Yet, few progressive women would be celebrating Kristina Keneally's recent rise to the NSW Premiership.

Few women would be happy reading through a political career that has reeked of backroom cynacism and transparent grabs for their votes.

Looking back to the beginning, it's been well reported that Keneally's husband had his eye on Labor preselection for the seat of Heffron- only missing out due to affirmative action rules which secured Kristina as the candidate.

Her acceptance of the poison chalice of the Premiership was equally Machiavellian on the part of the backroom boys. Apart from her loyalty to the Labor Right, coming from the fairer sex must also have been seen as a way to attract dispirited voters.

Now not to simplify the issue but Keneally's sudden and dramatic rise does seem suspect, begging someone to ask the question:

Does having internal genitalia dictate a good candidate?

At a State and Federal level the kingpins may not think so, but they know it's a good way to secure votes.

So why aren't women more annoyed?

Yes, all the above mentioned women seem very capable, and they should probably be in the positions they are in, but, with the exception of Anna Bligh in Queensland the real positions of power are still held by men.

And the worst of it is that men in dark rooms believe that women will vote for women- purely on the fact the candidate is female.

So are we going to prove them right? . . read more

It gets worse. These offers are being made from billions of dollars of surplus tax revenue which are largely derived from the export of carbon emissions. An unsustainable economy delivering rapid growth at the expense of global social responsibility. Meanwhile the domestic public value of health, transport, education and social justice is eroded by a consumer choice-economy which is not asked to address our needs as citizens of Australia, just the price at which these services are provided.

The Federal Labor Party will discover on 24 November the downside of Kevin 'R2Me2's' failure to put value squarely before price (despite today's protestations) because it really doesn't matter who is elected. This is a Coles vs Woolworths election; the 'super-store me' of political obesity. Where to from here? As Whitlam said 'It's time'. But not for a 'me too' Labor government.

It's time for a new political framework built on the passions and values of people who know the current political framework is as dead as last week's special offers at the mall.  . . read more

One unique contribution of the Net is to provide a stage which is not bounded by demography, geography, economy or spin. Get ready for the ride. And watch this space! . . read more

So the election’s been called.

In less than a month we’ve got a new prime minister and now we’re going to vote on a new government. But could this only be a promise to do nothing?

Such a rushed process could only help those who are relying on Australia to make a less than informed decision. Looking at the current situation, is the next month long enough for both parties to have an agenda?

Neither are stable, one was part of a coup and the other has had an identity crisis for three years. Neither is confident in its appeal. Neither has anything promising to sell and it remains to be seen who can engineer the most appetising plan on moving Australia forward.

Hopefully we won’t be left looking at Abott’s face, then Gillard’s face and choosing the one we want to see more of on TV.

In the end there will be a winner. Fingers crossed that it’s us.  . . read more

In this two part article, Shaun Lambert writes exclusively for HomepageDAILY, taking a look at how we arrived at this juncture and what could be done to avoid repeating mistakes. . . read more