Seriously, the federal government needs to step in and legislate to ensure political parties nominating for the senate are serious about their politics.
The recent senate farce in WA demonstrates this all too well.
When outcomes are determined by margins of less than 20 votes the joke parties such as the Sex Party can actually have a bearing on who our State Senators will be.
This is a ludicrous situation.
When you consider that serious candidates spend decades of their lives preparing for their chance to run in the senate it actually angers me that the joke parties can oust them out with a few votes and preferences.
I believe new standards must be set to ensure nominating parties have a serious platform that covers the federal issues that they will be faced with when elected.
Additionally some form of qualification or course should be offered by the electoral commission to ensure parties and individuals who nominate are qualified to undertake the serious business of governing Australia.
Personally I hope that the current farce will reveal to communities that voting in the Senate is as important as voting in the House of Representatives.
Also when voting for the Senate they should take their vote seriously, otherwise it’s all too possible that the balance of power will be held by one of these joke or single issue parties that were dreamt up by someone who came up with the the idea in a less than sober state while eating a few snaggers at a barbie.
Alexander Marsden, Eaton.
