Speaking of not believing it ...

[Bugged]

Fair point, you got me (even though I was right )

Wait. According to Wiki, what you say is the case in North America, but in the colonies it's not quite so clear cut. Cultural differences and all that, ya know.

I'm referring to the proper definition, which is based on the origin of the title. But, of course, I can't speak to any aberration or misuse of the term in other countries. I don't see the point of using the term Ms. if not to imply that one's marital status is inconsequential - especially in this day and age.

[costard]

The public votes for the party they want in office. The party votes for who they want as a leader and they can change that leader pretty much at any time (bait and switch?). So, the public can either vote for the party or not vote at all. I think it's a common feeling that we don't really have a say in who leads the country. I imagine that's a similar story in Oz.

Pretty much right, except for the "not vote at all" bit. That's illegal here (at federal, state and local levels what's more) and earns you a fine or worse.

Politics of fear come home to roost - once the mob is unsettled it'll take off in random directions at the merest scare. If the media is primed to make it's money from scare-mongering, you then have a recipe for very little cohesion and little capacity to achieve long term goals. It's happening all over.

[Michael Emrys]

I'm referring to the proper definition, which is based on the origin of the title. But, of course, I can't speak to any aberration or misuse of the term in other countries. I don't see the point of using the term Ms. if not to imply that one's marital status is inconsequential - especially in this day and age.

The irony is that Mizz (which is how Ms. is pronounced in the States) was originally a corruption of Missus...or Mrs. Single women were always addressed as Miss (if not something worse).

Michael

[dieseltaylor]

OZ PM has had a number of relationships with other men. I think she sensibly worked out all men are pretty much the same but she could save a fortune on her hair.

Incidentally the OZ Labour Party spells it Labor! Weird I thought most Australians new good English

[Mace]

Weird I thought most Australians new good English

We do...it's 'knew good English'! <g>

[Stalins Organ]

Dunno - compared to the bad old English (cf this morning's soccer game in South Africa) the Aussies might well be the new good English...except of course Germany beat them even worse...or better if you are German.....

As for voting for leaders....usually the reason the party changes a leader is the old one is unpopular and they think that they'll lose hte next election if htey don't get rid of him/her.

So it's not true that the public has no say - it just has no formal say.

[JonS]

It's much the same in the US though, isn't it?

I mean, did anyone actually vote for Nancy Pelosi to be Speaker of the House, or Tim Kaine to be Chair of the DNC?

[REVS]

As for Labor v Labour, at the time of the formation of the Labor party late 19th-century Australia there were a lot of advocates of spelling reform wanting to get away from 'English' spellings and head in the direction of what they considered more sensible 'American' spellings. One example is the famous Australian magazine 'The Bulletin', the leading voice of its day in the late 19th century (and which only closed down a couple of years ago) which led the way in spelling reform and, for example, always spelled the word 'color' in the American fashion. So Labor is just Bolshie Australians at work.

And as for the "no say at all" in electing the leader argument that's just plain wrong. We Australian citizens elect our representatives, and our representatives then elect a leader. So we get to have our say, and we get to have it roughly every three years, and we'll get to have our say again before the year is out.