Here is Don’s line-up from now until the end of the year. After that we will have to wait, sorting out our own entertainment, until the Vintage Reds crank up again in 2017.

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Here is Don’s line-up from now until the end of the year. After that we will have to wait, sorting out our own entertainment, until the Vintage Reds crank up again in 2017.

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Don’s starred event for followers of his Calendar is the screening of Children of the Revolution, part of the Canberra International Film Festival, on Friday 4 November at 8 p.m., in the Arc Cinema, National Film & Sound Archive. This 1996 “historic comedy” film stars Judy Davis, Sam Neill, Richard Roxburgh and Geoffrey Rush, and the music is by Nigel Westlake.
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Vintage Reds held their Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 18 October, after a busy year which included a federal and state election.

Jane Timbrell presented the 2016 Convenor’s Report. You can read it here

“Do our Aspiring Politicians Really Care about Old People?

…. or do they lack Political Courage!”

Jane Timbrell (Convenor of the Vintage Reds) asked, “Do our politicians really care about old people?” when she examined the returns from aspiring Canberra politicians to a survey we conducted in the lead up to the Territory’s elections.  Jane went on to ask “… or do they just lack political courage!”

The Liberal Party made no responses to the survey at all; ACT Labor sent a pro-forma response to half the questions on behalf of all their candidates (which regurgitated party policy). This left a majority of Green candidates; most of the Sex Party candidates and a group of Independents.  The candidates who did respond, responded very well and very caringly!  But, what about the rest?

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Associate Professor Anika Gauja

This is a review of a lecture given by Anika as part of the Australian Senate Occasional Lecture Series on 30 September 2016 at 12.15pm in the Main Committee Room at Parliament House, Canberra

WHAT IS THE FUTURE FOR AUSTRALIAN POLITICAL PARTIES?

Anika’s research interests broadly centre on the comparative analysis of political institutions in modern representative democracies. Her work to date has looked at the operation of political parties and parliaments, assessing the continuing relevance of these institutions as mechanisms for citizen participation in politics and their ability to represent diverse and conflicting interests. She is particularly interested in how political parties adapt to organizational and social change…. She is currently undertaking research projects on party legitimacy and the dynamics of organizational change, the meaning of contemporary party membership, ‘third parties’ as electoral actors, candidate selection and on the partisan use of state resources (ref. Anika’s handout).

Anika spoke to a packed audience (including a clutch of Vintage Reds), virtually without drawing a breath, for a solid hour.  Of course Jeremy Corbyn provides fertile ground for discussion of future directions of the ALP with its move to membership vote for parliamentary leader. However, as often is the case this talk raised more questions than provided answers e.g. what is to be done with a parliamentary party out of step with its membership?;  how is membership to be constructed and with what rights?; supporters?; who devises and controls policy? etc. etc.etc.

Then there’s the questions of unweildiness and even of the superfluousness of parliaments with the development of interactive internet forums.   Participatory democracy gone mad or not – what do you think?