Monday, October 12, 2009

Can I link Tony Abbott and Iran in one post?

Tony Abbott has provided another thoughtful piece on his constitutional proposal for resolving some Federal/State impasses without going the whole way to abolish the States.

His proposal has been mentioned here before, but even he would (I think) acknowledge that the States could ultimately be made redundant as a consequence of the move.

The benefit of steady constitutional change is that it avoids "unintended consequences". We see in Iran That the Revolutionary Guards have now become an alternative power authority and as a group are extending their control into economic areas. The economic area in particular is ownership of a telecommunications monopoly - both a good earner and a useful piece of infrastructure to control.

While abolishing the States might not be in the same class as building an elite squad for the defence of the revolution, the risk can be the same. Unintended consequences abound.

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