Australia Reconstructed

This book is a plea for system change in Australia, referring to the various systems that underpin and shape governance. As the 2013 federal election approaches the many flaws in the system of government in Australia are again evident.  However, they do not themselves form the focus of the election debate.  


During the last years the tone and quality of the parliamentary debate has become the focus of attention though. Most people don’t like the combative style that is on display on a daily basis when Parliament is in session. Voters have turned away from this spectacle and politics generally, especially the young. Letter writers have condemned it in droves. Journalists have tried to describe and understand it. Only rarely are the pertinent questions asked “Why is it so?” and “What can be done about it?


The Hung Parliament of the last three years has added a new dimension to the system. The need for the ALP government to make partnership agreements with the only Green MHR and three Independents has delivered benefits. However, now the major parties have insisted on governing “in their own right” again. Would it not be better to move forward to meaningful reforms?


The main thesis of this small eBook is that the need for much greater diversity, democracy, fairness and cooperation between parties in the Parliament is not served by a continuation of the current two-party system. Hence the reader will find strong advocacy here for an electoral system that would provide for the achievement of such objectives and much wider participation.


In addition, there are reflections on the costly federal system and the Australian Constitution, an archaic document that can hardly be amended given several barriers in the way of its evolutionary amendment and development. It is suggested that the federation should be replaced with a more appropriate decentralised system of government in which the national and local government levels are paramount. The Constitution should be rewritten entirely and a new draft be put to the people in one package after a series of consultative plebiscites.



Author Biography:

Dr. Klaas Woldring is a retired A/Prof from Southern Cross University, Lismore who taught there in Government and Management subject-areas. He was born in the Netherlands and arrived in Australia in mid-1964. He worked 14 years in the international hospitality industry and 30 years in tertiary education; has lived in Southern Africa, taught in Australia, Zambia, Solomon Islands and several Asian countries. Klaas Woldring is a strong advocate of proportional representation (open party list system) and the replacement of federation. He has published four books, the more recent ones on the Republic issue and favours the rewriting of the Australian Constitution to achieve a more effective decentralized system of Government. He supports employee share ownership and participative democracy in the workplace. He has been a parliamentary candidate at federal and state levels.


Klaas is Convenor of the Friends of the ABC, Central Coast, NSW; and Board member of the Dutch-Australian Cultural Centre. He is married to Aafke. They have four children and nine grandchildren. The couple live in Pearl Beach, NSW.