Australian Politics - the year ahead.

A not unexpected start to the year - the Government suggests a levy to pay for the natural disaster with the biggest financial impact in our history and Abbot says No! The Government suggests paying some of the cost of rebuilding the roads, rail and bridges by scrapping green programs. Does this mean there are still some in the Labor party who believe they can do without the Greens? Only if they want another election. How could they possibly want that?

I have seen the estimates of how much we will pay via the levy - the first figure I read was just over $140. I thought given the squealing this must have been a per week figure! But No, it's a total figure! Good grief - I will have to cut back on......umm....something that costs me $140 a year!

Of course Tony wants the Government to pay for it by scrapping the NBN. As he said he is no tech head - certainly not in terms of building national infrastructure.

George Megalogenis suggests that the reform era is over - that our leaders dont have the long game that is needed for reform. This is a challenge to all involved in the Australian conversation this year - can we resist the pollsters data long enough to say "Yes, it may not be immediately popular but the nation needs it"? I like to think we can. I think people such as Albanese and Combet can do this. I'm also interested in Cameron's call for the scrapping of the pledge. I think this would make politics and governing much harder, and the national outcomes would be more conservative - but perhaps we have gone so far down the conservative road this wouldnt matter.

I'm sure the Liberal Party believes that it just has to keep saying No and this Government will fall over and Tony will take power. Megalogenis points out that a sizeable proportion of the young have shifted to the Greens and probably arent coming back unless there is a serious contest in ideas between the two major parties. If this is the case then the ALP must table serious ideas for reform and continue to push for them no matter how unpopular they may be at this early stage - as Megalogenis says it wont cost Labor their majority to do this - they have already lost it.

And if government is not about bringing about change for the better - what is it about?