I READ a recent "letter to the editor" article that motivated me to do some research.
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The letter told of a new political party in Australia and that one of the party’s policies was to reduce our governance from the existing three tiers to two by scrapping state governments.
The writer ridiculed such an idea.
But I immediately thought that I would like to meet such a forward thinking person that would have such a policy, so I started making enquiries to get more information.
The results of my search are detailed below.
The new party is called the "21st Century Australia Party" (21stcap) (http://21stcenturyaustraliaparty.com.au/). Its founder is a 40-year-old self made millionaire named Jamie McIntyre who was born and raised in Glen Innes.
He is chief executive officer of 12 companies including "21st Century Education" which has educated some 400,000 children around the world.
Jamie is standing for the seat of New England.
His business, corporate and practical background experience makes him a stand out candidate on that basis alone.
I attended his party’s launch in Glen Innes last week. I listened to what he had to say and later met him.
Jamie McIntyre is the epitome of "a local lad made good" - an inspiring motivational speaker who shares his success with others.
He has a burning desire to see Australia unlock its current shackles and attain its destiny as a nation.
He is highly critical of Australia's antiquated electoral system and the resulting lost opportunities.
Nobody I know has confidence in the present government or the alternative. But they are very hard to remove due to our compulsory voting (which ensures the major parties always get their dedicated members’ vote no matter what the party’s performance).
Our preferential voting system gives our vote to a candidate, not of our choice, if our candidate fails.
This too is weighted heavily in favour of major and incumbent parties.
Finally, our elected representatives must vote along party lines even if doing so is 100 per cent against the wishes of their constituents.
We have no say!
Some damning statistics I have uncovered about sitting members include: Out of the 236 members of parliament only 13 have upper management or large corporation board experience, yet they manage a budget of $360 billion.
Probably mismanage is a more accurate description going by the latest Grattan Institute report.
Jamie has no masters. No one to pull his strings.
If successful in his bid for a seat he will be answerable to the voters of Australia only.
If his party gains a majority then I see a dynamic and prosperous future for Australia. An end to the present constant squabbling.
I wish him well.