Fatlo.af

It’s that time of triennium when we, the people, decide who will govern us for the next three years. I’m normally a tad apathetic about political campaigns as they invariably begin to shit me after a couple of days and I find it best not to give them the satisfaction of thinking they may have swayed me. Besides that, my apathy is also due to the fact that millions of dollars are spent in a few short weeks espousing the virtues of this party and vindictively spurning the virtues, policies and history of that party. Frankly, this election seems to be running the same tack as every other election I can remember. Let’s see, personal attacks against opposing members? Check. Promises to abrogate the current government’s policies? Check. Fear mongering? Check. Popularity contests? Check. And I could go on.

It saddens me somewhat that in this enlightened age, no politician has been or attempts to be honest with the Australian people. How nice would it be to hear Candidate A focus on what he/she will do if elected rather than point out the ill-conceived policies or past mistakes of Candidate B? Fucking nice is a term that springs to mind. I long for the day when I see a political ad that states the facts and doesn’t focus on the shortcomings of the opposition members or policies. Oh, and let’s not forget the small matter of actually keeping your election promises.

Gauging the tone of people I’ve had political discussions with of late, I think Australians fall in to one of three categories. Firstly there’s the die-hard patriot who’s been voting for their party their whole life, as their parents did, and seemingly turns a blind eye to the shortcomings of their party and manages to convince themselves, or tries to justify by any means possible, the fact that their party never made any mistakes in the past and has the best interests of the majority of Australians at heart. Secondly, there’s the donkey voter (hello Gav). The person who really doesn’t give a rat’s arse about the election or who will govern the country for the next three years. They’re of the opinion that no matter who gets in, the country’s fucked. As such, they choose to either not vote or vote for the picture of a penis they drew on the ballot paper. Lastly there’s the swinging voter. The person with no affiliation to any particular party, they vote purely for the side that will give them more than the other side will. Of all three groups, I find the swinging voters the most annoying and most reflective of what we’ve become as a society. That is, selfish, greedy, frightened and brimming with downward envy.

Which neatly brings me to my next point, when did we stop being so community minded? When did we stop trying to ‘keep the bastards honest’, to borrow a phrase from the Democrats? Australia’s economy has never been stronger and yet the gap between rich and poor is growing at an alarming rate. I earn what is termed a medium income and yet, I still can’t afford to buy a house. Believe me, I’ve tried. Some might say of course you can afford a house on $57k a year, you’re just being too fussy about what sort of house you buy and the location to which my response is that a $200k loan gets you an ex-housing trust semi-detached in Elizabeth. My repayments would be $380-$400 a week. Of the approximately $700 net income I get a week after mortgage repayments, insurance, registration, fuel, groceries, child care and bills I’m left with pretty much nothing, living pay packet to pay packet and often spending my next pay before I earn it. And I’m just above the 90% of Australian households – according to the 2006 census – who earn between $200 and $700 per week, before tax. I’m not even going to start on the social implications of living in a low socio-economic area such as Elizabeth. But, apparently, I’ve never been better off. The economy is thriving, which apparently means more jobs and opportunities, inflation is at an all time low, which apparently means I can afford more in my weekly shopping and WorkChoices have brought greater flexibility in the workplace, which apparently means I can negotiate better working conditions and pay. The sad fact is that we are definitely not better off. So why aren’t we kicking up a stink about the unfairness of the system and the injustice of policies designed to benefit those who have and further alienate those who have not? We have-nots are clearly in the majority and yet we spend our time looking down at those below us. Those poor, meagre souls forced into crime and dishonesty to get by. The Man has managed to focus our attention on the dole cheats, the indigenous population, the immigrants (legal and illegal) and whoever else is featuring on tonight’s A Current Affair. Why, we ask, are those slimy fucks getting away with ripping off the system? We should be looking up and asking why the fuck are we letting our government sell off our assets? Why aren’t we revolting against unfair tax laws that benefit the 2% of Australians earning the wage of 20 lower income workers? Why are we letting our once world standard health care slowly drift the way of the American system whereby if you don’t have private health care you’re pretty much fucked? Why aren’t we appalled at the inaccessibility and affordability of tertiary education for the vast majority of Australians? We shouldn’t have to wait 6 hours in the Emergency Triage for some poor intern who’s probably at the end of a 20 hour shift to tell us he doesn’t know what’s wrong with us, nor should we be blaming foreign students paying for University placements in advance. We should be yelling from the rooftops that free health care and affordable education is not a privilege, it’s a right. Well, I believe it once was. An educated and healthy Australia is surely the way forward.

Unfortunately, based on what I read in the papers each day and what I see in the news, we’ve a long way to go in reversing these injustices that have been slowly creeping in over the last decade or two. And as long as the politicians and mass media continue to propagate downward envy, we’ve an even longer, bleaker path ahead of us. Of course, that journey can only begin when the pathetic mediocrity of our vast suburban populace actually starts thinking outside their 800m² block. I know these people. I work with these people. I’m related to these people. It’s not looking good.

So when you vote on November 24 and, indeed, in subsequent elections, don’t look at how this election is going to benefit you personally, look at the broader picture (from several sources including independent ones) and choose carefully. Remember, a system where a majority of Australians are better off, no, actually better off, both now and in the future, is a system that’ll work.

Scott: _I did ask Sash to extrapolate more on this subject because clearly he’s quite passionate about it but as it turned out, he didn’t need to as there was quite a good discussion in Grum’s post; Get Your Plums Out. So head on over there and read the comments. I think you’ll find them to be a good read.

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