The Debates Rudd should be asking for

There was muted reaction to the theatre of the ALP's director, Tim Gartrell, prematurely requesting three election debates, one of which to be held in the cyber confines of Youtube. Rather than discuss the merits of such setpieces, here are some of the issues that should be the subject of sustained debate and each party should, in the democratic tradition, present us with some form of policy alternative to resolve.

1. Climate change - carbon transition of the economy and impact management. Climate change covers the full ambit from renewable energy and power supply, state/federal management of the electricity grid, pricing and fairness to the poor who will struggle with bill increases, international diplomacy and regional assistance in the setting and maintenance of targets, not to mention defence of cities and coastlines from rising sea levels and storms. We need serious plans now, showing the favoured approaches in terms of necessary reductions in emissions, technologies and timelines for their achievement and how these approaches will be implemented.

2. Low-tax, low service or high-tax, high service economies - do we follow the US-based private ownership model or adopt a more Scandanavian strategy and accept higher taxes in exchange for better services.

3. Economic development - exploitation of resources or intellectual capital - the choice between traditional industry such as mining or development of an economy of ideas with maximum investment in education and training throughout the workforce.

4. Sustainable agriculture - do we let the market decide which land should be farmed and for what purpose or do we implement restrictions on water-guzzling crops such as cotton.

5. Commercial sponsorship - what degree of commercial involvement are we prepared to accept in exchange for more money for services such as education and health. Are we willing to accept gambling and tax revenue from tobacco and alcohol as a necessary evil?

6. Service delivery - do we need the states or is centralising services the best way to go? is regional government better?

7. Democratic reform - do we need a Bill of Rights to prevent abuse of power? Proportional representation or non-compulsory voting?

Enough of blank-cheque mandate government. Parties should present at least the core principles of their policy platform that will guide their decisions on issues such as these to allow voters an informed choice on their future.