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There are benefits to growing old. One, of course, is that you don't need drugs or alcohol because the same effects can be experienced by standing up too quickly.
But more important is the discovery that less means more. It's why so many of us are downsizing and dispensing with the clutter and complications of modern life. If only we could apply the same lesson to politics.
It's been 121 years since Australia became a nation. But having reached such a mature age the country is showing little desire in reducing the mess of duplication, confusion and waste in its three levels of government - and in all our lives. The numbers are striking.
There are more than 750 politicians at state and federal level. Add to that more than 500 local councils around the country, each with an average of nine councillors, and Australia has an elected official for every 4800 Australians.
How we are governed - and by how many - is naturally not an issue you will hear about in the forthcoming federal election campaign. Most of the players have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo and believe going to the polls with a policy to upend the current system would be too "bold" - one of the dirtiest epithets you can hurl at a politician.
But the pandemic and a series of climate change-related disasters has exposed just how archaic our system of government - devised in a world that disappeared long ago - really is. Petty border disputes, confusion over funding eligibility and egotistical displays of one-upmanship between the state premiers and the Prime Minister dragged us back to pre-federation days when the colonies constantly bickered and competed against one another.
"We must surely be the most over-governed country in the world," said Bob Hawke in 1979 when he argued it was time to abolish the states and replace them with larger local governments.
But despite embarking as PM on several "bold" initiatives that restructured the country, replacing the Westminster system was simply too hard.
Surely in a rapidly changing world the time has arrived for big ideas and grand visions like simplifying government.
Australian politics, sadly, seems intent on growing old disgracefully.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Is Australia over-governed? What level of government would you eliminate? Send us your views: echidna@theechidna.com.au
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THEY SAID IT: "One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors." - Plato.
YOU SPOTTED IT: Eagle-eyed reader Tina from Launceston had just subscribed to The Echidna newsletter when she spied one of our correspondents staying low to the ground outside her home.