Politicians must remember respect must be earned
I NOTE your editorial on the subject of respect for politicians, and theirs for the public (“Parliamentary respect is a two-way street”, Saturday, January 14).
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Yes, it's a difficult gig, but much less so in an acknowledged "safe seat", as has been demonstrated. And the efforts many employ to gain election indicate that the "difficulty" doesn't bother them.
There is an old-fashioned idea that respect is something one must earn.
When an MP proudly insists that "the public expects me to claim taxpayers' money to attend sporting matches", respect immediately flies out the window, along with any notion that he or she might be behaving in the public interest.
When it is demonstrated that there is one law for politicians and another for the general public, as seen in the Centrelink debacle, contempt for the public is far more evident than any sign of respect.
Weasel words, hollow rhetoric, and avoiding adequately answering legitimate questions do not instil respect in the mind of the public.
Nor do perceived arrogance and disregard of the public interest in favour of supporting powerful vested interests.
At this time the Baird government appears to be working to significantly diminish the powers of ICAC to be able to call errant politicians to account.
After the Obeid saga, you have to wonder how such an agenda can be justified.
Is this a lack of respect for the public interest, or a safeguard measure for errant politicians, or both?
President Obama spoke wisely this week on the importance of guarding our democracy.
The consequences for every individual of not doing so are to end up with charlatans, bullies, demagogues and dictators; the antithesis of democracy.
There should be no such thing as "a political class". and all that implies, if politicians are truly in place to represent their constituents as public servants.
Too many of them forget this, at the ultimate cost of respect for them.
They also condemn their colleagues who do retain integrity.
Elizabeth Chandler, Napoleon Reef
We can fix our parliament in seven very simple steps
THE age of entitlement is over:
1. Scrap political pensions. Politicians can purchase their own retirement plan, just as most other working Australians are expected to do.
2. Retired politicians (past, present and future) participate in Centrelink. A politician collects a substantial salary while in office, but should receive no salary when they're out of office. Terminated politicians under 70 can go get a job or apply for Centrelink unemployment benefits like ordinary Australians.
3. Funds already allocated to the politicians' retirement fund be returned immediately to consolidated revenue.
4. Politicians no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Politicians’ pay will rise by the lower of either the CPI or three per cent.
5. Politicians lose their privileged health care system and participate in the same health care system as ordinary Australian people - i.e. politicians either pay for private cover from their own funds or accept ordinary Medicare.
6. Politicians equally abide by all laws they impose on the Australian people.
7. All contracts with past and present politicians are void effective 31/12/16. The Australian people did not agree to provide perks to politicians; that burden was thrust upon them. Serving in parliament is an honour, not a career. The founding fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so our politicians should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.
This is how you fix parliament and help bring fairness back into this country.