Hello Again, Sydney

One Sydney-sider's experiences moving back to Sydney after a long absence overseas.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Off to vote

Ah yes, the big day of the federal election has arrived and my dreams of embracing the democratic process have amounted to... Well, let's see:

- I've done a little reading on the Tamar Valley pulp mill in Tasmania, which has been approved by the Federal government and the opposition (including Shadow Minister for the environment, that old activist and rock star, Peter Garrett). On one hand it seems to make sense that instead of exporting four boatloads of woodchips to Japan we process them here and then export one boatload of pulp. Hey, they're going to get processed somewhere, right? Saying "Not In Our Backyard" doesn't make it right. *But* We were supposed to be reducing woodchipping, and what you can infer from the Environment Minister's evasions on the topic is that the pulp mill will consume more wood. What I'm not seeing from either major party is a clear strategy on the environment. We will reduce emissions says the Labor party. Really? How will building a pulp mill help?

- I did a quick quiz at www.getup.org.au - the internet lobby group that supports most causes I'm interested in. They have a "how to vote" feature which lets you plug in your postcode and then answer twenty questions. "This quiz takes just 3 minutes!" it says (and yes, there is an exclamation mark). One of the statements is: "Corporate taxes in Australia are too high." Honestly, how would I know? For a start, what is the corporate tax rate? Are corporations feeling it? Is it affecting the amount they pay their workers? I could find out, but it would certainly take more than three minutes.

One of the things that has really depressed me this election campaign is that I'm starting to see the shoddy seams of political dressing up on the left side as much as the right side. A question like this caters for people who don't know the details, they just think that big corporations are the devil and they're getting too much money. Then to cap it all off, when you finish the quiz, it compares your responses with the responses of the candidates in your electorate so you can see who to vote for. Except only (surprise, surprise) the Greens and Labor party candidates have completed the quiz so you're always told to vote for those two. Sure, you could say it's the other parties' fault for not doing basic internet campaigning, but I don't blame them for not filling out this "quiz" which even a leftie like me will admit is a load of old bollocks.

- I watched a Four Corners special which followed the lives of a few swinging voters in key seats during the election. I was already saddened by the whole "campaign", but this finished me off. Here you could see that even the swinging voters heard what they wanted to hear and retreated back to the beliefs they grew up with.

If the Labor party do get in I don't expect them to be vastly superior to the Libs. But I do know a couple of things: I don't want to live in a country where people think the most important issue is interest rates; and I don't want to be ruled by racists and xenophobes. I hope John Howard loses today, but if I can find a place that's taking bets, I'd consider putting a cheeky $20 on him to pull through. Let's see what you stand for Australia.

PS For any US readers, Liberal = Republican; Howard = Bush.

3 Comments:

At 6:34 am, Blogger Kristina said...

Thanks for the translation!

I'm depressed by our approaching election year, as well. *sigh* It's going to be a long 12 months.

 
At 6:55 am, Blogger Mark said...

It's hard work for everyone, isn't it!

On the bright side, we have a new government and hopefully a new start.

 
At 10:05 pm, Blogger Becky Willis Motew said...

As Kristina said, it's nonstop elections here now. We used to get a small break, but now it's 24/7. That's why I got rid of my cable.

And also I'm cheap.

Enjoyed the analysis, Mark.

b

 

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