The recent by-elections
By : Noel D' Oliveiro

The results of the recent by-elections and two others in the not so distant past has, to state it in simple computer language, pointed to the obvious that the system of governance has crashed. Analyzing the causes through time consuming post-mortems is an exercise in futility.

The main cause is that there is corruption in the operating system. So, what can be done when such a thing happens? It is time to reboot, failing which, reformatting and reinstalling the whole works would do the trick. Changing the motherboard shouldn’t be counted out.

Also, we have been too deeply mired in the minutia of partisan politics. We have suffered from a national myopia with all of our attention being focused on non-issue ‘issues’, while our basic rights and freedoms and the very underpinnings of our society are continually eroded. There are many groups out there deliberately muddying the waters to achieve their own ends.

We were founded on the radical concept that we all have certain inalienable rights – rights which cannot be taken away by even a democratically held referendum. Our Constitution affirms many of those rights by name, rights which are basic and fundamental and not subject to government regulation. Unfortunately we have allowed many of these rights to be eroded; freedom of speech is one of those endangered rights.

We need to get back to the business of looking after the rights and freedoms of our people. We don’t need to focus on ‘hate speech’ and ‘political correctness’; we need to have an open and honest dialogue. We need to let people offend others and be offended. That’s the only way real lasting progress will be made. Right now our ‘leaders’ are trying to put new coats of paint on a rusting hulk and call the problems ‘solved’. Our nation deserves better.