How career politicians now dominate our Parliament

I have been pottering along for a while now on my recollections of 50 plus years observing and playing politics. One day I might even end up with a flimsy document that people think worth reading. Whatever. One of the things that intrigues me is the way that the kind of people who have become federal politicians has changed since I came to Canberra in 1966 and today.
That's a subject that two former Prime Ministers - Bob Hawke and John Howard - touched on at an event at the old Parliament House this week. Both men, according to an ABC report, warned that these day career politicians without enough life experience are letting the public down.
Both men were asked to reflect on the state of Australian democracy in a discussion with Annabel Crabb on Wednesday night at the National Press Club, where they said both major parties were becoming less representative of the people who usually voted for them.
"My advice consistently to every young person who comes and asks me about [entering politics] is to make a life first," Mr Hawke said.
"I detest seeing a young bloke or lady go into a trade union office, or a politician's office, and spending a good deal of their time organising numbers in the branches."
Mr Howard said all political parties needed to do a better job "filtering" candidates to make sure they were from diverse backgrounds.
"We have too many people who enter Parliament now, particularly at state level, who have had no experience in life other than politics," he said.
"They've gone from school to university to the trade union, then to a politician's office.
"If you're on my side, they skip the trade union and they go to the politicians.
"We have too many now and I think it's part of the problem we face."
 The two old PM's have certainly got it right. The change in 50 years is considerable. Career politicians are now dominating political life. Back in 1966 when I came to Canberra trade union officials, political staffers, party officials and former MPs (state and federal) were less than a quarter of MHRs and Senators. At the start of this year they made up 54% of the total.

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OCCUPATION NO. % NO. %
1966 2017
Union Officials 31 16% 31 14%
Political staffers/party officials 5 3% 74 33%
State/Federal MPs  10 5% 16 7%
Farmers 37 19% 8 4%
Lawyers 19 10% 22 10%
Business people 45 23% 42 19%
    journalists 7 4
    medical practitioners 4 4
    policemen 2 3
    public servants 7 6
    teachers 11 2
    university lecturers 2 4
    community service workers 2 4
    farmworker 1
    veterinarian 1 1
    clergyman 1
    dentist 1
    optometrist 1
    military officer 1 3
    pharmacist 1 1
    cyclist 1
    seaman 1
    pilot 1
    lobbyist 1
Others 45 23% 33 15%
192 226

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