Bryan Palmer linked to this late night live broadcast discussing electoral polling. If you didn't know Australia was a parliamentary system, after listening to that radio show, you could be excused for thinking Australia was a Presidential one.

All the commentary was Howard this and Rudd that. The only time an electorate popped up was as a reminder that the Bennelong issue was separate to the re-election of the government. But even that is in relation to Howard.

The media treats the political system as Presidential, the politicians do as well, and the public seems to. We are half-way there with our 'Wash-minster Mutation', we may as well complete the task and establish a Canberran Presidential System.
Cam Riley: South Sea Republic. Freedom, liberty, equity and an Australian Republic.

Comments
  • The media treats the political system as Presidential, the politicians do as well, and the public seems to.

    That certainly rings true if you scan the news headlines of the major outlets.
  • Guy . # . 1/1
    Commenting and writing about politics as if we were actually in a presidential system simplifies things. The mainstream media likes to simplify things for its readers - as exemplified by your comment on supermodel's views on condoms over at Polemica the other day.

    I am not sure if it is true or not that the majority of people want their political commentary simplified, but that's certainly what the major media outlets in this country provide most of the time. Thanks to the almost communist level of domination that certain corporations have over our fledgling media market, we don't have any alternatives that seriously challenge the big players.