FORMER Treasury head Ken Henry's blast at successive Australian federal oppositions is welcomed by electors lamenting stalled legislation resulting from blind opposition to everything an elected government tries to do. The current Opposition is not solely to blame. "Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition" is loyal in name only, meaning that we suffer mindlessly adversarial debate not only during election campaigns, but also every one of the days in the three years in between. Save the mindless debate for the campaigns. Constructive opposition should allow any political party to implement the mandates on which it was elected.

SO THE local councils are not happy with losing their influence under the Legislative Council redistribution. Spare a thought for Aborigines, who are a minority in every single electorate, have no hope of electing their own to parliament and have no incentive to participate. The makeup of parliaments should reflect the society they govern. The Tasmanian parliament has been as white as chalk and unrepresentative of Aboriginal people. Instead of tinkering with boundaries, why not set aside three seats in parliament for Aboriginals.