Wednesday, June 21, 2006
OBE - what it's really about
Next year the school leaving age rises from 15 to 17 years of age.
Thousands of children who are not academically inclined will be forced to remain at school despite having no interest in further study and no prospect of success under the traditional curricula and assessment regimes.
The Government - and remember this process was instigated and supported by previous governments from across the political spectrum – is faced with the prospect of having thousands of children forced to remain at school against their wishes and failing.
An alternative system is needed to allow the Government to declare the success of the changes. Under Outcomes Based Education no one fails, they simply achieve at a lower level.
No OBE next year = chaos in schools + egg on government faces
Why the Libs want taxpayer-funding
Labor has 32 members in the Legislative Assembly – 14 more than their Liberal opponents and 7 more than all non-Labor members combined.
Labor, with the support of the Greens, also holds sway in the Legislative Council.
At the next election Labor could win something in the order of 37 seats with a total of 22 non-Labor seats.
The Liberal Party is, in most respects, irrelevant in the State Parliament. Due to the botched handling of the one vote one value legislation that situation will continue for many years into the future.
Business donors will not give money to an irrelevant organisation that can not offer anything in return. Members won’t voluntarily join a party that offers no avenue for meaningful input and that sanctions morally deficient acts of self-interest.
Traditional funding sources are rapidly drying up. The Liberals have seen the writing on the wall and, in league with the ALP, seek to ensure their continued survival at the expense of the taxpayer.
The present plight of the Liberal Party can be laid squarely at the feet of faction leaders that have knowingly and deliberately destroyed the Party to secure their own positions.
The introduction of taxpayer-funded elections is but one example – albeit a shameless and utterly indefensible one – of how Western Australia will suffer as a result of personal greed and ambition.
None the less, I hold on to the hope that more individual Liberal MP’s will realise the depth of public outrage at this move and will reject it.
The message that would send to the voting public and the resulting restoration of confidence in the Party would be the first step toward the eventual return of a Liberal State Government.
Taxpayer-funded Elections - an alternative
The Nationals and the Greens have fallen into line with the promise of relaxed requirements for party funding.
I suggest an alternative course of action that will answer every argument they put forward without any cost to taxpayers.
Firstly, put a reasonable cap on spending allowed by candidates. I suggest the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars is more than adequate in a Legislative Assembly electorate and ten thousand dollars per candidate for a Legislative Council region.
Second, in place of the current election spending return, demand a full audit of receipts and spending for every candidate. The audit would include the cost of phone polling etc. throughout the year. The cost of the audit would be included in the nomination fee paid by candidates.
Finally, impose severe penalties for overspending. Since both parties support mandatory penalties when it is politically expedient for them, I suggest the automatic disqualification of any candidate that overspends. No appeals allowed.
Independent candidates and minor parties would be more likely to put themselves forward and voters would get greater choice. After all, choice is the very heart of any democratic system of government.
On the other hand, maybe the major parties don’t really want us to have a choice.
