OUR state and commonwealth founders did not mention political parties in the constitutions for a reason.
Your correspondents N. Longbottom (The Advertiser, 7/10/17) and P. Lock and G. Mudge (The Advertiser, 9/10/17) are modern-day fans of the major party system.
It is a system which has mechanised our democracy into a gladiatorial conflict that often puts a given political party’s interest ahead of the public interest.
I served my country for 23 years as an officer in the Australian Defence Force because it was the right thing to do.
I went into politics not because I loved the state Liberal Party but because I wanted to serve in a good government. It was the right thing to do.
I spent 16 long years meandering through the forgotten forest of Opposition in a carriage driven by arguing fools. Leaving the Liberals was the right thing to do.
In the last four years as an independent MP working as a Minister with the government of the day, I have been able to achieve more at both a local and state level than in the previous 16 years.
An MP’s first duty is to get himself or herself into a position to best serve and to build a better future for our families.
Anyone putting a political party ahead of that calling needs to get out.

MARTIN HAMILTON-SMITH, Adelaide.
Adelaide Advertiser 12/10/2017