And, anyway, why haven't they done something about the unemployed horse-drawn tram drivers in Gonville? Is that burning flesh I smell? No - it's just democracy in action.
So many fresh-faced and idealistic people go off to Parliament with the best of intentions - until the clobbering machine gets them, grinds them down, chews them up and spits out their ideas and best intentions. And their spirit.
A few years ago we had a chance encounter with a staunch lady after the Parliamentary clobbering machine had worked on her for two years. She was crying about not being listened to - her hopes and ideas were as nothing to the cold hard face of the party she belonged to and she was thinking of leaving.
If she had gone her ashes would have settled unseen over the remains of the other hopefuls who had been destroyed by the same machine. Fortunately she had other ideas.
Even if an MP does superbly, legions of amateur politicians will scurry across the landscape to point out their faults - real or contrived - muttering criticisms of whatever they have achieved.
It is a dirty business whose currency is the character of the players.
But at least it is democracy - a system which shines when compared to others such as communism or Sharia - systems which don't just criticise but can kill you, along with your whole family in case the rot spreads.
But there is a way a hopeful politician can avoid all that nastiness and hard work, receive the same pay and perks and rarely have to face the "great unwashed" of the electorate except in partisan meetings - plus they live longer and retain a wrinkle free face. It is called "the list".
With our current system of MMP you are unlikely to know the people who are elected on the list. How many times have you been surprised to learn that some joker is a list MP - a person you have never heard of and whose beliefs appal you. You didn't get a chance to eyeball them before the election and it's unlikely you've ever spoken to them.
How are "the lists" made up? I don't know, but I do know that, if we aren't careful, one day we may find that we've elected a confused dolphin in drag.
The West Germans had to endure the same system as ours for years, with all the slithering hatred of a snakepit. I was devised to keep things unstable, with less chance of a Fourth Reich emerging. At least we're safe from that.
But don't worry, you can recognise the dolphins - their breath reeks of fish.
Chris Northover is a Wanganui-based former corporate lawyer who has worked in the fields of aviation, tourism, health and the environment.
