANESE Government published its report about Australian democracy in July 2024. The then Minister of Home Affairs, Clare O'Neil, spoke about the report in September at the Museum of Democracy in Canberra, also identifying the hurdles in Australia.
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2 months ago | 
johnmenadue.com | Klaas Woldring
In a recent lengthy article in Inside Story, Brett Evans discusses a credible Teal threat to the Liberals in Sydney’s Bradfield seat and raises the question: would minority government be so bad? A similar question could be raised in the seat of Cowper where the challenge is from the Independent Caz Heise, who came close to taking the seat in 2022, assisted by strong ALP preferences. The seat is held by the National Party MP, Pat Conaghan.
