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 faith vote and how to vote

(Vote above or below the line?! April 2013, Blackheath)

I found these below articles helpful for those who are faith based in their ideals and values.

A Christian case for the greens

http://www.jimsphilosophy.com/politics/279-why-do-some-christians-vote-green

And how to vote 

http://drummoynepresbyterianchurch.wordpress.com/2013/09/02/how-to-vote-this-election/

And this article about voting below the line

http://www.biblesociety.org.au/news/vote-fred-risk-getting-pauline-dilemmas-for-christian-voters-2

My favourite quote: 

Election expert Antony Green has pointed out that according to law, voters are allowed to miss out ten percent of the boxes below the line, and mess up the numbering three times, yet still have their vote accepted as formal. This is good news for the preference plodders

So, don't be scared to vote below the line!!! It will make your vote that much more worthwhile!!!

Foreign aid

(From World Vision Facebook 5.9.13)

Though foreign aid is not specifically one of my election policies of interest, this just had to be shared.

http://www.worldvision.com.au/resources/media/13-09-05/Coalition_aid_cuts_leave_Australians_broken-hearted_World_Vision.aspx

$4.5 million cut from the budget to fund inhumane refugee treatment, exorbitant parental leave scheme and a climate change policy that doesn't work.

If you have a roof over your head, clothes on your back, food on your table and a bed to sleep in, you are richer than 75% of the world's population. Please vote for the poor and not for your back pocket!

I think foreign aid should be one of the many instruments used to reduce refugees seeking asylum in Australia and elsewhere.

(and I confess the thing that makes me most angry is that this is announced less than 48 hours before the election.)

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)

Asylum seekers #3

Unlike the environment issues, it appears the two main parties are similar on this issue.

This very helpful article compared Labour, Liberal and the Greens asylum seeker policy, showing that not much is different between the two major parties.

Both major parties will have mandatory detention, offshore processing and a inflexibility with bridging visas. The Greens support increasing Australia's refugee quota, onshore processing and increase rights to refugees settling into Australia.

It seems like it is really a vote between Labour/Liberal hardline asylum stance vs Greens softer approach to refugees.  After this, it seems like the main difference is the choice between our current set up and using extra money for the military (Liberal's policy) for maintaining border control and buying boats in Indonesia (to stop them coming here).

I guess the most disappointing part of this election issue is that there isn't much "thinking out of the box" with a possible solution to deterring asylum seekers to Australia via leaky Indonesian boats.

This sponsorship option is something I would of liked to have seen more. Or something like Sweden?

It is articles like this that remind me how inhumane the current refugee/asylum seeker process is in Australia. It is good it is a big election issue.  Sadly, there doesn't seem to be any really good options by the major parties. It seems it may have to go to a Senate vote. The below graphic just shows how small a number we are talking about.

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.

Lethargy

Apologizes for the absence of posts in the last week or so. It is hard to believe that in less than 7 days a new Prime Minister will be elected. Will it actually change anything? 

One thing I have noticed, in both myself and others, is the lethargy of election talk in the air. People are tired of K.Rudd, economists are tired of Australians whining (or the Liberal party telling us) we are poor & the economy is the top election issue, people are tired of no humane action on asylum seekers. Everyone is tired of the election! 

I know the busyness of life has stop me from tuning in. However, there is also another, more subtle reason for my disconnect - that belief that nothing has or will change. Both major parties are offering, what appears like similar offers. Both PM hopefuls are as distrusted as the other. Their policies have not changed in the last week. Both have hard-to-believe promises.

With only 5 days to the polls, I am trying to rouse myself back from political sleep. Like falling asleep in a uni lecture, I know I need to pay attention to what is going on. But like uni, there are so many other things to check out (AFL finals footy anyone?) As I wake myself I hope that the rest of the country stays awake and that Saturday's winner will be the best for the country. 

(27.8.13 - PPL experience #2, asleep on the couch.)