Author(s): Peter Breen

Political

In Candidates Disease, Peter Breen examines the 44th Australian Parliament (2013-2016) and the 45th Parliament (2016-2019) in light of the controversial 2018 leadership spill. He looks at the sickness in Australian politics that gave rise to boatloads of independents and minor parties three million primary votes in the House of Representatives at the last federal election and four million in the Senate, and asks, is that the high water mark for minor parties and independents following changes to the way we vote, or is the political system fully sick with the more serious ailment bipartisan disorder now sweeping through Australias major parties? Exercising the right to stand for election and ultimately getting elected is just so easy in Australia it makes people sick. Breen tells anyone who asks that candidates disease is a good thing since it gives you a whole bunch of antibodies that protect you against the far more debilitating condition known as bipartisan disorder, which affl icts Australias two major political groups: the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal-National Coalition. The problem with modern politics Down Under is not what separates the major parties but what binds them in partisan self-interest.