Why the Coalition needs to function.

This is not going to be an essay about who should be leading the Coalition. Nor is it going to be about my personal views on Liberal of National party policies.

If you have been even vaguely politically aware in that last week, you will know that there is a leadership question hanging over the Coalition, driven (in theory, at least) about the current leader's position on KRudd's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS). The CPRS is not going to be the focus of this essay.

Rather, I want to look at what this one piece of legislation seems to be doing to the Coalition.

At the moment, it appears that the Coalition are so busy expending their energies tearing each other to shreds than actually forming a cogent opposing argument to Labor policies. In short, I believe that the Coalition (especially the Liberal party) are failing in their role as the opposition.

There seems to have been more mention of the Coalition leadership dramas in the media than of the actual content of the CPRS. This is borderline criminal. The CPRS is a major piece of legislation that deserves a true discussion between the Government and Opposition. The infighting is damaging any credibility to criticise Government policies, and damaging the party's credibility in general.

The Coalition needs to be able to function as a true opposition. Elect who you want, ladies and gentlemen, but don't sell the public short. We deserve better than the petty infighting that is crowding the airwaves, the web and the papers.

- Amy