What do you expect her to do?

Australia's current generation of federal politicians have trashed the nation's reputation abroad and fostered a sense of disillusionment and apathy among voters through their lack of leadership, says former prime minister Malcolm Fraser.

In an interview for The Zone today, Mr Fraser lambasts both major political parties for taking the nation backwards on issues including indigenous and immigration policy and foreign relations.

He says they have resorted to attacking each other rather than taking a lead on developing good policy.

"Both major political parties are rattling around at the bottom of the barrel trying to find something derogatory they can say about the other party," Mr Fraser told The Age. "I believe at the moment they would use any issue if they think there's a vote in it."

Now in his early 80s, Mr Fraser, singled out former Liberal leader John Howard on the issue of asylum seekers, accusing him of demonising people arriving in Australia on boats for political gain.

Mr Fraser, Liberal prime minister from 1975 until 1983, said the Australian Labor Party had also succumbed to a populist desire to match the Liberals on border protection and had shifted the public's thinking on the issue.

He said many people now had a "totally toxic and false view" of the problem of asylum seekers because of politicians' rhetoric. "At heart, I don't believe the great majority of Australians are racist, but the Government has behaved as though we are."

Mr Fraser said Australia's leaders had further damaged our reputation by making grave mistakes in the area of foreign affairs, choosing to kowtow to the United States — most recently over the issue of additional American military deployments to our region in a hawkish response to a strengthening China. Mr Fraser said Australia should be arguing the case for a diplomatic rather than military response.

Mr Fraser argues there are systematic issues plaguing Federal Parliament today, pointing to the advent of career politicians who he believes act as mindless apparatchiks.

"I would like to see in the Parliament people who have achieved something in their own right before they become members of Parliament. So if it doesn't work out, if they have a serious issue of conscience, they are prepared to support their conscience and if necessary walk away from it all."

What do you expect her to do?

well the writing was on the wall before the election, she could have not contested the seat and handed it over to the new labor candidate prior to the election and saved the taxpayers of australia shit loads of money, and shown some moral fibre

Then you'd be hounding her for being a coward for just giving up without a fight.

I know how this works.

Do you think she expected to lose by this much?

maybe not....but if she wasn't going to stay the full term it's hard to understand why she contested at all........

I haven't seen any evidence to suggest that she wasn't intending to stay around regardless of the outcome. The sheer unprecedented decimation of her incumbents are what have motivated the resignation, and I don't see how you think it could have possibly been pre-empted.

all the evidence pointed to the government being beaten, and she had a good chance of regaining her seat, which she did........so why pull the pin now??

she would have been well aware that she would be in opposition and retain her seat???

i guess this show her forsight, doesn't it.....not planning ahead to well.

Edited by batfink: 26/3/2012 01:54:46 PM

Do you think that she should have expected to only have 7-8 seats?

Anna seriously thought they would not lose, and if they did, she thought it would be a lot closer than it was.

Ive only been here for about 10 years, so i cant say, but if i was the leader of a party that got smashed this badly, id be resigning too. I cant remember the last time it was this bad for any party.

Labour are just shooting themselves in the foot everywhere across the land. From Gillard to the bottom, no one is really showing them any support and they making stupid and dumb decisions with everything.

you would be surprised how much support that have......as crazy as it seems, there are alot of vested interests out there.......

Most ALP support stems from them being the lesser of two evils, although that could change very quickly if the LNP ever wake up and do something about Abbott.

matt this brings us back to the same place.......your cameo appearance was about educating voters to look at the party and it's policies, not the leader. however you keep eluding to the fact that Abbott is the problem????can you clarify your stance???

The LNP's bad policies are Abbott's policies.

Oh, that's right. Carbon tax, mining tax, BER, home insulation. They were Abbott policies. Now it makes sense...

And you just continue believing that... Abbott isn't this country's problem, Labor and the Greens are. At every level.

Depends which way you look at it. You obviously have a very different ideology than I do.

Notor has a point in a sense though. Im not voting LNP is Abbott is in charge. He just doesnt have a clue when it comes to running a country. If LNP change him and depending on who it is, then the whole picture will change drastically.

I think Labour and Gillard feel that as long as Abbott is in charge, then they have a shot.

surely you couldn't be stupid enough to vote labor or greens??????

The LNP's bad policies are Abbott's policies.

That's fine, in which case you must be content with what Labor and the Greens are doing for/to this country.

specific's??????

I guess ordering the Navy to drag boats back to Indonesia could be a start.