On Saturday 26, Tenterfield held the 11th Henry Parkes Oration paying tribute to the “father of federation” while acknowledging his famed 1889 Tenterfield Oration speech.

Eighty-plus people crammed into the School of Arts building to listen to Mr Mack’s speech on the current “State of Federation”.

A choral presentation from students of the Sir Henry Parkes Memorial Primary School set the tone, with honoured guests and descendants of Henry Parkes in attendance.

Mr Mack, affectionately referred to as the “father of independents” – is a former North Sydney mayor, Independent member of the NSW Legislative Assembly and Independent Federal MP for the seat of North Sydney.

Mr Mack started his speech by saying he entered the political life with “no burning ambition to change the world”.

He spoke in depth about past and present scandals – royal commissions and misuse of tax payer money.

“It seems as though anything can and has been rorted,” Mr Mack said.

“It’s usually unscrupulous opportunists who enter politics.”

Mr Mack bemoaned the waste of tax payer funds through “corruption and scandal over the last three decades and the costs of constant royal commissions” while questioning the pay packets prime ministers and politicians receive and the golden parachutes handed out to retiring pollies.

Mr Mack famously walked away from politics two days before he was due a million dollar parliamentary pension entitlement.

He continued by saying our electoral system had become flawed and we were in danger of following a broken American model.

“Democracy in the United States has largely been destroyed by electoral spending – and we are following,” he said.

Mr Mack said the strangle hold the two major political parties held in Australia created a “minimalist democracy”.

“They are like two Mafia families fighting for control,” he said.

“Being in opposition is basically a form of political death.

“We have an elected dictatorship – the electoral system should represent the will of the people.

“On many levels we are one of the worst democracies in the world.”

Mr Mack touted the governance of Switzerland and their system which is largely run by the people.

“Since 1990 we have had over 300 Ministers whereas the Swiss have had only 22.”

“There is no clarity on what each level of the three tiers of government should do,” he said.

Mr Mack even threw up the debate of creating several more states.

“There is a good case to create more states and regions.

“NSW could be broken into six or seven states,” he said.

In Henry Parkes Oration speech on October 24, 1889 he professed great plans for the future of government in Australia.

“It seems to me that the time is close at hand when we ought to set about creating a great national Government for all Australia,” Henry Parkes said.

However, Mr Mack said that hasn’t materialised into a reality just yet.

“We need to find people to initiate a movement – who are 40 to 50 years younger than me,” he joked.

“We can’t have radical change like a French revolution – but we need to find a change.”

Tenterfield High School captains Stacey Hayne and Thomas Butler put the question of minority party relevance to Mr Mack.

“Anyone can run.

“If people are stupid enough to vote for him [Clive Palmer] that’s up to them, but often they have no policies or legitimacy,” he said.

Mr Mack quoted former American president Abraham Lincoln’s vision for democracy.

“Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, for the people.”

“We are not that democracy,” Mr Mack said.

Following his speech Mr Mack was presented with a copy of the not-yet-released book, Parkes: Australian Colossus.