Australians are lucky to have one of the world’s best-functioning liberal democracies.  

However, our government processes have lost efficacy, being too focused on political power instead of helping the community understand complex issues and committing themselves to “common-good” solutions that often have both “givers” and “recipients”.  

A classic challenge is the expectation of some in the community for more government services than revenues can sustain and rising individual spending power without increased taxes and productivity improvements.

Our governments are not courageous or trusted enough to resolve such dilemmas.  

A community-wide dialogue is required, using trustworthy and transparent processes.