Pubdate: Thu, 06 Jul 2000 Source: Canberra Times (Australia) Copyright: 2000 Canberra Times Contact: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/ Author: Bob Steege DON'T BLAME VOTING SYSTEM IT WAS only going to be a matter of time before the major political parties got on the bandwagon anyway, but the redoubtable R.S. Gilbert has beaten them to the punch ("Real problem is with the voting system", CT, July 1, C7). The current impasse in the Legislative Assembly over budget funding for the safe injecting facility has nothing to do with the voting system. It is all about the megalomania of two individuals who gained election on platforms of populism and religious fundamentalism, and are frankly out of their depth. The ACT electorate will know better next time. However, we can expect that the major parties will use this episode some time in the future to collude in seeking to amend the voting system to an arrangement more favourable to what they see as their divine right to rule in turn, unfettered by any of this interfering democratic nonsense from the cross-benches - just as they did in Tasmania. R.S. Gilbert apparently believes that only a narrow band of views corresponding with the two major parties are worthy of representation. I and, I believe, a growing band of electors, strongly disagree. BOB STEEGE Charnwood --- MAP posted-by: greg