Archives for November 2014

White Australia as people appear both hedonistic and politically disengaged and strangely proud of the fact. Being apolitical as a point of pride is not allowed by our oversea’s brethren.  People from without who have had to struggle, face discrimination and encounter death and torture in the political process are less willing to be so complacent.  Australian by in large have no real experience and little sympathy with that struggle as evidenced by their unsympathetic reaction to refugees.  While I have lived overseas in the midst of a political revolution, I am a multigenerational Australian and a bit of a rarity I suspect.  My wife and I were both educated at Private schools, brought up by Conservative families. My wife has an MBA to add to her other four degrees, (I’m less educated with only three). We are self-employed although both have significant histories of working for the private sector and public sector employers (in Transport, Banking ^{{-me only}}, Insurance ^{{- her only}}, Finance, Mining, Education, Health), own our own homes and are not impoverished.  In many respects a middle-class nuclear church going Anglo family and yet despite being a potential LNP voting demography, we find ourselves at odds with the political climate in Australia.

Australians are often found following the example of conforming with the un-thought-out voting position of one’s family.  They are more often intransigent in their voting position, regardless of the situation or the facts available so readily in this contemporary age of internet access to information.  The “writing was very obviously on the wall” for what sort of a leader Abbott would be well before the election, so there is no excuse for this level of intellectual laziness other than to protest that for some inexplicable reason, one believed his lies.  Or that of Murdock’s papers which we swallowed uncritically and without considered thought.  So how do you engage this intellectually lazy population? Unfortunately, it would have to be suffering the leadership of an inherent sociopath/fascist like Abbott and experiencing the consequences.  A harsh lesson which our society will undoubtedly suffer from now and well into the future, as Abbott and his colleagues continue dismantling the infrastructure of our once egalitarian society.  Sadly, it is probably only in experiencing this pain, which we will generate engagement in politics.  Providing any of them a second term will most surely be irretrievably damaging as everything that provides a buffer against poverty and hardship is dismantled.

Okay, so you’re considering voting for the Coalition based on their policies? They are seeking a second term. How have you been thinking about this? Hope you don’t mind if I ask but which one of Abbott’s grand policies (that Malcolm hasn’t changed) was it that has maintained your desire to have either or any of them as your Prime Minister?

What could it be?

• Was the opportunity to drive up and down the new roads being built between and in our cities, despite the trend away from it in other western nations, while incurring higher petrol prices to do that?
• Was it that folks continue to enjoy prosperous employment opportunities, assuming of course you are not a public servant or work in manufacturing  or education or nursing, or public broadcasting, or air transport, public communications authorities or anything to do with conservation or climate management, because the Government “cuts” (of efficiency dividends) might put you at risk?
• Perhaps it was the opportunity to live a very cheap and free-spirited life on the streets for months of the year, should you be one of the increasing numbers of these unemployed people that Australia has now close to 2 million (or 800K if you follow the tightly statistically controlled measurement the government prefers you reference) people?  (Roy Morgan’s Stats preferred)
• Perhaps it was the opportunities available to you to get a higher education complete with a higher debt level for the rest of your life?
• Perhaps, if you’re a woman, you’re encouraged by their sensitivity and support for women’s issues in his role as the Minister for women, such as over 60,000 domestic violence cases, reduction in Shelters, fair & equal pay, misogyny and his support for you while you’re ironing your husband’s clothes?  Giving back $100M after you have taken $300M doesn’t count.
• Perhaps if you’re gay, you’re conscious of their awareness of homophobic considerations, and what support Abbott/Malcolm will – as a devout Catholic – provide for you?
• Perhaps if you’re a journalist, or blogger or involved in any information sharing role, it’s the extra security you feel knowing that you only have to write in support of “Team Australia” and that you don’t need to worry yourself about matters pertaining to the grubby issues of abuse of power and political corruption?
• Perhaps you’re a property developer or in construction, and you know that the money you donate to that third party organisation,  will unexpectedly turn out to be generous in passing on your largess to members of the Liberal Party?
• Perhaps you’re in the Mafia, and you know you have the best political party money can buy.
• Perhaps if you’re an artist, of any kind, you’re encouraged by the realisation that you have to go out and get a “real job” (perhaps in retail)  because there is no party policy or increased support for the arts from this government?
• Perhaps if you’re not an Australian born, you are aware of his stand on racist fear-mongering over wars in countries far across the sea, and his humanitarian bombs he is dropping on your relatives to forestall the tides of war that apparently intimately threaten us?
• Perhaps if you are a true Australian born – whose ancestry originates before white settlement – you’ll be aware of how conscious they are of your existence, and that of your ancestors in the wild Bushland that constituted the Australia Abbott talked of, before 200 years ago?
• Perhaps it was the chance to continue working far beyond what you once thought was your retirement age, and the increased insurgency of medical costs due to the increasingly diverse means of extracting a co-payment from you, that you will no doubt face as you get older?
• Perhaps it’s because of the preservation and conservation concerns his government has towards the ageing population of “copper infrastructure” that makes up our national network and ensures that we will never have to worry about being competitive with Third World countries like India and their high-speed Internet?
• Perhaps it is the opportunity he is giving other country’s companies to direct how we can legislate to protect our country’s interest, and in sure that we do not hinder their trade embargoes on cheaper medicines and the like?
• Perhaps it was from some perverse curiosity of just how far and how large the deficit could grow while the “adults” were in charge and perhaps to curiously observe whether the Treasurer will give yet another $9 billion away to the RBA in the hope that the Australian dollar does eventually collapse?
• Perhaps it’s because you know you don’t want to have those bastard refugees coming here and stealing your job, with the sure knowledge that they will be beaten and abused until they go back to where from they came?  Unless of course, they have a 457 Visa and then you are happy for them to compete with you for the 160,200 jobs that you and 800K (or 1,186K depending on which stats you follow) Australians have to compete with along with over 103K 457 Visa entrants?
• Perhaps it’s because you have a fluid relationship to things like reality, truth and lies, such that it doesn’t matter to you whether there is any truth in anything that Mr Abbott or Mr Turnbull says?  Perhaps you’re invigorated intellectually by the adroit and concise manner in which either of them inspired you in his speeches?
• Perhaps it’s because you had (even for a year) the opportunity to acquire a knighthood or be referred to as Dame so-and-so as you walk down the streets in your robes?
• Perhaps it is the international recognition he gives to important foreign dignitaries when he hands over our knighthoods to British Royalty and our “Order Of Australia” to Japanese generals.
• Perhaps it is his keen and scientific intellect that can find the minuscule faults in the science promoted by 99% of the world’s scientific community and with his sharp and insightful mind declare Anthropomorphic Climate change as “crap” or – in Turnbull’s case – only of “direct action” despite having previously thought that was “crap”?
• Perhaps it is his support for jobs in the Mining sector, which – even though it employs less than 2% of the Australia population – enjoys the benefit of the largess of billion in subsidies by this government?
• Perhaps his great concern over this minority Mining group losing their jobs is seen as indicative of his over all concern for industry labour markets that have the potential to employ far greater numbers.  For example such as the Renewable Energy sector that he is set on reducing!??

How fair is any of that?  I must admit, I am very curious to know which of these aspects have so captured over 40% of the population’s imagination and enthusiasm for Tony Abbott/Malcolm Turnbull that they are keen to give either another go at leading our country in the next term?  Perhaps some of you can help me out in understanding the issues?