As concerned as we should be that we've become less informed about what what's happening and more disconnected from the processes that control what happens, we aren't.  It seems to me that policy making is driven by opinion polls, ideological dogmatism, the lust for power or wealth.  People who obtain power and authority lack vision, leadership and and competence; they become trapped a game of cover-your-backside-and-blame-someone else.  As long as they're not caught red-handed doing wrong it's always someone else's fault when things go wrong, right?  The serious issues confronting Australians in the 21st century are not who will win the next election, how interest rates rise or fall or whether we will still pay too much tax; those things happen anyway.  Our concern should be our legacy to the future.  Will we leave Australia a better place than when we found it or will we be remembered as those who squandered missed opportunities?

My concern is more than our so-called leaders' inability to engage with the Australian community; it's more than the newspapers, radio and television merely serving their own interests ahead of ours.  History tells us that people united in hope, in a common cause, can achieve remarkable things.  In times of crisis people more readily accept the need for change.  But let us also remember the one certainty in life is that everything changes.  We need better leaders who possess the vision and hope to help us make changes in the long-run not just in the short-term.