Freedom From Choice

One of the tragedies of a federal system is that you have a lot of politicians. If it's not bad enough having to put up with the bickering federal parliament, we also have to plumb great depths of despair at the state level.

And things are bad in this state.  On the one hand if it wasn't bad enough to have endured one of the most ineffective and corrupt state governments in NSW history, we now have the unsightly race between ex-ministers scrambling to distance themselves from Eddie Obeid and shouting loudly how little they had to do with him.  It's remarkable - he apparently accumulated all that money and an Order of Australia without anybody knowing him. 

You would think any change could only be for the better but unfortunately, the crooked only seems to have been replaced by the cretinous. 

Govt::  Need some infrastructure?
Public: A second airport would be good.
Govt:   Um no, but how about a floating helipad in the harbour instead? Or, perhaps a second casino, you  know, with a view of the one we already have?  Or how about we start mining for gas under your home?

Thankfully, the public uproar resulted in two of these braindead proposals getting dropped (sadly building of the casino goes ahead regardless) but why should it take a public outcry for the correct decision to be arrived at.  None of these schemes would have been on anyone's list of things that needed doing, so where do these very bad ideas come from?

Given their huge mandate, you'd think the new government could tackle some of the big issues in the state but the only difference between this government and the previous one would appear to be whose nest is getting feathered. 

Government of the people, by the people...but for whom?