But that’s politics. Its not as if the other parties are immune from these foibles. Their commitment not to block supply was born in a post 1975 climate and made political sense then. But it was one of their lasting and most valuable legacies that they stayed true to that idea.

They remained a pretty principled bunch. Even where the imperatives of politics are to big note yourself, the Dems got by by small noting themselves. In particular they assiduously stuck to the line that they were there to moderate Government, not to obstruct it, and I think they did that well. The political imperative is not to do this, but to make as big a splash and to wield as much power as possible.

Ironically it was their attempt to do this with the GST helped along a couple of years later by the personal vanity of Meg Lees and Andrew Murray that led to their disintegration.

Not only does it mean people are unaware of planned laws that can affect them directly and significantly. It also creates a strong disincentive for politicians and advocates to put energy into issues that don’t get any attention, or putting time into examining the detail of proposed legislation rather than just acting as a propogandist for whatever simplistic position will have the best chance of getting media attention/votes.

I did a post on my blog at the start of this week about the (then) upcoming telecommunications interception bill – click here to read it.

It’s important you have chosen to bring it to light on the ‘sphere.

Sadly, Australians showing or speaking little concern for these developments seems to be part of this disconcerting “she’ll be right” attitude. Or perhaps those who are concerned are put off by a touch of fear and don’t comment. Or perhaps some have swallowed the Government line and consider it a good thing, blind to the moment and true perspective, and inching along this slowly slowly catchy monkey game our PM plays so well.

Where will it all end up, this whole sad shebaninigan?

I agree that bloggers should produce more primary material and act more as journalists or news-breakers. Since I have been going through the publications that government bodies put out, like the ABS etc, I have realised that much of the reporting in the SMH and so forth is just a couple of paragraphs on a report that the government department has released with two extreme quotes on it. Usually one from each extreme end of the aisle on the issue.

The mass media is a very efficient trolling machine. Which is probably why most blogs are dedicated to getting upset over Miranda Devine or Clive Hamilton.