Is our 2 party system just a con?

[nomadpete]

Australia, Britain and USA are basically two party democracies. Is it really democratic (Of the people, by the people), when it is basically a closed system where voters only get the choice of 'least worst', without a 'sack the lot' (no confidence) option?

 

 

Edited January 16 by nomadpete

[nomadpete]

 We have a system that pretty much mandates there will be two parties, not one less, not one more. Every new party established has been absorbed by one of the two throughout our history...just as soon as they get sick and tired of being irrelevant. The small parties are trivial.

There is something else I scratch my head over. The question of why aren't we tossing a bad power out? Because we don't have anything like the "vote of no confidence". We have to wait for election time for that to swap to the other squabblers. We are stuck with whatever we voted for another cycle, poweless to curb any crazy behaviour. 

[old man emu]

3 hours ago, nomadpete said:

We are stuck with whatever we voted for another cycle, poweless to curb any crazy behaviour. 

Haven't you worked out the 'democracy' is another word for 'monarchy in other clothes'? It has always been this way, and will always be that way. Those in the society who do not have power or influence can never hope to direct the direction in which a society moves.

[facthunter]

Minority parties usually have ONE "THING"  that Unites them and outside of THAT Not Much else in common and are MORE unstable and likely to just disapear. Libs look after those Higher up the Socio economic scale and Labor Having Grown out of the Union Movement, looks after the Less well off. Libs have the Better Business Plan as their base has the wherewithal to FUND them better . We ALL expect government to DO more and more' BUT don't want to cough up Money to Pay for it. 

  It's dead easy to say "they are all Crooks" and NOT REALLY THINK about it.   Nev

[Grumpy Old Nasho]

This is why I asked the question: "What would you do and think if some other party/s were voted into government?"

 

Only one poster gave an answer.

 

Say the ALP and the Coalition lost to other parties. Would that in itself foment into a violent civil war in OZ? 

 

"Two-Party" system means just that, it doesn't mean the two parties have to always be the ALP and the Coalition.

[facthunter]

A Rose by any Name would smell as sweet.  It could be a right wing Quasy-Christian Capitalists Party V's a Democratic Socialists Party Or God forbid, a  set up Like IRAN .A God Emperor like Noth Korea. Corrupt and repressive Regimes in General. The rest Makes HERE look Pretty GOOD You don't Know when you are well off. IF you  wait for Perfection you will die frustrated and achieve Little.  Nev

[red750]

OH    MY    GOD  !!!

 

 

Clive is planning on making a comeback with Trumpet of Patriots, challenging for Sussan Ley's old seat. He says politics needs a shake-up.

 

 

 

Matt Canavan has been elected Nationals leader to replace Littleproud.

 

 

 

[Marty_d]

30 minutes ago, red750 said:

 

Matt Canavan has been elected Nationals leader to replace Littleproud.

 

 

 

I don't think Canavan has ever made a statement that I agree with.

 

Watch the Nats slide even further to the insane right, if that's even possible.

[facthunter]

He must spend ages Making himself look as a Tradie. He's ALL for COAL.  Nev

[Marty_d]

There must be something in the water in South Australia.

Not only is Cory Bernardi running for PHONey, the Libs have preselected some religious nutter who also holds insane views.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-07/cory-bernardi-stands-by-bestiality-claim-ahead-of-sa-election/106423186

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-11/wright-liberal-candidate-social-media-comments/106423750

[facthunter]

Perilous Pauline  is a Magnet for Misfits and Malcontents. How will they ALL get on together?. Being promoted by Murdoch should. by rights. be their Kiss of death. Nev

[willedoo]

I don't think dear leader/comrade Albo has anything to fear from her. Labor's a shoe-in for a third term the way it's looking.

[Marty_d]

What we need is a party that's SLIGHTLY right of centre and a party that's SLIGHTLY left of centre.

Unfortunately we have 4 parties right of centre, one by a little (Labor) and 3 by a lot (Libs, Nats, PHONey).

The only party still left of centre are the Greens, with some sensible independents.

Listening to David Shoebridge from the Greens this morning, you could be forgiven for thinking it was someone from Labor (about 10 years back).

[facthunter]

I'm really surprised How many APPEAR to be supporting her but I don't know HOW the Question is PUT in the surveys. Does anyone here know?  We NOW don't have a 2 Party system  but it's what it is and not a con. Nats/ Libs are in BIG trouble . They have no idea where to go. and the Ghosts of  Howard. Abbott, Morrisson and Dutton haunt them. Nev

[willedoo]

Different pollsters ask slightly different questions, but a lot of them lately seem to be polling primary intentions and not preference direction. Gender and age group is usually asked for analysis. A lot of it is probably swayed by immediate events. For example, in the latest morgan poll, the Greens have picked up 3% and Labor is down 4. Morgans think that 3% Green gain at Labor's expense is because of Albo and Co. going all the way with DJT and the Greens taking a stance against the US/Israel strikes. Some of the analysis is interesting. There's been a trend for a while now of the youngest age group, 18-24, moving more to the right. The Greens and Labor have lost support in that group to One Nation, independants and others, but the Greens have gained in all groups 25+, whereas Labor has lost in all age groups and both genders. One Nation gained support in all age groups under 65. Some polls a couple of weeks ago showed ON gaining among young women more than young men. A bit of a reverse from it's historical male dominated support.

 

I think One Nation is the wild card, and come next election, they will have either fallen on their face or put egg on a lot of other faces. The Greens are what they are. What you see is what you'll always get, 10 to 12%. If Labor stuffs up enough, the Greens might get 15% briefly but they just don't appeal to enough of the population to acheive anything higher than balance of power in the Senate.

 

Nev, you're right about the Nats/Libs being in big trouble. At the moment they are well and truly wedged. All Labor has to do is sit tight and win. Of the small amount of Labor primary votes bleeding to the Greens, most would return in preferences. Labor would feel a lot more comfortable having the Greens on the left than the Coalition would feel having One Nation on the right. It's like the Coalition has driven their Ford Ranger into a parking space designed for little noddy cars, and now they're stuck and can't get out. Go to the right, they lose the centre, go to the left and they lose the right.

 

Interesting that the Nats have elected a Victorian moderate as deputy. More than likely for balance. Matt Canavan can talk the talk to try to woo voters back from One Nation, and Chester can try to butter up the Libs. Smoke and mirrors.

Edited 2 hours ago by willedoo

[red750]

1 hour ago, facthunter said:

I don't know HOW the Question is PUT in the surveys

[willedoo]

I wonder if whoever made that meme realises we don't vote for a prime minister. They're appointed by the party/parties than can cobble together a majory and convince the GG they can form government.

[Marty_d]

There's a lot of disinformation involving Pauline, a lot of it with AI altered photos or cut/paste, all of it showing her in a good light and Labor losing arguments with her.

ABC Verify have traced it to some people in Vietnam.

I reckon that meme above is one of them.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-11/foreign-fake-news-pauline-hanson-one-nation/106436702

[willedoo]

Like the facebook link that goes to a fake ABC Insiders site. It shows the ABC on Pauline's side well and truly. We'll see aliens land before that ever happens. It was designed to fleece money from suckers in a crypto scam. It's unbelievable how suckerbook marketplace turns a total blind eye to fraud. Almost all the sponsored ads on it are scammers.

[willedoo]

Like - just do this one simple thing every night. And then add whatever, grow your hair back, cure your diabetes, shrink your prostate, grow a big woody, the list is never ending on the marketplace ads.

[old man emu]

1 hour ago, willedoo said:

There's been a trend for a while now of the youngest age group, 18-24, moving more to the right.

I think that is indicative of the "young bulls" taking the place of the "old bulls". That age group, and I think you should also include those up to 35 years of age, represent generation who are the product of their parents. Whereas a lot of us oldies followed the political beliefs of our parents because we grew up in possible more stable political times, those up to the age of 35 grew up in the Information age and have had access to more political influences than we oldies ever did.

 

But when was the last time you managed to have a "deep and meaningful" with a person under 35 years of age to find out what they and their friends are thinking?  Perhaps Jerry, with his daughter just starting Uni, is the only one in our group who might have that opportunity. 

[randomx]

Clive Palmer said now l know he did a lot of rambling but that Libs and Lab both used pretty well the same model .

Well, to me there's always been differences but sometimes l also see he was right on much of it too.

Which doesn't give us much to choose from bc to me especially with this last stretch of of Albo, they both fk the place just in slightly different ways.

Gotta wonder what'll become of Hanson next one the way they're going but we def' need a 3rd party .

 

 

 

 

 

 

[randomx]

1 hour ago, old man emu said:

ut when was the last time you managed to have a "deep and meaningful" with a person under 35 years of age to find out what they and their friends are thinking?  Perhaps Jerry, with his daughter just starting Uni, is the only one in our group who might have that opportunity. 

 

You can add me to it too ha ha.

Loveee talking with my daughter about anything, she's as sharp as a tack, extremely aware and just an all-round brilliant person, 23. Use to see a lot of her friends to when she was still living with me, she's out on her own now. Some of them were great girls to but others, well. Herself and some friends also well aware of the idiots supposedly leading our country too and with some strong thoughts.

Some of the boys to wellllll, lets just say they're a very different breed to when l grew up even she acknowledges that and calls most of them manchilds these days, which is somem like many of them came across to me too. Too much internet, keyboards and fb's and not enough real world reality. Not to say all but l have noticed it outside too. Half of them too sadly haven't even grown up with dads and you can see it too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 24 minutes ago by randomx