Presidential Address

When the Adelaidezone first arose from my imagination, at the beginning of 2009, I lived in a marginal electorate at both the state and federal levels.

I have not moved since that time yet the boundaries of the electorates have changed considerably.  I am now located in safe seats at both the state and federal levels.

I now have no political power as a consequence.

The feeling of powerlessness has deepened my despair over the years.  I am nothing now to the seekers of votes.  I am nothing to the rude employees of bureaucracies, including at the local government level.

Everyone is burnt out, with or without ever experiencing a bushfire at close range.

Vicarious trauma affects everyone except the deluded.

First-hand trauma affects the sensitive much more deeply than the cruel.

I am sensitive.

I prefer to maintain a low public profile.  My health requires it.

I have no confidence in governments to protect me from harm.

I have no confidence in the police, or the courts.

I have no confidence in big businesses.

I have no confidence in myself.

Should I have confidence in you?

Where do you sit politically, and why?

How do you intend to compare the Civility Party of Australia with the other political options available in this part of the world?

The dominant political parties in Australia have been infested with corrupt practices and moral incompetence for a very long time.

Extremists have attempted to exploit political discontent for their own purposes.

But what have you done?

How have you responded to the blatant and dangerous corruption of the recent past?

Such activities would be regarded as treasonable in any reasonable society.

Australia is not a reasonable society.

But there are no reasonable societies in the world at all.

All that can be attempted is to make a society more reasonable.

That cannot happen when people with political power do not know where the boundary sits between morality and immorality, or prefer not to know.

Ministerial standards have often fallen far short of societal expectations, or at least the expectations of members of the public with a desire for a better democracy.  There is obviously a cultural problem in the political organisations providing opportunities for opportunists to gain political power.

What, then, can the Civility Party of Australia do to change the situation?

The first step is to find quality candidates.  Yet that is not my job to do.  It is yours.  You must decide on the characteristics of quality political candidates, from your own point of view. 

While some Australians are attempting to oust one or more domineering political organisations from having power in, and on behalf of, their local communities, a political vacuum is unlikely to improve the situation.

Healthy societies rely on healthy politics, but what does that mean in practice?

What do you believe to be acceptable behaviour, and for whom, and by whom, and when, and why?

What do you believe to be unacceptable behaviour, and for whom, and by whom, and when, and why?

A legislature decides what is acceptable behaviour, and what is not,.

The process of developing legislation involves making decisions on what to including in societal rules about acceptable behaviour.

When politicians believe the rules applying to themselves are adequate when, in fact, they are not, they do not deserve the public's trust.

When politicians do not behave with adequate accountability, they disrespect the public.

When bullying is expressed as the essence of political life, who is mean to hold bullies to account if the law does not? 

When news is reported by a public broadcaster using words like slam and lash for expressions of opinion, such language contributes to societal aggression.

When domineering politicians make major decisions without any electoral mandate, they do not care about real democracy at all.

National economies and defence departments are run for the benefit of big business and no-one else.

The gullible public is duped by the propaganda of brands, including by and of political parties, royal families, reality television and sporting contests.

I am the founding president of the Civility Party of Australia.  I have no influence in the world.

Few people have taken any notice of the party whatsoever since I launched it.

Few people have taken any notice of Civility Today since I launched that news service. 

You have taken no notice of my weekly investment notes since I began provided them for your benefit in the virtual library of Frugality Cottage, dear reader.

You have taken no notice of the associated educational notes, either, as far as I am aware.

Perhaps you are incapable of properly understanding distress, possibly including your own.

The ethical purpose of understanding distress is to develop adequate empathy and act upon it wisely.

Perhaps you are not interested in understanding my distress.

My carefulness, thoughtfulness and creativity are apparently worthless to most people, including most Australians.

Perhaps people would feel differently about me, and the Civility Party of Australia, if I hyped up positivity and therefore behaved deceptively.  Yet I make very clear distinctions between fact and fiction.  I value such distinctions highly.  I regard such carefulness as essential to the practice of true civility.

Similarly, I have a very careful approach to implementing changes.  Preventing negative consequences is very important to me.  That is why my approach to implementing improvements is usually gradual.  I hope my approach is always based on adequate evidence.  I hope it is always cost-effective and respectful of needs.

True creativity is always about making improvements of one sort or another, including improvements in mental health, reducing conflict, and increasing necessary productivity, and necessary civility.

Oppression does not reduce conflict.  It merely silences opposition.

I am a sensitive person.  I am opposed to insensitivity.

I am naturally sensitive.  It is part of my temperament.  I cannot change it.  I have no desire to mask who I am

I merely want a peaceful, private and productive life, investing in civility and the other qualities I cherish.

I have long been investing in improving political practices, without any return on that investment. 

There is much authoritarian rudeness in Australia, particularly in and through government departments and organisations reliant upon public funds for their continuity.

Simple politeness appears to be impossible for most Australians.  They prefer superficial friendliness in some situations and aggressive arrogance at other times.

I would prefer to think they are suffering from distress.  Perhaps they cannot think of a better way to behave.  Perhaps their rudeness is habitual.  Perhaps they mainly lack insight into their own thoughts and behaviours.

Far too many people behave as though the presentation of a fact contradicting their beliefs is a declaration of hostility.  Such people are grossly ill-mannered.  They feel threatened by anything they assume as questioning their own preferred practices, and identity.

I do not understand why well-informed kindness is not nurtured within organisations, and within society more widely. 

Instead, insensitive, habitual statements are prevalent.  This is especially the case when people in organisational situations interact with the public.

I have long been investing in improved constitutions for organisations and societies.

A legitimate state is merely a constituted form of societal governance as recognised under international law.  Yet every current societal constitution contains loopholes allowing corruption to thrive.

When corruption thrives, societal despair becomes more likely, along with mental health problems and much rudeness.

Through my creative practices, and my research practices, and by combining my research and creativity, I am investing in awareness of dangers, whether through science or satire.

The Civility Party of Australia is not a work of satire.  Its development has been considerably informed by the social sciences and the arts, including the art of interpreting history productively.

I am particularly interested in the structure of constitutions, the structure of organisations, and the structures of other systems.  Perhaps you have a similar interest.

My interest is associated with a desire to help societies eradicate corrupt practices. 

Perhaps most societies, including Australia, are so corrupt that such practices have become normalised as 'within the rules'.

I do not accept corruption as normal.  I acknowledge it as a cause of considerable suffering.

That is why I am investing in structure as carefully as possible, particularly through developing the Civility Party of Australia.

If you are seeking to explore the priority membership possibilities associated with the party, that indicates you are likely to have a suitable sense of priorities in relation to other matters.

Perhaps you already know about the ethical and epistemological basis of well-informed investing and practice it consistently.

Only suitable investors in non-corrupt practices are eligible to be assessed and endorsed as pleasantly accomplished candidates on behalf of the Civility Party of Australia, even at the local government level.

My priority, as always, involves presenting voting options appropriately.  I have had many decades of experience in doing so, whether for national elections, state elections, local elections, or for the elections within various organisations.

Yet few people make the time to consider my assessments of their options.  They much prefer to made decisions based on their own biases rather than upon the basis of my well-evidenced reasoning.

I reject all options likely to exacerbate corruption.  That is why most voters have few options at all, even in their local community groups.

There is too much hubris and too much gullibility.

My approach to assessing options for decision-making is to present possibilities for the future as accurately as possible.

Either people provide support for the continuation of hubris and/or gullibility, and the associated corruption, or they choose to reject biases and vices.

I have no time for people if they have no interest in overcoming biases and vices, including their own.

The civility world is where the objective analysis of purposes, policies and practices is possible.

The rude world distorts evidence through the subjectivity of strong emotions and inadequate reasoning. 

The Civility Party of Australia takes its local and global responsibilities very seriously, hence its purposeful policies and empathic practices.

All members of the party are expected to maintain appropriately high standards at all times. 

All practical approaches to providing support should be guided by purposeful policies.

Civility serves an important societal purpose, namely the improvement of public health, particularly in terms of mental health.

The Civility Party of Australia always acknowledges that distressed people are often in urgent need of clarity and certainty.  

I often feel distressed myself.  I have experienced considerable psychological trauma at various times of my life, most of which has been a consequence of bullying, harassment and unfair expectations.

My moral values, aesthetic appreciation, intellectual curiosity and sense of humour help me to cope from day to day, along with time on virtual retreat, at home, for at least a few waking hours each week.

Good food and adequate rest are also essential, of course, along with mutually appreciative relationships.  I do not offer my time, whether in person, or on the phone, or online, to anyone inadequately respectful of me and my values.

I am peacefully and politely placing political putridness on the compost heap of history, yet it keeps piling up around me, and sometimes even on top of me.  That is when I have most difficulty coping.

Yet I am honest about the difficulties I face, and have faced, in life.  I do not reveal much about those difficulties to strangers, particularly in person.

I try to maintain a clear sense of appropriateness in everything I say and do.

If you are seeking to support the Civility Party of Australia, I hope you are preparing appropriately with a proper plan.

I have no intention of personally seeking electoral office at any level of government in Australia.  I could not cope with the frustration or tediousness of such experiences.

My past interactions with politicians, their advisors, staff and government departments have mostly been exasperating for me. 

That is why I much prefer a quiet life and an indirect approach to improving Australian politics.

Improving Australian news services is a priority for me.  The public continues to seek and interpret news in dangerously biased ways.  The aggressive journalese most usually used in Australian journalism is from the gutter end of the editorial spectrum.

Good editorial practices are vital to the health of democracies everywhere.  That begins with the suitable use of language, in tone as well as words.

I have spent much of my life attempting to improve public accountability.

Perhaps my efforts have been entirely futile.  Perhaps the public does not want accountable governments.  Perhaps the public does not wish to ensure it has access to quality news services and quality politicians with the ability to hold governments to account.

I know it is very unlikely that the Civility Party of Australia will form a government in Australia, even in a council chamber, or state or territory parliament, over the next decade.

There will be much education, re-education, careful training and careful re-training required of citizens, including those seeking to become members of the party.  That is the only way to help prevent corruption and improve public policy, and the news media.

If you believe you are already involved in preventing corruption, I would be most interested in examining your evidence.

Unfortunately, I am yet to receive any evidence whatsoever that anyone, whether alone or in a group, is actually doing so.

When corruption exists, it is not being prevented.

When mental illness arises as a consequence of corruption, it is not being prevented adequately either.

I have no time for platitudes.  I want real, empathic action.

My questions are intended to improve your leadership.  I have worked very hard indeed to improve mine yet who is really interested in answering my questions honestly?

Who is willing to give the time and attention to the task of being honest, with adequate reasonableness?

The main policy of the Civility Party of Australia is to prevent corruption.  That is the basis of all other policies and practices.

If perfectly suitable supporters of the party want to provide evidence of their own leadership, they can do so in various ways.

The Civility Party of Australia is not interested in publicity for its own sake.  Nor is it interested in political power for its own sake.

Preventing corruption must always be the first priority, by holding unscrupulous people to account properly.

The boundaries between civility and incivility must be clearly maintained, at all times, in all places.

Adequate attention to protecting mental health must be clearly maintained, at all times, in all places.

Political insensitivity towards suffering must stop immediately.  It must be appropriately remedied, not through marketing campaigns but through clinically proven treatments, as required, and through corruption-free politics.

The introductory resources to help improve Australian public life are already here, and linked from here.

If voters continue to be uninterested in supporting the Civility Party of Australia, there is nothing more I can do.  Genuine democracy in this part of the world will be a lost cause. 

Let them have their mob rule and mobster rule.  I have never encouraged the devastation already caused by that monster.  Unfortunately, most voters apparently want it to run free.

I am well aware of the laws, and recent changes to the laws, associated with party registrations in Australia. 

Until there is evidence of substantial, real political leadership in Australia, whether within the Civility Party of Australia or through any other, appropriately structured entity, there is no point in attempting to register the party with the Australian Electoral Commission.

Without the supporters, the members and the candidates, to win electoral victory in landslides, the Civility Party of Australia will remain marginal.

I have been performing for the ordinary Australian public appropriately for many years now, through the philanthropic provision of quaternary informational resources, educational services and training opportunities.

Yet most people would rather be entertained than improved.  They would rather express anger at scandals rather than act with dignity to prevent future scandals from arising.  They fail to question why scandals have occurred.  They have failed to examine the cultural practices through which scandalous corruption thrives.

If you are a member of a domineering political party in Australia, resign immediately if you really and truly care about preventing corruption.  Your membership of a corrupt organisation indicates you do not really care.

I expect everyone associated with the Civility Party of Australia to be willing and able to acknowledge facts and feelings with sensitivity and insight.

As founding president of the party, my role is mainly to ensure accountability within the party.  There is apparently no-one doing likewise in the domineering political parties in Australia.

If productively acknowledging facts and feelings is important to you, please think carefully about the productive ways you can contribute to a corruption-free Australia, beginning today.

Thank you for taking the time to read this address.

The Author