Student debt has reached about $81 billion. The government receives far more in student repayments than it does from the gas industry through the petroleum resource rent tax.
As the 1967 referendum on Aboriginal recognition shows,if people are presented with a clear choice in a non-partisan way,they will overwhelmingly back progress.
Unless section 44 is remedied,we can expect these issues to resurface in future parliaments.
There is a good point to be made about the poor state of Australian law in preserving religious freedom.
The Australian people should be asked at a referendum to alter section 44.
The government's argument in the citizenship case will require the court to take a more generous and creative approach to section 44 than ever before.
Parliament should discontinue its prayers and instead seek to respect and acknowledge people of all beliefs.
The government may be hoping that the momentum built towards the vote will dissuade the court from striking it down. This may be a poor bet.
Section 44 of the constitution may be ill-suited for a nation with so many people,or their parents,born overseas,but the law is still the law,writes George Williams.
The plebiscite policy has delayed the recognition of same-sex marriage in Australia,but it has also thrown up intolerable tensions within the Coalition and is probably unworkable.