Politicians and their staff are masters of controlling the message.
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This could be political spin.
An amusing example of this is in 2003 when an Iraqi minister fronted media to declare that no American troops were in Bagdad. In the background tanks could be seen alongside the sounds of combat.
There is also party politics at play. You don’t need to look far into the past to see this affecting the decision to have a vote on same-sex marriage or the recent change in federal Liberal leadership.
The message sent is not always the truth. This doesn’t mean there are lies, just not the whole truth is told to suit the message wanting to be delivered.
Parliament size will no doubt be a great example of this.
In 2010, there was tripartisan support to restore the lower house to 35 seats. Premier Will Hodgman was opposition leader at the time.
Cries of being overgoverned can be heard during parliament size discussion, but primarily it’s about the cost that is the referenced in opposition of an increase.
But we need more depth in our government. We also deserve to have the best representation possible.
There are some members of government across all parties who do not possess the skills and/or experience needed for key portfolios.
The role of a politician is varied. They sit on committees, represent the government at community events, listen to constituents problems and of course make key operational and policy decisions for our state.
Now, we don’t want to blur the issue of parliament size, but reducing the number of councils could help with the overall balance of governance.
If Speaker Sue Hickey was to vote alongside Greens and Labor, assuming Labor support the motion, the Liberals would probably be quietly happy with the result, yet could send a message that they wanted to save money and not hire more politicians.
It could be win-win for the Liberals. It will be up to Labor and Ms Hickey to make a decision that has the potential to improve Tasmanian democracy.