A bit of kick-ass

For the casual observer, reading this blog, they would think that my politics maybe more left than I acknowledge. As my introduction stated, I actually don't really get left or right in politics, but if I am agreeing with anything that comes out the Greens party, I realise that makes me a bit left.

As previously stated, I do not hold a membership to any political party and I don't really think I align with any.

But I loved Senator Scott Ludlam's final speech on 4 March, 2014, before Western Australia goes to the polls again to vote for the Senate. It's kick-ass to a Prime Minister who seems to be hitting hard against the 3 policies I am particularly interested in.

Read or watch the speech here:

http://greensmps.org.au/content/speeches-parliament/adjournment-speech-abbott-well-see-you-wa

My favourite lines are:

Mr Prime Minister, at your next press conference we invite you to leave your excruciatingly boring three-word slogans at home. If your image of Western Australia is of some caricatured redneck backwater that is enjoying the murderous horror unfolding on Manus Island, you are reading us wrong. Every time you refer to us as the 'mining state' as though the western third of our ancient continent is just Gina Rinehart's inheritance to be chopped, benched and blasted, you are reading us wrong. 

and....

Mr Abbott, your thoughtless cancellation of half a billion dollars of Commonwealth funding for the Perth light rail project has been noted. Your blank cheque for Colin Barnett's bloody and unnecessary shark cull has been noted. Your attacks on Medicare, on schools funding, on tertiary education-noted. The fact that your only proposal for environmental reforms thus far is to leave Minister Greg Hunt playing solitaire for the next three years while you outsource his responsibilities to the same Premier who presides over the shark cull has been noted too.

and this is just plain funny....

So to be very blunt, the reason that I extend this invitation to you, Mr Prime Minister, to spend as much time as you can spare in Western Australia is that every time you open your mouth the Green vote goes up. 

and my real favourite, because it reflects some of how I feel about the Abbott government's treatment of asylum seekers.....

And, perhaps most profoundly, your determined campaign to provoke fear in our community-fear of innocent families fleeing war and violence in our region-in the hope that it would bring out the worst in Australians is instead bringing out the best in us. Prime Minister, you are welcome to take your heartless racist exploitation of people's fears and ram it as far from Western Australia as your taxpayer funded travel entitlements can take you.

I wished I lived in Western Australia! (That maybe the only time I ever say that!) Voting happens on 5 April.

I don't know about anyone else out there trying to keep abreast of Australian politics but it's amazing how little I heard from the other political parties on the media. It felt like Tony Abbott's face was everywhere during the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years. But Bill Shorten is no where. I have actually had to subscribed to a certain Labour MPs FB just to get some of Labour's comments. Is there a government stranglehold on the media? (*conspiracy theory*)

And, no, I have not received a reply from my first letter to my local MP. It's early days though. I am gracious.

Letter #1

It has taken me a while to decide what the best topic to write my first letter as there seems to be so much I could write (complain?) about. Was feeling slightly overwhelmed.

The topic needs to be timely. And there seems to be new issues every week that require research (time) to write a good, informed letter to my local representative. 

So, I've decided in writing to ask that the funding to Schools as the first topic. After researching how to write a letter to your local politician, this felt like a good start point, considering I am a mum with a child on the verge of starting school (how did she get so big?!!) So, see my letter below. I am sending this to them via email, as The Man has already contacted him in this way (yes, the political edge runs in the family).

To the Honourable Mr Local Federal Member,

I am writing to you as a member of your electorate and as a mother with her eldest child on the verge of starting school in 2015.  I write to ask that you vote not to reduce the funding recommended in the Gonki review that became the Better Schools Program. Our children are our future and to cut funding to their education will have impact long after any budget surplus. Cutting the funding shows that the Abbott Government do not value equality, our children and the people who teach, train and help them to become the successful people of the future. The Gonski report highlighted fundamental funding changes needed to not just improve our children's education but attract intelligent and gifted teachers and also provide Australia with intelligent and smart population. 

Though I have heard The Government's claims that it is not reducing the funding, the reality of funding for only four of the committed six years (so cutting funding by 2 years) plus providing unspecified and unstructured funding to the three states and territories that didn't agree in the original rounds of talks still sounds like funding cuts. 

Thanks for your time. I would appreciate a response to this email.

Regards

What do you think? Let me know below.

Writing a letter is not as easy as making a cup of tea. Tea at Nan's (2010)

What I am going to do

Hi there... Yes... This blog hasn't completely died. It has been nearly 6 months since the last Australian election. I have really tried to stay as engaged as before. But I lost a bit of steam. It is really time-consuming to stay politically engaged! And when one is balancing work, family, housework, friends etc keeping up with the news and trying to read outside news and reading between the headlines takes effort that sometimes just isn't there at the end of the day. I like to think I am not unlike other Australians, so I wonder if some of this busy-apathy (as I call it) is norm for Australians in general.

I hope that this is one of the major reasons for the amazing ability that one of my main policy issues (see old post here for all of them) feels like it is getting smashed all over the park! (To put it nicely!)

Apart from busyness, the other reason I haven't stayed engaged is that when I read about the current government's policies on refugees and the environment I am appalled/dismayed/sad/angry/cranky/overwhelmed.

This picture really describes it best...

George in Jan 2014

I cannot believe how "firm" means "will dehumanise others" physically, emotionally & psychologically in a squandering tent city of a third world country. That's not punishing human traffickers. That's punishing the desperate people who are so desperate they enter into the hardship of asylum to escape the hardship of their homeland!!!!!! (to still from the mindblowing article on the boat people here.) 

But I digress...

I struggle to see how I should allow my government to reflect views and values I do not share. Of course there will be points of difference with all governments but I feel overwhelmed and powerless to do anything. 

This is not democracy.

What can I do?

I don't really have time to work with refugees in Sydney and or fund-raise for them or other lobby groups. I have signed various getup campaigns and shared FB articles with my friends, but the cynical part of me thinks "what does that really achieve?" Do I wait for the next election and use the power of my one vote to change (too many years away!!)?

There is one thing I can do

I can write. Not on this blog (which no one reads) but to my local Federal member and Federal Senator. They are technically speaking on behalf of me when they vote for policies in Parliament. I should tell them what I, one voting member in their electorate values. I am going to get involved in the political process beyond the once-in-4-year vote. 

So, I am going to write to one of my member once a month. And, I am going to post the letters (actually emails) on this blog. If I get a response, that's will be good.  And hopefully I can post about that here too. (Though of course, probably not their actual response as I will try to respect their confidentiality)

This may well be an interesting political experiment.

And, would love any help I can get! So if you have any suggestions on what to write, what to read, what other things I can do, let me know in the comments. 

Maybe it's not a massive move. But it's something I can do. It's better than nothing. And it might help change something.