Federalism

So, John Howard has released a new YouTube video, this time to announce that he's intervening in Tasie, to keep open a hospital that would have been downgraded by the state govt. That's no biggie, an extra injection of funds from the Federal govt is surely welcome, so long as it's guaranteed long-term.

What worried me is his skiting about the NT intervention, saying that the territory govt wasn't pulling its weight. He's right that Australians aren't fussed about whether it's state or federal govt that provides a service - that goes for me too - what scares me shitless is that a federal government can force it's way into services that state govts are already running. A right-wing govt like his is bound to fuck up that system even worse than the state govt was doing and then try to privatise the thing for ideological reasons.

This is worse than the NSW govt dissolving the City of Sydney and gerrymandering it's boundries.