Herr Rudd
February 5th 2008 11:09
I will indeed make submissions to the Assembly of the Best and Brightest, the 1000, the Optimates (or in Greek, the Aristocracy). Has dear Kevin read Thucydides?
There are three implications that I can see:
1. We do not trust our elected representatives to represent us and we would rather our views be represented by unelected people chosen by Kevin. So we haven't elected the best and brightest? Ta, K! Maybe you should reform the ALP!
2. We have lost faith in the system and would rather have people rich and influential enough to take a fortnight off work and hang around in Canberra to speak for us. I believe a previous Labor Leader famously refered to such people as unrepresentative swill.
3. We trust implicitly in K's Government bureaucracy - do you expect K to go through every application from a "Mate" - to choose for us. So who chooses the 1000 Optimates.
The Council of a Thousand is an afront to representative democracy. God and Caesar sets its face against it. It is a ludicrous imposture. The only thing that would save it is pro rata payments - unless Herr K wants to keep the best and brightest as a personal fiefdom with other undisclosed emoluments - research grants, accesss to Ministers - and Brian Bourke, etc.
I am deeply ashamed by all of this. Paid Parliamentary entitlement was the foundation of Representative Democracy of the Labor Variety. Dear K take a night off and read some history - perhaps with Malcolm Turnbull, a similar sort of misguided elitist who would also profit from a dose of constitutional history.
There are three implications that I can see:
1. We do not trust our elected representatives to represent us and we would rather our views be represented by unelected people chosen by Kevin. So we haven't elected the best and brightest? Ta, K! Maybe you should reform the ALP!
2. We have lost faith in the system and would rather have people rich and influential enough to take a fortnight off work and hang around in Canberra to speak for us. I believe a previous Labor Leader famously refered to such people as unrepresentative swill.
3. We trust implicitly in K's Government bureaucracy - do you expect K to go through every application from a "Mate" - to choose for us. So who chooses the 1000 Optimates.
The Council of a Thousand is an afront to representative democracy. God and Caesar sets its face against it. It is a ludicrous imposture. The only thing that would save it is pro rata payments - unless Herr K wants to keep the best and brightest as a personal fiefdom with other undisclosed emoluments - research grants, accesss to Ministers - and Brian Bourke, etc.
I am deeply ashamed by all of this. Paid Parliamentary entitlement was the foundation of Representative Democracy of the Labor Variety. Dear K take a night off and read some history - perhaps with Malcolm Turnbull, a similar sort of misguided elitist who would also profit from a dose of constitutional history.
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