PR down under

Re: Real Democracy, letter to the editor, Jan. 19. There is a lot of talk about electoral reform and the wonderful benefits of proportional representation. Conceptually, this system sounds ap- pealing, much like the grass on the other side of the fence. Australia has had proportional representation for decades. Yet in recent years, a clever bloke figured out how to game the system, which has led to the election of people with virtually no base in the electorate. These minorities, not surprisingly, play balance- of- power games that hobble the government. A lot of Australians would like first-past-the-post voting to bring stability back to their government. I think we should retain our present system and remind all politicians that the Canadian voter is running the show and not Hollywood stars and foreign-funded activists.

Ted Cooper, Powell River, B. C.