Australian politicians: staggeringly out of touch

[Pakenhamsaint]

They don't know about CoL because they charge all their meals to the Govt or their partner at home does the shopping and cooking and doesn't bother them about it.

The main issue is they're on 6 figures a year.
Can't exactly understand CoL if you never never experience it.

 

[Pie eyed]

Both major parties have an issue with this.

Their representatives just seem to have less and less in common with those they purport to represent.

Housing is a key topic in point.

Some say the PM buying a $4m beachfront house in the middle of a housing crisis shouldn’t affect him electorally. Personally I’d say that’s extremely naive.

The register of interest shows we have a parliament full of housing speculators. This is further and further removed from the reality of many people.

I feel there’s been a bit of a change in how this is viewed of late. Once upon a time people saw somebody owning multiple residential properties as a success story to be congratulated.

But now, with so many people actually not being able to afford a home - or knowing someone who can’t - attitudes seem to have shifted somewhat.

Today we have this absolute shocker from NSW Housing Minister Rose Jackson. When it comes to the price of milk this can seem like cheap gotcha questioning. When you’re talking about a core living requirement - and you’re a housing minister, no less - it looks really, really bad

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The median unit rental price in Sydney is around $700 per week.

A quick search on realestate shows not a single property in Greater Sydney for $200 per week. The search returns only car parks or shared bedrooms.

Honestly, it's because the bulk of our Politicians have never had a job outside of being a politician.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

The underlying problem is that 100 years ago, politicians saw it as a public duty to provide their wit and acumen to the public for a while before going back to their career. Being a mayor or MP was somebody who was revered in society as doing a service.

Now we just assume the local MP and mayor are doing mostly what the local property developers are funding their campaign to do. Local MPs rarely come from their electorate, most of them are lawyers and privately educated. Many of them have no other career other than becoming a politician and are supported by the party apparatus in the mean-time, either through the union (ALP) or Daddy's company or philanthropic org (IPA), before working in a pollies' office. People like Lehrman and Higgins on six figures with no discernible skills or social benefit.

The distance between rich and poor has expanded and so has the gap between wealthy, elite politicians and most of their constituents.

The ideal start is that anybody who wants to run for a seat has to have lived within it for at least five years.

But you have to get the major parties out of the way first which will take decades minimum.

Independents are on the rise.

 

[peetoo]

If the pollies are out of touch what is the RBA

 

[MarcMaverick]

If the pollies are out of touch what is the RBA

Super out of touch.

 

[evolved2]

If the pollies are out of touch what is the RBA

Independent.

 

[Johnny Bananas]

The ideal start is that anybody who wants to run for a seat has to have lived within it for at least five years.

But there's a complicating factor. Boundaries shift and people get moved from one electorate to another without their physical address changing. And what if there are multiple good candidates living in one electorate while another only has trash candidates?

I don't want an end to geographical electorates or anything, but I think single member electorates aren't giving us the best outcomes. A system like Tasmania and the ACT would be better and fairer. There's a bigger likelihood of crossbenchers that way.

 

[tandino]

If you live in South Morang, your State MP lives in Brunswick and your Federal MP lives in Clifton Hill

 

[Bunk Moreland]

But there's a complicating factor. Boundaries shift and people get moved from one electorate to another without their physical address changing. And what if there are multiple good candidates living in one electorate while another only has trash candidates?

I don't want an end to geographical electorates or anything, but I think single member electorates aren't giving us the best outcomes. A system like Tasmania and the ACT would be better and fairer. There's a bigger likelihood of crossbenchers that way.

I’m sure we could come up with a way to take boundary shifts into account.

It’s not really about there being too many “good candidates” - the focus is on representation. People actually representing those in their electorate.

That aside, minimum ten years running your own business or working as a taxpayer. That excludes working in politics - for a party or an MP’s office.

It’s actually not that hard. But will never happen.

 

[AlwaysHawks15]

It doesn’t really even matter that she got it wrong.

It’s that she got it so staggeringly wrong.

It’s like saying you can buy a new car for $5000. It’s not even in the ball park.

How can someone so clearly have no idea at all? Like not even the slightest bit of portfolio knowledge? It’s alarming.

She would have been better off saying " I'll get back to you on that I'm not 100 per cent sure" still bad but she saves a bit of face.

 

[Rotayjay]

The big divide these days is ownership of real estate vs no ownership. That doesn't necessarily even mean owning investment property, just owning one's own home vs renting.

Owning the place you live in is leaving the reach of the middle class and will become obtainable only by much higher-than-average income, the bank of mum and dad, or inheritance when mum and dad die. No more home ownership for 'normal' people anymore. That aspect of Australian life has been sacrificed at the altar of speculation.

And politicians of both major parties will continue to be from the owner class rather than the renter class and will not 'get it'.

 

[Rotayjay]

Paying politicians less wouldn't help. That would attract less talented people, or people who are independently wealthy (as it did before politicians were paid)

 

[peetoo]

Paying politicians less wouldn't help. That would attract less talented people, or people who are independently wealthy (as it did before politicians were paid)

It seems teals have the wealthiest backing, but aren’t yet out of touch. Indeed they have shown the coalition up

 

[Bunk Moreland]

The big divide these days is ownership of real estate vs no ownership. That doesn't necessarily even mean owning investment property, just owning one's own home vs renting.

Owning the place you live in is leaving the reach of the middle class and will become obtainable only by much higher-than-average income, the bank of mum and dad, or inheritance when mum and dad die. No more home ownership for 'normal' people anymore. That aspect of Australian life has been sacrificed at the altar of speculation.

And politicians of both major parties will continue to be from the owner class rather than the renter class and will not 'get it'.

True. However I don’t totally dismiss the prospect of an owner or somebody more well-off being able to have empathy for the impossible financial situation of a renter.

You can be across your brief and learn the issues.

This goose Jackson has been housing minister for over 18 months. It is THE hot topic is Australian society and covered relentlessly by media. And she clearly hasn’t paid the slightest bit of attention to the issue. It beggars belief.

 

[The Punter]

I love how politics is the one job where people think the best qualification is doing something completely different for a long period of time.

Elected officials can be experts in governance and retail politics and be in touch. They just need to want to.

 

[Saint]

I love how politics is the one job where people think the best qualification is doing something completely different for a long period of time.

Elected officials can be experts in governance and retail politics and be in touch. They just need to want to.

Diversity of opinions is good for a multitude of reasons in any situation. The Parliamentary ALP is practically all people from the same pathway. Senator Payman was a little bit different and got turfed.

There's a big difference between listening to concerns and actually living them. Even Albanese seems to have forgotten everything he knew about living in poverty and wanting to avoid genocide.

I think I was naiive to think the ALP was the party of working people. The dilution between concerns of Union members through their union reps, into the party leadership and then to MPs is just too great for them to effectively represent their members. I can see why Union movements globally are dropping off their traditional working class parties as the political class is another couple of steps removed from the members they used to represent and come from.

 

[Rob R]

I love how politics is the one job where people think the best qualification is doing something completely different for a long period of time.

Elected officials can be experts in governance and retail politics and be in touch. They just need to want to.

Would help if their advisors actually had knowledge and experience to base their advice on. We had an adviser (early 20s) tell us on day 1 of a conference that she was so excited as she had come up wtih an announcable the minister would.
say later that day in relation to support for indigenous communities Only problem were it was illegal, not feasible, potentially embarrassing and the indigenous community probably would have hated it if they had been consulted. They quickly ran off to make changes but it is still nearly a monthly event where you see at the last minute a draft announcement that has no basis in reality (sounds good until someone thinks)

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[Gavin Excell]

I don't disagree with any of this post, but the criticism I would make is "she is bad at her job" (being satisfactorily briefed is her responsibility as she is the Minister), rather than "she is out of touch".

Having said that, it's probably a good idea for all MPs at both levels to be regularly briefed on rental prices in their electorates as housing affordability is a massive issue.

Perhaps this is a sign of my age but I would have thought all adults (not living at home) would have an appreciation of house prices and rentals in their city/town

 

[Gavin Excell]

Would help if their advisors actually had knowledge and experience to base their advice on. We had an adviser (early 20s) tell us on day 1 of a conference that she was so excited as she had come up wtih an announcable the minister would.
say later that day in relation to support for indigenous communities Only problem were it was illegal, not feasible, potentially embarrassing and the indigenous community probably would have hated it if they had been consulted. They quickly ran off to make changes but it is still nearly a monthly event where you see at the last minute a draft announcement that has no basis in reality (sounds good until someone thinks)

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The "announceable" is the main game - the cleaning up and making it work isn't of interest

 

[peetoo]

The "announceable" is the main game - the cleaning up and making it work isn't of interest

Dot dot dot.

A decent public service used to do these things

 

[Gavin Excell]

Dot dot dot.

A decent public service used to do these things

From some years ago yes

Under Morrison he made it pretty clear he just wanted the PS to implement the government's plans not come up with any ideas or advice of its own or even push back on disastrous stuff (eg Robodebt)

 

[Saint]

If the pollies are out of touch what is the RBA

The RBA's job is just to make sure inflation doesn't get away and they've only got one lever: Interest rates.

The Govt is the one who has responsibility for keeping the people happy. But it's bipartisan policy to blame the RBA every time inflation hits and pretend there's nothing the Government can do about it.

Like they forgot they can change tax rates to ease pressure on the lower classes who suffer from high interest rates and increase rates on the wealthy classes who benefit from high interest rates.

The blame for the negative impacts on most people and benefits to the few lies squarely at the feet of the current ALP Government. But this Govt refuses to learn anything or listen to anyone except the Murdoch press.

 

[King Patty]

If the pollies are out of touch what is the RBA

RBA has been bashed somewhat too much. They act within certain parameters.

The government has more control over rates than the RBA by how they run the country, the RBA is reactionary to government settings/statistics.

IF Albo reduced govt spending then there would be less demand in the economy and RBA may have had cause to reduce interest rates.
Had Albo reduced immigration there would have been less demand in the economy and RBA may have had cause to reduce interest rates.

 

[Pakenhamsaint]

There's a big difference between listening to concerns and actually living them. Even Albanese seems to have forgotten everything he knew about living in poverty and wanting to avoid genocide.

Even if he hadn't forgotten the experience today would be vastly different than back then.

I very much doubt he's off to university today.

 

[Carn The Berries]

RBA has been bashed somewhat too much. They act within certain parameters.

The government has more control over rates than the RBA by how they run the country, the RBA is reactionary to government settings/statistics.

IF Albo reduced govt spending then there would be less demand in the economy and RBA may have had cause to reduce interest rates.
Had Albo reduced immigration there would have been less demand in the economy and RBA may have had cause to reduce interest rates.

Precisely! But as another poster noted, RBA bashing goes beyond party lines.