I can’t wait for the Government to change. Last Federal election, I was two months (almost exactly) too young to vote. Instead, I spent the day handing out informative cards produced by GetUp which ranked the policies of Labor, Liberal, the Greens and the Sex Party according to predetermined scales drawn from community consultation.
The funny thing about elections is that, with the way politics works in Australia, we preference-vote for a particular candidate, technically. But unless they’re an independent, quite often (especially over the last few years) we vote for a political party. So the fact that my local Labor member was popular enough to stay in was not enough for some to still go through the gates saying, “Nah, I don’t want one of those [voting cards], I just want the current government out”.
In Australian politics, the way things are arranged – within parties and such – means that there’s a conflict. Technically, I think we’re supposed to vote on which candidate would best represent us as our local member. The difficulty comes when the current local member has done a reasonably good job and is a likable person, but the party they belong to is on the nose within the community/ voter because of the policies. One way of ‘solving’ this issue is to put the local member second. Thanks to preferences, they’d still get the vote. But it’s still rather strange I think.
One thing is certain: when it comes time to vote, I won’t be a sheep to be led by the propaganda of the government. Too many sheep in the “swing” vote is what, I think, caused the current situation. After all, say something often enough – beat something up enough so that a storm in a teacup appears like the real deal – and people start acting rather herd-like.
I’m happy being a goat, thanks.
There’s a need for more goats around here, I think. When Question Time has devolved spectacularly with Bronwyn Bishop (and I can’t stop thinking of her as Umbridge, by the way) in the chair; when Abbott and co. see fit to rob the poor and spare the rich while waving the red flag of terror in our faces to distract us; when they ignore anything about climate change that doesn’t suit them; when they dismiss the rule of law and common decency; when they adopt a “whatever it takes” mantra (publicly regarding ‘stopping boats’, but privately I feel regarding staying in power)……
Where have we gone wrong?
There are too many wealthy people calling the shots around here, including those at News Corp. (Beware the wolves in flimsy disguise.) Too many who appear to simply not care, so long as they get what they want.
And our politicians aren’t even qualified for what they do, consistently suffering from foot-in-mouth-then-bullsh*t-out-of-trouble syndrome. It’s embarrassing. And frankly ridiculous.
Toto, I don’t think we’re in a democracy anymore. (with apologies to Judy Garland, Frank L. Baum, etc.)
We may have passed that point years ago; they’re just becoming extremely obvious.
And, to be honest, I don’t know if changing governments will fix it, or merely soften the blow. I’m hopeful, but….
Further Reading:
http://theaimn.com/the-bear-pit-called-question-time/
http://theaimn.com/australian-democracy-at-a-tipping-point/
http://theaimn.com/transparent-and-accountable-hardly/
http://theaimn.com/does-aussie-democracy-exist-anymore/
http://theaimn.com/whos-the-clown-joe/
http://theaimn.com/im-alright-jack/
http://theaimn.com/the-canberra-challenge-is-abbott-playing-the-long-game/
http://theaimn.com/absolute-crap/
http://theaimn.com/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-our-tony/
http://theaimn.com/if-dick-smith-wants-to-take-on-tony-abbott-he-will-have-murdoch-to-contend-with/
http://theaimn.com/take-heed-mr-abbott/
http://theaimn.com/tony-abbott-described-as-creepy-is-he-you-decide/
http://theaimn.com/abbotts-denial-of-reality/
http://theaimn.com/abbott-is-not-above-the-law/
http://theaimn.com/a-tenure-without-substance/
http://theaimn.com/why-does-aimn-post-so-many-stories-about-tony-abbott/
http://theaimn.com/killbill-and-other-assorted-hashtags/
myzania 