Comments on: O’Farrell, oh dear.

By: ltep

ltep — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 06:45:05 +0000

Exactly, which is how our system works unfortunately. The people just need to put up with it until the next election.

By: Generic Person

Generic Person — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 02:32:09 +0000

ltep, of course the Government can command the support of the lower house – [b]the government constitutes the majority of the lower house![/b].

By: ltep

ltep — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 20:22:52 +0000

But there would be no correctly grounded constitutional basis to do so. If you allow that then what’s to stop Governors from calling elections any time they think the Government of the day has done something wrong?

There’s no Constitutional crisis here, the Government still has the support of the lower chamber and is able to make laws for the governance of the state, whether they be good law or bad law. There’s simply no basis for the Governor to call an election and doing so.

This would be undemocratic as it would allow one individual, unelected by the people to determine when to call elections with no basis to do so.

By: Generic Person

Generic Person — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:12:48 +0000

ltep, if the unelected official calls an election, the result is hardly undemocractic. After all, if the unelected official made a mistake, the electorate could just as well have re-elected the incumbent.

By: ltep

ltep — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 03:50:06 +0000

Convention is defined as: “general agreement or consent; accepted usage, especially as a standard of procedure.”

The events of 1932 and 1975 were not of general agreement or as a standard of procedure and were unconventional.

By: lifeasdaddy

lifeasdaddy — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 03:06:29 +0000

The events of 1932 and 1975 are now conventional, although they involve reserve powers seldom used.

By: ltep

ltep — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:35:42 +0000

“Can it ever be undemocratic to send the people to the polls, and commissioning their duly elected representatives to form a government?”

Yes, when an unelected official overrides all convention to dismiss a government based on their own opinion of the government’s merits.

By: Trevor Cook

Trevor Cook — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 06:44:59 +0000

Gee Bob that’s a tough test I’m racking my brains to even try and remember more than two or three myself

By: lifeasdaddy

lifeasdaddy — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 06:28:37 +0000

Good reason not to have 4 years terms. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

Maybe the Governor will dismiss the Premier and Ministers if they can no longer govern, as Sir Philip Game did in May 1932.

Game’s dismissal of Lang was triggered by Lang’s issue of a circular directing NSW Public Servants not to remit revenue that was owed to the Commonwealth – Game’s legal advice was that the circular was illegal. Bertram Stevens was installed as Premier, and an election promptly called. Lang and Labor were trounced.

Similar thing happened in 1975 at the Federal level.

Can it ever be undemocratic to send the people to the polls, and commissioning their duly elected representatives to form a government?

But as Trevor says, O’Farrell’s bunch should be running now.

I defy any person who is not a regular reader of this blog to name 3 NSW shadow minsters and their portfolios – such is their miniscule public profile.

By: Anne-Marie Flynn

Anne-Marie Flynn — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:43:56 +0000

“Outside chance the NSW Govt could be returned” If NSW votes dared to vote them in again then we would get entirely what we deserve. I can sleep at night knowing they didn’t get my vote the last time due their incompetence but if they were voted in again I would seriously think about moving! Time to have a RECALL law like US where we could recall the govt for their appalling management!