NSW election: Politicians' Pledge too big an ask for many

 Including the Premier and all but three Liberal Party candidates.

Luke Foley signs the pledge that Mike Baird refuses. 
Foley:

"When I first read the St James Ethics Centre's Politicians' Pledge, I signed it immediately......As Labor leader I insist on the highest integrity standards for MPs of any party anywhere in Australia."

Premier Mike Baird not keen.
Simon Longstaff, St James Ethics Centre

The resilience of our democracy is also being put to the test by the circumstances of our times – with profound challenges to be met in the face of climate change, difficult economic conditions, terrorism, an epidemic of domestic violence, etc. Some people (especially younger people) are beginning to doubt the capacity of the democratic system of government to meet these challenges. Unfortunately, this relative loss of faith has been exacerbated by the perception that some of our elected politicians have, at best, only a trivial regard for the public interest.
Our society benefits from robust argument, competing policies and contending ideologies – championed by politicians of all stripes. We should applaud those who are willing to give up a huge amount of time and much of their personal lives to help improve our society. But we will only be able to do so if our politicians accept that they have one thing in common – a duty to adopt and uphold a shared ethical foundation on which we might recall the best of our democratic ideals.
To that end, I would ask every citizen to invite candidates standing in their electorate to take the Politicians' Pledge. Our motto: "Ask early, ask often!"

Flickr

Voters look like they're happy to stick with Teflon Mike:
"Voters appear to trust him, even to the point where they are backing his government for a second term to implement a policy half of them don't like."

Of interest:
Baird pledges to make it easier and cheaper to register abandoned dogs and cats

Related:
'Scandal' pips pets policy in NSW.


The current list of signatories Politicians' Pledge:
Many independents and third party candidates. The four main parties:
Labor: 53
The Greens 13
Liberal 3: Notley-Smith Coogee, ODea, Davidson, Speakman, Cronulla
Nationals 0.