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The Forum > Article Comments > What sort of election campaign are we having? > Comments

What sort of election campaign are we having? : Comments

By Don Aitkin, published 18/5/2016

I want someone to be talking toughly to us, reminding us that our country is not a kind of holiday resort, but a work in progress. I’m probably old-fashioned.

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Excellent article. What the leading political dropkicks, and the media, are chuntering on about prior to the election is mainly irrelevant to the good of Australia. I particularly like the reference to promises of big spending, but silence on the ever-increasing debt.

Another example of the irrelevance was to be heard on a breakfast yabber-yabber this morning. I woke up to the host, or whatever they are called, yabberring about 21 Labor party candidates disagreeing with their own party's bilateral stand on offshore processing of you know who. Albo for Labor, and Squeaky Pyne for the government, who gave their entirely predictable spiels, were presented. The point about this, is that the subject brought up has nothing to do with an election campaign for Australia. Useless, alien people, who should be working out their own problems and destinies, in their OWN countries, is not something Australians should be concerned about in a election: unless, of course, a genuinely concerned political candidate brings it up as one of the causes of the enormous debt broght on us by the dropkicks we have had ruining the country up to now.
Posted by ttbn, Wednesday, 18 May 2016 10:31:22 AM
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Yes Don, we do need someone who is fearless, honorbound and able to persuade the doubters to change a view with reasoned logic, as opposed to simplistic sloganeering, mindless mantas and ideological we an them dogma.

We also need inherently honest folk to say more about what they're for rather than what they're against; or purporting to speak for or verbal the other side.

And there needs to be a cogent explanation of how we are to pay for the promises, which simply cannot disappear like non core promises or windswept sand in the desert, but only after the votes are counted.

Given it is a contest of ideas, we need those ideas fleshed out, rather than parrotted on, (jobs, growth and the economy) with no cogent explanation of how we can do that!

I believe it's long past time we had a mature debate on the merits of becoming a nuclear powered economy and why a much smaller vastly less well resourced Singapore and many others are doing so much better than us as still functioning economies not literally drowning in unrepayable debt.

And shouldn't the folk that created that situation be the ones paying for it as their personal obligation; rather than living high on the hog on ultra generous government handouts.

I mean, were the old codgers much smarter than the clever folk of today? And why is the gap between the haves and the have nots still growing?

Please don't insult our intelligence by claiming that the parameters have essentially changed. When what has changed is a belief in what is possible or affordable or just and fair. Coupled to the fact many of the more privileged citizens have systematically overvalued and over leveraged theirs and our assets? And central to many of the affordability issues that confront us today?

Oh for the days when Leaders fronted up on our Aunty with a fireside chat that took the voters into their confidence with explanation.

Now it all about media mangement and the dumbed down 30 second sound bite.
Alan B.
Posted by Alan B., Wednesday, 18 May 2016 10:39:27 AM
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An Afterthought: Let me add, wherever there's a problem or conflict in our deliberately divided society, there seems to be an element of greed is good at the very core.

Or a fallacious belief if "they" have more, "we" must make do with less? Growing a bigger pie is the answer, but only if we all get bigger slices, rather than greedy guts in there first second and last, and again for leftovers?

And I know you know who I mean!?

And "they" seem to believe that an attack on poverty in all its forms is an attack on them and their personal fortunes, rather than the increased discretionary spending that would enable "them" grow it, along with the national economy.

It really is the economy stupid!
Alan B.
Posted by Alan B., Wednesday, 18 May 2016 11:45:51 AM
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Why worry?
Regardless of who gets in little will alter.
We shall continue breeding and overpopulating in the usual uncontrolled manner.
We shall continue destroying the Environment by felling trees and covering the remaining soil with concrete and brick.
We shall continue emptying our river systems of life giving water.
We shall continue driving our planet co-sharers into extinction.
We shall continue chasing the mighty $ until it, and we, have long vanished.
Why worry?
Posted by ateday, Wednesday, 18 May 2016 1:45:54 PM
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Yes, the issue of immigration gets a one line mention in an obscure press release from Dutton. http://www.minister.border.gov.au/peterdutton/2016/Pages/strengthening-borders-boosting-jobs-growth.aspx. Nothing from the ALP. They are proposing to bring in over 200,000 people next year, more than Hobart's population. One might think that this is worthy of discussion. Only the Sustainable Australia party has a low immigration policy.
Posted by Outrider, Wednesday, 18 May 2016 2:14:08 PM
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Not “old fashioned” enough Don to require professional politicians to tell the truth: that because Australia is part of the global economy, Federal Parliament does not control commodity prices, interest rates or value of the dollar, and consequently they are reduced to insulting slogans and trivia.
Posted by Leslie, Wednesday, 18 May 2016 2:18:39 PM
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I am extremely disappointed with the Turnbull crowd. So much for good economic management communication explaining what needs to be done and how the Turnbull camp plans to achieve it. So much for advocacy for good policy.

I want the Abbot team back, please!

Some of Abbott's achievements in just 2 years:

• Stopping the boats,

• scrapping the carbon and mining taxes,

• accelerating budget repair,

• the signing of trade agreements with Japan, South Korea and China,

• removing support for the ailing car industry,

• refusing ¬financial support for (now profitable) Qantas,

• repealing red and green tape,

• the creation of innovation growth centres, and

• the commissioning of papers on

o tax reform,
o northern Australia and
o the federation

• the Royal Commission into Union-ALP corruption

These are but some of the Abbott government’s successes.

The record is impressive and will surprise many voters.
Posted by Peter Lang, Wednesday, 18 May 2016 3:34:09 PM
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Thanks Don, you outlined my quandary well, but appear to have no more answers than the rest of us.

"What sort of election campaign are we having?" a damn awful election, with not a satisfactory choice in sight.

The slimy Turnbull can't tell us what he wants to do, if people actually knew his preferred policies he would have no chance of election, & he knows what happens to barefaced liars. Anyone who trusts him is an absolute idiot.

Labor can't announce their actual policies, for exactly the same reason. They are equally trustworthy as Turnbull. God help us.

For me there are only three issues.

1/ Immigration, including illegals as first priority.

I believe Turnbull would soften the people smuggling fight so much, it will return to near Rudd proportions. He also wants more legal immigration as an easy way to employ huge numbers in the building industry, despite the damage it does to all of us.

Too many Labor candidates are pro opening the boarders & be damned to the damage to the current population. Labor would make the Rudd flood look like a mere trickle.

2/ Climate change comes in at number 2. I have no idea what any intelligent folk in either major really think. Obviously Turnbull sees it as a prospect for bankers to make huge money, & will open the flood gates on our money to go to them, regardless of his election sprucking. Labor of course have to subscribe to global warming to buy greenie preferences. Honesty & facts have no bearing on any of this.

Neither have legitimate reasons for what they will do, regardless of promises, & they will both waste billions on alternate energy projects, despite their proven failure in Europe & the USA, & avoid like the plague the question of nuclear.

Continued.
Posted by Hasbeen, Wednesday, 18 May 2016 4:10:12 PM
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Continued.
3/ Education now controlled by the feminist movement has been dumbed down to the stage where even the very high achievers, when leaving senior high school have less grounding in math & science than the average junior high leavers did 40 years ago.

When these kids require remedial math courses to even undertake an apprentiship we really are on the slippery slide to oblivion. Neither major offer any hope that they will even attempt to turn this around, ever.

We saw the result of Abbott honestly trying to tackle some of these problems even at edges. I doubt any career politician will ever again try, it is easier for them to throw money & shrug their shoulders at the lack of results.

The big question is, will the informal vote win on the night.
Posted by Hasbeen, Wednesday, 18 May 2016 4:11:05 PM
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Don, I see two major problems in this country, the first being compulsory voting, and the second being welfare, and i'm not just talking about the dole.

Compulsory voting sees some people voting who would normally struggle to wedge themselves out of their chair and, some also vote for character of those they vote for, totally ignoring the facts. A case in point is the budget reply speech from Bill Shorten whereby he came across as some type of miracle worker who has suddenly found a huge bag of dollars, dollars we simply don't have.

The other is welfare, because as it stands more than half of the population over 18 (voting age) rely on welfare and many don't give a damn where the money comes from, or more so, who pays it, so long as it gets paid. The outrage over the abolition of the temp levy on high income earners is an example of this. Unfortunately, it appears the higher the dependency on welfare, the lower the care factor.

We are about to see at least 200,000 jobs lost in the car industry, and if history is any judge, this figure could be more like half a million as one thing all political commentators are good at is under stating such facts.

We have not seen such a hit on our economy in modern times and even our pollies are ignoring this catastrophic event even though it is literally upon us.

The truth is we need a big stick approach but nobody can get past these two obstacles.

I fear we need to find rock bottom before we can throw the baby out with the bathwater so as to say, and history again suggests labor will be best to bring this upon us. God help us!
Posted by rehctub, Wednesday, 18 May 2016 4:18:47 PM
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I think you touch on some good points, though maybe you can't see the trees for the leaves.
You discuss a need for "tough love" from our politicians as opposed to trying to please everyone.

I respect your point of view but the bigger question and the one you missed entirely is WHY?

Why do they now try to please everyone on every politically sensitive topic?
And cater to and and live in fear of the welfare and minority vote?
With the lefties and their PC ideology trying to regulate every aspect of our lives?

You talk about a democratic and free election being an immense privilege, and assert that politicians should remind us that most people on earth don’t have that privilege, or have only a faint shadow of it.
And this is where I took exception to your article and where I believe you've got it all wrong.

You are wrong to assume we have democracy.
It's not something you have a measure of, either you have it or you don't, and I say no-one has it, (except maybe the Swiss) its a fantasy that you have been lead to believe exists when it doesn't.
Perhaps you should look up the meaning of the word, see here.

http://www.google.com.au/#q=origin+of+the+word+democracy

If they make the laws for us, then we should make the laws for them.
Until this happens, democracy is just a fantasy..
- a status quo that you willingly accepted, but its not democracy.

You can't sell the idea of democracy when its inherantly false, and every assumption or idea made from that false conclusion going forward will thus likely be a misled opinion.

Also because you've been lead to believe a false narrative, your now officially a pawn on the board.
Posted by Armchair Critic, Wednesday, 18 May 2016 7:10:23 PM
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Then you talk about education, spending and debt.
And summarise by discussing the topics important to you, public debt, reducing involvement in government and family life and a certain modesty in talking about ourselves and what we can do... and a note on the lack of 'climate change' discussion.

When the government panders to the welfare vote, in apparent fear of it, then we are all just rearranging chairs on the Titanic anyway.

Most people are too busy with their own week to week finances to care less what state the countries economy's in.
We're always told about the debt, all our lives, it never ever ends.
Do you think it has any impact to the average person living week to week?

Is there every a plan to pay off the debt?
What is the acceptable level of debt or is debt simply 'business as usual' something to blame and point the finger at the people for, like we're the ones making the rules?

And personally I couldn't care less about climate change, I'd sell and burn more coal if it was in taxpayers interests.
That said, I do care about the Great Barrier Reef.
Posted by Armchair Critic, Wednesday, 18 May 2016 7:12:51 PM
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Don Aitkin,

Do you think the ABC has lost it's once esteemed integrity?

You would know the ABC can cry out loudly and lead the way toward honesty and national prosperity. But none of that is happening, is it?

I am aware there are good people at the ABC but they seem gagged by a regime.

Why is the ABC not leading the way with debate about newly productive development likely to stimulate business and employment and exports?

Why is it that prior to every election the rhetoric begins again about more money for schools, roads and hospitals - that should all have adequate money from all previous budgets.

Why is there no national debate about new productivity to offset employment and revenue lost, for example lost due to synthetic fibre causing collapse of the wool industry and living off the sheep's back?

I for one in a government Green Paper have touted a northern wet season water harvesting and aqueduct system to bring water into the Murray Darling catchment inland from Fraser Island, but the ABC is ignoring or gagging questions of feasibility and potential.
Why is that so?

Do you think the ABC is doing what it is supposed to be doing for Australia?

I knew Bob Raymond Snr who started Four Corners. Integrity at the ABC has certainly changed.

Surely at least one ABC news reporter would read OLO threads, including posts I have written, about AGW, IPCC and Kyoto associated science not measuring and assessing warmth properties of ocean algae plant matter.

Nobody on OLO has said algae is not killing coral and/or is not linked to change in climate, have they?
Yet dipping into Treasury for emissions research is continuing, while devastation by algae is ignored by the ABC.

New field research they say:
http://blogs.nasa.gov/earthexpeditions/2016/05/10/setting-a-course-for-the-worlds-largest-plankton-bloom/?linkId=24343979

Isn’t there need to reveal new information about opportunities to solve problems, such as nutrient overload pollution feeding algae that is devastating Great Barrier Reef coral and associated local and international tourism?

Is anybody saying there is no sewage nutrient-fed algae killing GBR coral and coastal seagrass nurseries?
Posted by JF Aus, Wednesday, 18 May 2016 10:33:06 PM
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I thank all commenters here, without feeling that I have anything more useful to say about the subject. So far at least, it is the most disappointing election contest that I can remember.
Posted by Don Aitkin, Sunday, 22 May 2016 4:39:29 PM
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Don,
Your thanks are appreciated at least by me.

Perhaps with the lengthy run time, their campaigns could be livened up.
Major media and especially the ABC should be able to ask challenging questions and get answers.
How could any candidate publicly refuse to answer?

I for one would like to hear of a party prepared to look into development of newly productive projects capable of generating wealth from exports, such as from export of much more food from this food producing nation.

Media has the power to lead the way just by asking questions.
Posted by JF Aus, Sunday, 22 May 2016 5:03:48 PM
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"it is the most disappointing election contest that I can remember."

I agree. I am extremely dissappointed. Liberals made a major mistake changing from Abbott to Turnbull.

Abbott's achievements (in just 2 years):

When Malcolm Turnbull goes to the polls this year he will campaign largely on the Abbott government’s achievements. There will be little else.
• Stopping the boats,

• scrapping the carbon and mining taxes, ¬

• accelerating budget repair,

• the signing of trade agreements with Japan, South Korea and China,

• removing support for the ailing car industry,

• refusing ¬financial support for (now profitable) Qantas,

• repealing red and green tape,

• the creation of innovation growth centres, and

• the commissioning of papers on

o tax reform,
o northern Australia and
o the federation

• The Royal Commission into Union (i.e. ALP) Corruption

are but some of the Abbott government’s successes.

The record is impressive and will surprise many voters.
Posted by Peter Lang, Sunday, 22 May 2016 5:09:15 PM
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Well a politician finally said it.

I've been saying for ages that if politicians make the rules for us then we should make the rules for them, and there is no such thing as democracy while they make their own rules.
I just read the following article.

'Politicians are the last people who should be determining what the rules for politicians are,' Mr Burke told the Nine Network.

http://www.skynews.com.au/news/politics/federal/2016/05/22/taxpayers-wear-costs-of-mps--canberra-digs.html

Did I just wake up in some weird alternate reality?
Did we just have a politician tell the truth?
What does it all mean? I'm confused.
Posted by Armchair Critic, Sunday, 22 May 2016 5:33:04 PM
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