Governance
A national conversation about the challenges we face
The AFR View 22/9/22
“Australia is better placed than many other
comparable nations. But Dr Chalmers needs to start a serious and genuinely
upfront national conversation about the challenges that Australian people must
confront.”
The government should take up this call for a national
conversation and "fully" engage the Australian people.
For too long now, our country has been slipping backwards on
many fronts, and we, “the people”, have not engaged sufficiently in addressing
many significant and often contentious issues.
The level of affordable government-funded
services and how we raise revenue to pay for these needs to be urgently addressed.
 
Governance
Serving the public good
Paul Keating again demonstrated his intellectual depth and developed
maturity in a well-crafted statement about the death of the Queen.
Of particular importance is the message:
“In the 20th century, the self became privatised,
while the public realm, the realm of the public good, was broadly neglected.”
We should all take heed of this message in our daily lives as
individuals, families, work, and as citizens of our nation and the world
community.
Our politicians need to operate not in terms of power or
party dogma but the public good that the electorate understands and knowingly
supports.