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Trust corroded

The troubling state of Australian democracy
by
March 2025, no. 473

Australia: The politics of degraded democracy by William Maley

Australian Scholarly Publishing, $49.95 pb, 285 pp s

Trust corroded

The troubling state of Australian democracy
by
March 2025, no. 473

As I write this review over the Australia Day long weekend, a few items from the national media stand out as exemplary reminders of how poorly Australians are being served by our political class. First, in an embarrassingly transparent nod to Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s juvenile Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Opposition Leader Peter Dutton appointed Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price to the new shadow ministry for government efficiency. Second, Dutton’s deputy Sussan Ley likened the First Fleet’s 1788 arrival in Australia to Musk’s delusional fantasies about occupying Mars. ‘Just like astronauts arriving on Mars,’ she told an Albury church congregation, ‘those first settlers would be confronted with a different and strange world, full of danger, adventure and potential.’ Around the globe, many are increasingly wary of the political trajectory of the United States in its current phase of advanced decadence, but for Australia’s alternative government, now is the time to cling to the sinking ship that is the American empire.

Australia: The politics of degraded democracy

Australia: The politics of degraded democracy

by William Maley

Australian Scholarly Publishing, $49.95 pb, 285 pp s

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Comment (1)

  • Dominic, in my experience the last thing folk are inclined to do is use their brain. It is the most tiresome of muscles to engage. Most of today's challenges and frustrations could be overcome if only intelligent people would front up, fully cognizant of the complexity of human communication, and work their way through the issues. Instead, we have seen a hollowing out of the membership of political parties and arguably the depth of intelligence of the general public through indolence and distraction.
    Posted by Patrick Hockey
    09 March 2025

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