Just recently I got my letter from the ECQ(Electoral Commission of Queensland) informing me of a Referendum on the 19th March, where I would be asked if I would like to change the Qld constitution to state 4 year terms instead of 3. In the letter I was given 2 pamphlets, one stating an arguement for Yes and the other NO. The yes was mainly saying that politicians don’t get enough time to get things done, they are so busy that it takes them more than 3 years to pass legislation and get projects completed, the corresponding no was stating that Queensland is the only state in Australia without a Senate and 4 years is too long and if the government is no good, such as corruption or simply poor descion making, the results could spell disaster, however by having a senate could eleveate those problems.
Before I deliver my verdict, I would first like to rant! This is pretty much the first time I have heard about it, hardly anything in social media or the news, not much has been debated about it at all. As a Queenslander I am disgusted that I have been kept in the dark about a very serious topic for which I am to vote for by law in a fortnights time!!!!!
There, that felt better, I needed to get that out.
Time, why do you need more time? It is standard knowledge in business that a government project is volatile to political obstacles, like everything else in life, I have never known any project to go without ever being susceptible to challenges and change. Time is not an excuse, because there will always be a another project and you will have to have an election sooner or later.
Lets look back at our history, corruption has wormed its way into Qld before and I’m not just talking about Sir Joh and the Fitzgerald enquiry, there have also been recent examples as well. However we need to ask ourselves as Queenslanders where does this fear of having our own senate come from, does it come from us or those in power. Why would we be so afraid of having a senate enquiry into the Queensland government activities if not but to simply ensure that fair progress is made, with any life project you need to have a devils advocate.
Until we as Queenslanders have eliminated this unfounded fear of having a senate, my vote is NO!!!
To gain some inspiration and empathy regarding what fear is like, have a listen to Hyeonseo Lee give her TED Talk on youtube, then you will learn what the fear of NOT having a senate is really like.
Click Hyeonseo Lee TED Talk
Take care and keep the faith 🙂
Hope you enjoyed the blog or any of the previous posts, when you make a tip to the New beginnings blog and social networks you help promote empathy and opportunity for everyone and go into a draw for a $100 e voucher.
Liam Jenkinson 