THE AUSTRALIAN ELECTION RESULT

In 1999 I became ashamed to be Australian.

I couldn't for the life of me - understand what we - as a country -what we had to benefit from - by participating in a system that locked up desperate people and children.

My 'ashamed-i-ness" grew and grew as Howard got closer and closer to the US - painting the country with a big red target. My fears were confirmed on 12th Oct 2002.

He then - against all sanity, all reason, all logic and so many Australians, committed troops to an invasion of a country that has had no beef with Australia.

This was after MASS RALLIES AND PROTESTS but the public.

Could I possibly be any more ashamed????

OH - Yes I could!!!

Early on Sunday 10th of October 2004- sitting in the carwash cafe with my obligatory latte and newspaper - there was this smarmy faced individual who had caused my ashamed-i-ness - beaming at me.

I wanted to weep. I felt so amazingly let down - not by the ALP - but by the people of this country who all had the opportunity and responsibility to affect change for the good..

HONESTLY you bunch of donkeyfukers - HOW in GODS NAME could you possibly justify voting for the LIBERAL PARTY?

"oh I have a mortgage and I just couldn't risk not voting liberal" (12/10/2004 SMH - reserve bank increases the interest rate)

AFFS!!!!!


I honestly thought Australians were better and more intelligent than that - to believe slogans and campaigns created by marketing professionals - who will have absolutely no authority or participation in their delivery and over time will morph into unfulfilled Liberal promises.


EVEN WORSE - and how is that possible you ponder? THE LIBERAL PARTY NOW HAVE CONTROL OF THE SENATE!



Some of the problems I see are:-

1) There are too many smaller parties with stupid causes that dilute the vote (yeah preferences work - but...)

2) The main parties were established some 110 years ago - the ALPs roots were in the 1890s and the liberarls 1900. There is no real representation or party that caters for TODAY, or todays generations.

3) ALP is too busy trying to be everyones friend in the schoolyard - but not having the balls to truly stand up. Also their economic past - has been marketed in a negative way - and it will take an awful long time to change that perception.


Comments from my friend Andy,
"
Our "Democracy"
On the matter of the vote, I’ve been doing some thinking about the reality of the modern democracy in recent months and have realised just how distorted it really is. How can we even suppose to champion the cause of democracy when it’s typically difficult to get on to a ballot and – even when you do – you have virtually no chance of success against the established parties? I know that the Family First party managed to make some headroom in Victoria – and One Nation had a surprisingly good run while it lasted – but they’re little more than anomalies (aberrations, if you will). The fact that they might hold the balance of power is not due to their political skill or influence but rather due to flaws in our political system and sheer good luck on their part. Even choosing the representatives for the ballots in each area is limited to those willing to shell out fairly hefty amounts for membership in a political party so that they can be involved in pre-selection! To say that entry into this part of the democratic process is restricted is an understatement and a half! Put simply, Australia is not a democracy. The correct term (from Chomsky, and political science definitions) is the polyarchy. Putting aside terms like the constitutional monarchy which – in practice – really only refer to our government’s relationship with the governor general and the Queen, Australia is governed (much like in the US) though "a system of elite decision-making and public ratification" (Chomsky, 2003). Even the so-called system of public ratification is flawed due to the lengths of time between election and the power of government and the media to distort or completely hide the public record. I can’t even think of the last time that the public had any kind of creative input into the contents of legislation or even the constitution (referendums are just "Here’s what we want to say, is it okay?")
Having said all that (and, I think, proven that we are not a ‘democracy’), I’m actually not a terribly strong advocate of the democracy in its purest form. Power diffused is always a good idea as it prevents small groups of people from wielding too much influence, but a system of government where the people are directly consulted and brought in to the creative stream on every decision (as is the requirement of the ‘democracy’) would drown in bureaucracy, inefficiency and sloth – not to mention its capacity to be equally distorted by a small number of charismatic individuals capable of swaying the majority. I instead prefer to envisage a system of government (funnily enough) closer to our own but that has much greater accountability and transparency. Elections should not be preceded by massive campaigns by major parties that so easily distort their records and policies, but rather a simple cataloguing of past records, policies and results and their – media-free – presentation to the public. At the very least, it would greatly assist the greater population in viewing a government’s record in full context instead of having to rely on its memory which is – understandably – not particularly reliable.
I’m not sure how to help alleviate the problem of large party pre-selection being undertaken by fee-paying individuals only; perhaps allowing anyone in a given seat to participate in any pre-selection in their seat would help?"

SO WHAT CAN WE DO??

Larger rallies with more people from all generations – possibly even participating in mass, non-violent civil disobedience. I don’t want the police pulling out the tear gas, but I also think that simple marches are too easy to ignore. Also, more objective and less distorted media coverage of such events.

- Less media influence and politics in the election process. Campaigns should be run based on simply and truthfully presented records and proposals. Media and all its distortions should have nothing to do with it, or should be regulated and held accountable. THERE SHOULD BE A MEDIA BLACKOUT 1 WEEK PRIOR. This should also include the bloody pamphlette dickheads at polling stations.

- Far greater freedom of information, and diffusion of power away from the ‘elite’ of our political system.

- Tightening of campaign finance laws (I’m sure they could be tightened…)

- Legislation against the garbage rhetoric and marketing bullshit thrown around throughout election campaigns

- Restriction on front-bench positions to a finite number of terms (including Prime Minister)

- Greater accountability of individual leaders on policy decisions and results

- Legislation tying our constitution and laws to ratified international treaties.

- Finally - we must CARE, we must not be apathetic and we must be active.