mood: optimistic.state i'm in: tired.tune: bill withers 'ain't no sunshine'.finally, the holidays are here... sort of.
exams came to an end last week with considerable festivities. the celebratory theme continued through to sunday, with my halfway dinner. however, between these events and since i have been back in retail for another christmas, again with sunglass hut. it took a few days to get my body back in the habit of working. an afternoon on the surf beach of bribie island with suffien gave some reprieve. in fact, this is probably the single most pleasant moment i have had in weeks and weeks. pure bliss!
it's a shame my exams have coincided so closely with the election campaign, preventing me from being as fully broached in the pervasive issues of the day as i would have liked to be. but then, i have been driven insane enough by the relentless negative advertising blitz from the coalition, and i dread each moment the television is on should i hear the words "working families" from kevin rudd, or any of his plethora of catchphrases for that matter, one more time.
more importantly than any of those emotions, however, is the optimism i hold for a positive outcome to the election. i believe there is a real chance that this embarrassment of a government may indeed be discharged from the position it is has been elected to time and time again through little more than a cynical appeal to the lowest common denominator of human affairs, that being fears and insecurities.
today, john howard outlined his 5 point vision for australia's future, as would be the case should the coalition again be reinstated. allow me to respond to these so-called 'visions':
1. keep the economy growing and try to further reduce unemployment to 3%.
with the current state of global economic affairs, it is virtually impossible for a nation’s economy, such as that of australia, to stop growing. in fact, only two countries in the world, with the exception of those in civil strife (e.g. iraq and afghanistan) are in recession. even if the USA slips into recession, and such an event is quite likely, it is highly unlikely that we will follow as we will continue to be propped up by growth in asia (read primarily china and india), and the events that are affecting the US economy are not prevalent here; that is, we do not have a significant market in sub-prime mortgages.
my opinion is that even a pack of second year medical students would be quite capable of keeping the economy profitable in its current state. although apparently doomsday is looming, and fanantics, environmental extremists and learners (empty labels, anyone?) will have buckley's chance of keeping this ship afloat. let's be honest without the reforms of the 80's, the likes of which previous governments had been too gutless to implement, we might still be stuck in the menzies era.
2. maintain national security.
who knows that this really means? sending us to another illegal war only serves to place australia as further risk of terrorist attack and creates another hot bed for the development of extremism such as what has happened in iraq. spending millions on channels for middle australia to report national security threats while at the same time alienating muslims in the community only serves to make matters worse. if anyone in the community will have knowledge about an impending threat, it will be mohammed from lakemba in sydney’s west, not mrs doctor’s-wife from ascot in brisbane.
australians are now more at risk than at any time in the past thirty years from a threat to life or limb brought about by a military or terrorist group.
3. implement the coalition's policy promises, such as tax cuts and the introduction of public hospital boards, "as fast as possible".
more economically divisive policy that follows what is essentially a darwinian economic theory. with such an ideology, far too many are left behind, to fend for themselves, when they are inadequately disposed to do so. there should be no one to hold back the aspirational ones in life, for it will be those that bring to society many ideas and riches. notwithstanding, in the spirit of any great democracy, justice ought to be upheld. the government does not have an adequate sense of justice in my view.
4. protect the environment by pushing for the states to sign up to his $10 billion plan to save the murray and arguing internationally for a successor to the kyoto protocol.
how empty can one party's vision be? unfortunately for the coalition, the australian government will not be invited to assist with the drawing up of any new international protocol provided that they are not a signatory to the kyoto protocol. this vision appears all the more empty when one considers the fact that the deputy prime minister still is not entirely convinced by the evidence pertaining to the link between climate change and human activity.
5. start negotiations with indigenous leaders over his plan for a constitutional recognition of the special status of aborigines in the life and history of australia.
this is an utter farce! after decades of complete opposition to any forms of symbolism, and a dogmatic pursuit to only practical measures to bring about an increase in the living standards of indigenous australians, this vision can be taken no more seriously than the previous. i spoke to a police officer from a remote aboriginal community only yesterday and his comments alluded to a complete indifference on behalf of the local indigenous australians toward any hopes of a positive outcome from the current intervention, open hostility to the abrupt imposition of the measures, and some disillusionment from the officer himself over whether the measures being employed are in fact the appropriate intervention. his sentiments only echo those of so many others whom have ha contact with the workings of this intervention.
so what do i think will be the outcome of this federal election? the pessimist in me despairs at the thought of a majority of votes against the coalition, yet still they retain power by being able to hold enough lower house seats. however, i am feeling a little more upbeat of late, so i am going to say the ALP with a gain of 20 seats.
and how will i vote this election? again, i am leaning strongly toward the only party that speaks in clear, precise english with regards to what its policies are, and speaks with a message, one steeped in a philosophy of a strong sense of social justice and an inclination to do what is morally 'right' in life... of course, that's the australian greens.
voters, take aim!
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images: tanya trinh, mine, public
