It's Election time (again!)

Photo source

It's on!

2nd July 2016 Australia will vote for a new government. In a relatively peaceful way we will be all asked to choose which political party we want to lead the country for the next three years. 

Part of me can't believe I started this blog nearly 3 years ago because I wanted to have a place to keep various information on politics. Strangely enough, the issues I had back there don't seem to have resolved themselves much since 2013 and you do kinda wonder what all the fuss was about.

Australia has changed since 2013. The politics has, in most parts, moved away from the name calling and the outright hate language that we see in some other countries. But then again, the election was only officially called today. 

I've changed! I live in a margin Liberal seat now. Though still a mum of two children. With the last one heading to school next year, education and stuff like that seems to be more on my radar. But, as I spend more time at work now days, I also have one eye to what is happening in my industry. Thankfully I am still married to The Man, Peppa and George are still kicking on growing and I still live in a big Australian city.

I haven't read much (how do other people get the time to read this stuff to make an informed choice?!) but I have put links below of a few places I have read. 

I am still unsure what the policies I will be focusing on in this election. Since I started this blog, I have come to realise my views are maybe more left than some people. Please don't take that as an insult.

I know that the key policies for me will be around:

* The Environment - be that climate change/carbon tax/ renewable energy

* Cities - planning, development, housing affordability and infrastructure (slightly swayed by my work but also nearly 90% of Australians live in an urban area now. It needs some national focus!).

* Family - education /healthcare

* Refugees

Links to things I have read:

ABC News

The Guardian

Property Council of Australia

Fifth Estate

School of Life (Ok, a bit out there but its a fun animation that helps you think big picture)

The Project (on affordable housing)

What policies are others focusing on? What do you think is important for this 2016 election? What are you reading to get informed?

Hopefully, over the next 8 weeks, I can feel what PM Turnball said at the start of this election "It's the most exciting time to be an Australian!" 

(and yes, new layout.)

STOP

 March 2015 - children telling us to stop

Yesterday, this beautifully written piece by Australian author Tim Winton on Palm Sunday eloquently expressed all I feel on the issue of asylum seekers in Australia. My favourite section (and there were so many to choose from) was:

To those in power who say they're exiling and caging children for their own good, I say we've heard that nonsense before. So, don't do it in my name.

To those who say they're prolonging misery to save life, I say I've heard that nonsense before. You don't speak for me; I don't recognise your perverse accountancy. 

To those in power who say the means will justify the end, I say I've heard that nonsense before. It's the tyrant's lie. Don't you dare utter it in my name. [my emphasis]

To those who say this matter is resolved, I say no. For pity's sake, no. For the love of God, no. A settlement built on suffering will never be settled. An economy built on cruelty is a swindle. A sense of comfort built upon the crushed spirits of children is but a delusion that feeds ghosts and unleashes fresh terrors.

If current refugee policy is common sense, then I refuse to accept it. I dissent. And many of my countrymen and women dissent alongside me. I don't pretend to have a geopolitical answer to the worldwide problem of asylum seekers. Fifty million people are currently displaced by war and famine and persecution. I don't envy those who make the decisions in these matters, those who've sought and gained the power to make decisions in this matter. I'm no expert, no politician. But I know when something's wrong. And what my country is doing is wrong. [my emphasis]

And just like above, I really don't have any idea what the best political solution is but I really want this inhumane, unjust, foul, brutal and dishonest treatment of vulnerable people to stop NOW!

It has to stop!

(Cartoon via Compassion without Borders)

I am haunted by the stories of children in asylum.... either en-route to Australia or in Australian-funded detention centres in Nauru or PNG. The Australia government did not cause this but it is DEFINITELY NOT making it better!! The government that was technically elected by me is adding continuous physical, mental and physiological stress to hundreds of thousands of people because of it's inhumane treatment of asylum seekers.

IT HAS TO STOP!

This story from Indonesia is the latest I read. As this article said

"Without the distraction of boat arrivals, this pain and suffering will begin to gain greater attention. It will trouble not only human rights activists and opposition politicians, but also the general public and some Coalition MPs – just as it did in the years after the post-Tampa crackdown."
"
And today there was news that the Australian Human Rights Commissioner confirmed the high rates of self harm by children in detention centres and the poor health and education provided.

This article and this article from March made me cry.

My Peppa and George are 4 and 2. I would not, in a thousands years want them to have to go through any of this, nor my neighbour, nor my worst enemy. No human should have to.

I understand the need to deter people. But to TORTURE people who are already in detention. Maybe not torture them with gas or electric shocks, but withholding medical needs, education and any hope to future ANYWHERE (not just in Australia) is a guilt that no Australia can shake off.

THIS HAS TO STOP! How?

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.

The night before the election.....

It is nearly over. The election campaigning that feels like it has been going on for 3 years may finish tomorrow. In the last 24 hours has seen one leader stand up and another stay quiet. Though all the polls and predictions point to Liberals, I cast my thoughts back to the 1993 Hewson-led Coalition who had the polls on their side but lost in the end.

The last 24 hours for me has actually made me realise who I  don't want to win and therefore who I will vote against tomorrow.

This article I found really kinda summed up the election well.

PLEASE dear readers, vote for policy and not personalities!!!

Probably my last post til the election, I want to share this lovely poem by a friend of a friend of a friend (I think), a Mr Jason Forbes. I thought it was appropriate!

Twas the night before voting
when all through the house
All were wondering
WHO THE HECK AM I GOING TO VOTE FOR??
including the mouse!

Dad considered the candidates,
the greedy and fair.
While mum just wanted the best childcare.

The idea of family
could see a new day
The prospect of marriage,
now free and gay!

Present leaders showed
as servants to themselves,
while arrogance abounded
their ignorance observed!!

The sick and disabled
seeing the end of their night
With te NDIC
to take care of their plight.

While the biblical faithful
prayed and sat tight
Looking only to Jesus
to come and make things right!!

Paid Parental Leave #2 which is really about childcare

(Hard to find good childcare... I mean eggs.... July 2013)

As a user and one heavily reliant on childcare 3 days a week, I am a tad ashamed I didn't really have childcare up there as one of my policies of concern. However, with the recent release of the Coalition's budget and position, something has to be said:

* I understand that the National Quality Framework has been a bit painful to implement as it tries to regulate a system that, in many ways, has been quite a casual arrangement by some groups to look after children.
* However, as someone who uses childcare regularly, the Framework provides assurance that childcare centres have a good standard to care for our children.
* I am unsure what the Coalition is proposing however the industry does need reform. Better wages, better qualified staff. It is extraordinarily hard to get affordable and good childcare.
* Access to childcare is intrinsically linked to the ability of women to go back to the workforce after children. It should be accessible to all without having to wait in ridiculously long waiting lists that we had to place our child just after they were conceived.
* I have been blessed to have experienced two excellent childcare centres. However, they are expensive and this is not the norm.

So I will vote for improvement and reform to the childcare system.

I found this and this helpful to read.

foreign aid #2

So the last 24 hours has seen an abundance of criticism to the Liberals budget cuts, especially foreign aid. It has called into question the public's ability to "trust" a government, that holds out details of its budget until it is too late. It also calls into question "trust" when they promised, not so long ago for large spending in foreign aid.

Paid Parental Leave

(George & Peppa - happy beneficiaries of paid parental leave - April 2013)

The last election issue I want to cover is the paid parental leave scheme. I am all for it and it appears so are the major parties.

I found this article very helpful. I also mention it in this previous blog post (wow... I have enough posts to refer to old ones already).

It appears Liberals will give me more (though I don't plan to have any more children). Funded, as in previous blog, but cutting resources to the environment and foreign aid.

Labour will maintain the current arrangement and also investigate an overhaul in the childcare system (which as a regular user of this system, I think its really important).

The Greens promise to do a combination of both, though the funding is not clear.

As I have previously said, I think paid parental leave is a really important "welfare" benefit, especially for mums as they manage the change (financially, socially and emotionally) of becoming a mother. And for partners to get some of this money, helps with the whole family. I think this is especially for low income families where money is tight.

The additional aspect of review the current childcare system and possibly increasing the wages of childcare workers is very appealing. As someone who has had to experience the stress of limited childcare places, and witnessing first hand the large spectrum of "care" that is available, the system cannot be sustainable in its current form.

This policy is very close to being one that feeds straight into my back pocket, but I would hope it would also benefit many other parents in the future.

The green vote #2

Now, I am sure readers, when it comes to the Green Vote, the Greens party is the most obvious choice.  However, as we all know, the Greens party will not (and probably should not) be the governing party considering Australia's current political situation.

However, what each party is saying about the environment and particularly climate change is important because this particular issue is one that has long term ramifications, far greater than our economy.

So, it is alarming that a few more articles have come out in the last 24 hours that target the Liberals' stance on the environment. This article is quite detailed. This one is just damning, (by former Greens Senator Bob Brown). It scares me though because I am unsure what voter Liberal is aiming for, but it seems like it is ignoring science (not just climate change but anything remotely natural history related) and also valuing resources on only economics (read extraction) value only. Short term. Business.

The nail in the coffin for me is today's discussions about the budget from the Liberal party. This article summed up that a lot of party's holes in their budget will be funded by cutting resources to climate change, resource management and foreign aid.

I understand the argument that jobs are lost when timber mills are closed. But in a capitalist society, one area of restriction leads to another area of growth? Tasmania has enjoyed a boast in tourism, eco-tourism and organic farming of all types as such produce, fishing and dairy.

I am particularly sad to think that my children may one day not get to see the Great Barrier Reef or the Tasmanian Wilderness (or enjoy the clean air and water these ecosystems make) because a mining company, a timber mill or a farm want to make a 10% profit for the next 5 years.

I am glad I can vote and have a say (even if it feels small).

(From Earth - The Operators Manual)

The green vote

I have been pretty clear that there are three main election issues for me:
1) Humane treatment of asylum seekers
2) The environment
3) Paid Parental Leave

(18.3.13 - Which straw man to vote for?)

The two main parties are very similar on issues 1 & 3 (will discuss later). Issue two, the environment, is one that is coming across as the issue that will sway my vote.

I want to reinforce that I am not a member of either party.  I equally distrust both parties.  However, it greatly disturbs when I read that Tony Abbott, the opposition leader, who has, in the past, denied climate change, would straight out speak something as per this article, misrepresenting the carbon tax, clearly not understanding an emissions trading scheme and suggesting that an expensive, ineffective "direct action" of financing limited, outdated fossil fuel technology to stop polluting will actually benefit the environment.

See article below:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-03/llewellyn-smith---abbott-climate-change/4931534

It is amazing that we should comprehend the "direct action" strategy when it looks like it won't work - even confessed by the Coalition themselves.
http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2013/carbon-target-may-be-missed-abbott-20130902-2t16g.html?rand=1378166667641

Then, to read, four days before the election, that the Coalition will sponsor coal seam mining has really tipped me over.

Now I am not a card carrying greeny. I do not campaign or march. I am not an "activist" in that regard. But, the logic of trying to rely on very limited, polluting, fossil fuels instead of investing in renewable energies seems to be beyond the comprehension of the opposition party.

See article here: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/election-2013/use-or-lose-offshore-gas-leases/story-fn9qr68y-1226710075172

What annoys me is that this news doesn't even touch on the sensitivities of coal seam mining - the environmental risk, the loss of farming land, the impact of small communities. It's a throwaway election promise that has some awful consequences.

I do not mean to be so bias in my blogs, but I feel that this issue might be the one that helps me decide where to put my numbers on Saturday.

Debate #1

So, in the midst of feeding and putting kids to bed, I missed the first debate last night between the PM and the Opposition leader.

By the sounds of it, it wasn't worth watching. From the videos and replays and articles I have read it appears that they K.Rudd and Abbott battled it out on known territory, appealing to the hip-pocket of middle class voters (yes like me).

Here are some of my thoughts:
* Wasn't a game changer. I don't think the debate would of changed or helped you with your vote
* K.Rudd appealing to his good management of the GFC (fair enough)
* Abbott attacked for the potential to increase taxes
* K.Rudd playing the gay marriage card (remember the Apology to Indigenous Australians anyone?)
* K.Rudd seemed more nervous than Abbott (a little bit of a surprise)
* Liberals adamant that the carbon tax will be scrapped. Sorry, but I do not believe that the "direct action" Abbott is talking about will do ANYTHING. (BIG thumbs down)
* Both men, but particularly Abbott appealing to voters with really broad, abstract vision and (frankly false) promises. The best is Abbott's "We can make your life better." Seriously? (Promise the world...)

(for some articles I found helpful - link 1, link 2 & particularly link 3 - love Natalie Mast's opinions!)

Speaking of debates, there was one on Wednesday night between Bob Car and Julie Bishop about Foreign policy, but (for some reason) I cannot find much information on it or what is was like. Anyone out there in the wide world web have good info??

The verdict of the debate: same same but different kettle of fish (or prawns)??

Watsons Bay, October 2012