Politics, For a Change
Sep. 10th, 2010 03:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alexwearspantsSo, we finally have a government in Australia, after nearly three weeks of vote-tallying and negotiations. This is of course old news, it happened Tuesday and a week is a long time ... well, you know the rest. I have mixed feelings about the result. I'm glad that Labor will lead the minority government, for all that neither Labor or Liberal are the parties of my heart. I'm curious to see how this minority government will work out, and if it will lead people to cling more tightly to the two-party system that's dominated, or to explore further possibilities.
There's a strange divorce between looking at things from a strategic viewpoint (really a foolish thing to attempt, considering the already utilised adage) and from a personal. For example most people consider it likely that the incumbent government, whoever they ended up being, will be even more vulnerable to attack and likely lose the next election. This might prove true, but that's no reason for me to sacrifice my time now for a potential future bonus that might never eventuate.*
I'm sad that once again we haven't actually voted in our first female PM, that she's maintained her position, much as she attained it, through wheeling and dealing. I'm still proud that the election wasn't really run on the fact that she's an unmarried childless athiest. On the other hand, the election wasn't run on much at all. It was a bit of a shambles all around.
It's an exciting time for politics, though. I'm desperate for the government to prove it can work, at the very least to last til next year when the Greens** will hold the balance of power in the Senate. I really want people to see what the Greens can do when you put your trust in them. I want to see what they'll do when we put our trust in them. I hope that the responsibility will curtail some of their more ... out there ... policies whilst demonstrating that most of what they advocate is doable and deliverable.
A final thought is that I advocate compulsary voting. ...Strongly. I. Yes. I don't really know that I can go into this without accidentally insulting someone so I'll let the statement stand. But I'm in the interesting position of being in a safe seat. I don't believe my constituency has changed hands in ... oh I'll wiki it. .........Ok. So. Some time later, I am somewhat boggled to learn that my constituency has never changed hands. It's been a Labor safe seat since it was created over a century ago. Well. No wonder we get screwed so often. Which, to relate tangentially to the first statement, means that I can vote to my conscience, if I like, and not have to worry about it because it doesn't have an effect. Nothing I do will have an effect. It's depressing but freeing which is something I worry about considering my claims to caring.
*.......I'm trying to say I'll be happy if the Liberal Coalition never gain power. Ever. Never ever ever. Both major parties may tend towards conservative policies but I'd rather the one thats working-class oriented, thanks.
** Some clarification, because it was pointed out to me that the Australian Greens Party doesn't seem to operate in quite the same way that other Greens parties do, the AGP is not a single-issue party. They have policies on a range of issues from light rail to sustainability to equal rights for same-sex couples and so on. Basically for all that the Australian Labor Party is the Left and the Liberal/National Coalition is the Right, if you really want to vote Left in Australia you vote Greens. Bob Brown, to show my bias, is my hero.
There's a strange divorce between looking at things from a strategic viewpoint (really a foolish thing to attempt, considering the already utilised adage) and from a personal. For example most people consider it likely that the incumbent government, whoever they ended up being, will be even more vulnerable to attack and likely lose the next election. This might prove true, but that's no reason for me to sacrifice my time now for a potential future bonus that might never eventuate.*
I'm sad that once again we haven't actually voted in our first female PM, that she's maintained her position, much as she attained it, through wheeling and dealing. I'm still proud that the election wasn't really run on the fact that she's an unmarried childless athiest. On the other hand, the election wasn't run on much at all. It was a bit of a shambles all around.
It's an exciting time for politics, though. I'm desperate for the government to prove it can work, at the very least to last til next year when the Greens** will hold the balance of power in the Senate. I really want people to see what the Greens can do when you put your trust in them. I want to see what they'll do when we put our trust in them. I hope that the responsibility will curtail some of their more ... out there ... policies whilst demonstrating that most of what they advocate is doable and deliverable.
A final thought is that I advocate compulsary voting. ...Strongly. I. Yes. I don't really know that I can go into this without accidentally insulting someone so I'll let the statement stand. But I'm in the interesting position of being in a safe seat. I don't believe my constituency has changed hands in ... oh I'll wiki it. .........Ok. So. Some time later, I am somewhat boggled to learn that my constituency has never changed hands. It's been a Labor safe seat since it was created over a century ago. Well. No wonder we get screwed so often. Which, to relate tangentially to the first statement, means that I can vote to my conscience, if I like, and not have to worry about it because it doesn't have an effect. Nothing I do will have an effect. It's depressing but freeing which is something I worry about considering my claims to caring.
*.......I'm trying to say I'll be happy if the Liberal Coalition never gain power. Ever. Never ever ever. Both major parties may tend towards conservative policies but I'd rather the one thats working-class oriented, thanks.
** Some clarification, because it was pointed out to me that the Australian Greens Party doesn't seem to operate in quite the same way that other Greens parties do, the AGP is not a single-issue party. They have policies on a range of issues from light rail to sustainability to equal rights for same-sex couples and so on. Basically for all that the Australian Labor Party is the Left and the Liberal/National Coalition is the Right, if you really want to vote Left in Australia you vote Greens. Bob Brown, to show my bias, is my hero.
