The state of Australia 2013

[saithkar]

The commandments laying out how the 43rd Parliament of Australia would function were etched upon a stone tablet in the afternoon of September 7, 2010. This was when the ghastly blank of limbo that the inconclusive election result of August 21 produced ended. No sooner had Rob Oakeshott's epic and yawn-inducing speech finally lumbered to the (by

Comments

[clappamungus]

I've read this a few times, and have felt my heart sinking into the pits of my bowels every time. Very astute analysis. Not to mention depressing.

It's easy to forget just how much of Labor's current demise can be placed at the feet of Rudd's cowardice. I'm not surprised, in hindsight, that a return to him as leader would only be a momentary panacea. Once the Liberal-Murdoch-IPA machine got rolling, gathering inertial mass like a fucking avalanche, it was going to take a miracle to stop.

I hope we're both wrong and - as much as I dislike the little fucker - Rudd gets in and Abbott - whom I hate even more - will be relegated to history's trash pile as a twice-unsuccessful wannabe. And yet, it's certainly not looking that way.

[saithkar]

Thanks, this is sort of a brief summation of everything I've felt politically over the last three dismal years. Against the Liberal-Murdoch-IPA machine (good term, may have to pinch it) only those of strong will and firm conviction could stand, and if such an individual even exists in today's ALP they're either in hiding outside of the federal caucus

[anonymous]

Yeah, but if the majority of Australians weren't brainless zombies who knew very little about the mechanisms of politics and weren't susceptible to the 3 word slogans of the liberals then the parties would know they need to pick up their game and present much more robust policies with corresponding tangible and articulate expressions of these policies. Sadly a lot of people love the media drama that we've seen the last few years, they have no respect for our politicians (I admit a certain few are hard to respect but as a general rule there are those who do a great service), it was disgraceful to see how misogynistic Australia was to Gillard. The politicians and media can play the game they do because the majority of the public get sucked in by it and don't realise the hole they are digging for themselves and put country- it's a tactic that works. So those who vote for the ruling government do get the government they deserve, it's the minority who (always) get fucked over...

[saithkar]

Agreed. It's not admirable but I kind of almost wish the Coalition would win the election, form government and then fail at it so abysmally that it shocks people out of their relaxed and comfortable complacency. In other areas it usually takes a catastrophe for people to wake up to the dangers that exist, and I don't see why politics should be any different. Standing opposed to this are the vested interests who continue to profit off the current degraded standard of affairs and it is they that must be opposed.

[anonymous]

Yes, if the consequences weren't so devastating as they will likely be under a Coalition government, but it may be a lesson the country needs to learn. Our society is incredibly complacent about how fortunate we are given general global issues. Either way it's depressing, and moving to Sweden is still looking like an option- wonder if I can get refugee status there if Abbot gets in? ;)

PS- forgot to log in before posting, Holly :)

[saithkar]

I guess all that is for the future. My personal view is that Abbott and his cronies will find governing far more of a challenge than chanting slogans at what has been, admittedly, one of the less brilliant governments this country has experienced, and this will be compounded by the fact that the good old days of the late 90s/last decade when global growth was boundless and rapid are unlikely to return. Therefore PM Abbott (shudder at the thought) will not find himself in the position of PM Howard in 1996 who, in the words of Paul Keating, found himself "hit in the arse with a rainbow".

And thanks for revealing your secret identity :)