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Speaker 1: So we're all going to have our say on giving

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Speaker 1: our politicians a four year term, or are we? The

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Speaker 1: announcement from Goldsmith today was all over the place. David

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Speaker 1: Seymour is largely to blame for that. He's on the

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Speaker 1: show after five, so we'll ask him to explain himself then.

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Speaker 1: But in principle do I support a four year term? Yes? Why?

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Speaker 1: Because politics is far too short sighted at the moment.

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Speaker 1: They spend one year bidding, in one year doing work,

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Speaker 1: and then the other year getting elected again. The bigger problem, though,

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Speaker 1: is strategy and payoff. Strategizing with a three year window

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Speaker 1: means short sighted ambitions. It means we don't invest in

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Speaker 1: as many big roading or rail projects as we should.

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Speaker 1: We don't bother fixing productivity. Stuff gets put in the

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Speaker 1: too hard basket too often because there's no payoff in

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Speaker 1: time for the next election. And that's the prize that

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Speaker 1: these guys are working towards, right, is the next election.

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Speaker 1: Part of the reason China is a superpower to day

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Speaker 1: only what fifty odd years after opening up to the builders,

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Speaker 1: because it has centralized power. I'm sure it's got a

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Speaker 1: massive population, but it has centralized power. It's a dictatorship.

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Speaker 1: It has a very clear direction, a very clear strategy,

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Speaker 1: and no Peski elections to worry about. Now, obviously we

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Speaker 1: don't want to go full autocracy here, but a little

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Speaker 1: more time for a party in power would I think

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Speaker 1: do more good than harm. And I also reckon we

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Speaker 1: should give local government four years two for much the

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Speaker 1: same reasons. But I also think we should combine the two.

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Speaker 1: Combine voting in local and national politics, so you vote

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Speaker 1: for your mayor and you vote for your government, all

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Speaker 1: on the same day, all in the same polling booth.

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Speaker 1: Two fifths of buggeral people actually bother voting in local elections,

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Speaker 1: which is part of the reason that local councils are

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Speaker 1: run by such weirdos who don't seem able to balance budgets.

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Speaker 1: So one polling day for everything, please once every four years.

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Speaker 1: Tick tick tick tick tick tick. Done for more from

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Speaker 1: Heather Duplessy Allen Drive. Listen live to news talks it'd

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Speaker 1: be from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.