Labor’s so called ‘in fighting’ is good for the country. In the same way that the Liberal Party’s ‘united front’ is not good for the country, nor is it good for democracy.

If you want the best person for a job, then it makes sense you must audition/interview people for the role. Why then do we not want our political leaders held to the same high standards?

By having their fight out in the open, Labor has given the public a clear picture of what each leader is like.

However, I would argue the Liberal Party has been riding on mechanisms that are profoundly harmful to our democracy.

The Liberal Party’s theory is: as a united front, they present a single, clear voice. But I would argue that what you get is a puppet.

Who honestly believes Tony Abbott has the leadership qualities required to run this country? If he did, he would have tried to include Russia in serious conversations regarding MH17, not throw around school-yard insults.

His back-pedal to have “robust conversations” could be construed as nothing more than the puppet-masters correcting Abbott. They know it was a stupid thing to say – the trouble is, does Abbott?

Instead of leading, Abbott is led by Big Business. At a time when a budgetary emergency is decried, Abbott’s government gives away 6.5 billion dollars to mining companies, while asking the rest of us to do the “heavy lifting”.

The Abbott government has also repealed the carbon tax, Australia’s proposal to combat climate change, drawing international criticism, while blowing a hole of unknown size in the budget.

The Coalition’s plan for Direct Action, in which it plans to fund companies to reduce their emissions, should be seen as what it is: a tax-payer bailout for industries that cannot survive in a modern world which must combat climate change.

Another problem our democracy faces is the massive amounts of power wielded by Rupert Murdoch. For a man that has renounced his Australian citizenship, his newspapers have significant influence over the perceptions of Australian voters.

Contrast these two headlines:

Murdoch’s News Australia has an estimated 42.3% market share of Australian Media, and accounts for two-thirds of daily newspapers sold, according to an IBIS World Industry Report on Newspaper Publishing in Australia.

Murdoch’s press needs to stop making the news, and go back to reporting it. As publications like The Guardian have found reliable readership bases in those who want to be informed, not told what to think.