Powerless, clueless politicians

Last week’s recall of the NSW parliament, in an abortive bid to sell off the state’s power assets, cost an estimated $500 million. The failure of the sale is blamed for a predicted cut in the state's credit rating by one notch from AAA would cost $500 million in higher interest payments.

The government still plans to sell the retail arms of the energy corporations, something they claim they can do without parliamentary approval. It’s also something the majority of the population is strongly opposed too.

Either way we were bound to be an extra billion dollars down the tubes with the parliamentary recall factored in. Perhaps that is just one more billion examples of the by the Iemma government’s mismanagement of the state's economy.

But it’s not fair to simply blame the hapless premier, tempting as that is. Machinations within the parties has served to ensure survival of the most inept. Even the most ferociously self-serving MPs seem to be bumbling dolts when it comes to ripping the system off to their own gain.

There is a creeping trend toward electing independents, and its easy to see why. While the old doctrinaire, left/right politics is becoming increasingly irrelevant the parties in NSW play stronger and harder; rifts, factions and splits, destructive as they are, are seen as the only game in town by the party hacks.

Without that game to divert them independents are far more pragmatic and constituency focused. I’m sure there is still some excellent value within the party MPs, but t is up to them to unleash themselves from the rotting carcass of politics past. The left/right divide is more and more jus ‘Dumb and Dumber’.