call us when you sort your shit out
Australia has spoken. We said "meh"
So 3 years ago when we had a federal election it was all W00T! Ding Dong the with is dead! Kevin 07! Yes we can! (ok that was some other election)
Labor was voted in then because we were jack of the Libs, and because they stood for things we wanted - good old Labor values like social justice, and a view beyond self interest to things like the environment, and compassion towards asylum seekers.
And some good stuff happened. We survived the GFC better than just about anyone, Indigenous Australians got an apology, the appalling detention centres for refugees were being closed. And then the government seemed to lose focus. Kevin’s style of closed leadership was not the team approach the party wanted and it turns out Kevin had drive, but ran out of vision and ideas. So they rolled him. Enter Julia who within weeks of being made leader called an election.
The election campaign saw two parties struggling to sound exactly the same - even though they are still politically very different. Racist immigration policies were back on the agenda, climate change policies on the bench, it was a campaign run by risk averse spin doctors and it was a characterized by a total lack of any hint of vision for the future of the people in this country.
So now we have a hung parliament, which means at present neither major party can form government on its own and will need to try and make a deal with the unaligned MPs in the House of reps. Balance in the Senate is held by nine Green senators. Whoever succeeds in doing this will find it an untenable position for governing in the long term, and we will likely be back at the polls in 18months (we don’t have fixed terms here).
In a way its an example of democracy working perfectly - neither side can talk about mandates, or the support of the people. They have been humbled by the voters from across the political spectrum who have said NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
And in my electorate of Melbourne, we elected for the first time, a green MP in the House of Reps - Adam Bandt. Someone who stood for social justice, marriage equality, anti-racist policies and returning whales to the rainforest. With their power in the Senate, this means the Greens now have real influence in Government - one that has not only a brain, but a compassionate heart as well.
Other things of note in the election - Wyatt Roy age 20 was elected and instantly dubbed Doogie Howser MP, soft cock hatemonger Steve Fielding lost his seat, first indigenous MP elected from WA and watching the election on TV with Twitter commentary was hilarious. Sausage sizzle at Kensington Primary sadly fell below the high standards set by my previous fav polling booth at Thornbury Primary School (which also had the fannish cred of being in the electorate of Batman).
fav tweet:
"Hello Australia. Look at your Parliament,now back at me. Sadly, it isn't me, but it is hung like me."
and of course - Hitler reacts to the Australian election
So 3 years ago when we had a federal election it was all W00T! Ding Dong the with is dead! Kevin 07! Yes we can! (ok that was some other election)
Labor was voted in then because we were jack of the Libs, and because they stood for things we wanted - good old Labor values like social justice, and a view beyond self interest to things like the environment, and compassion towards asylum seekers.
And some good stuff happened. We survived the GFC better than just about anyone, Indigenous Australians got an apology, the appalling detention centres for refugees were being closed. And then the government seemed to lose focus. Kevin’s style of closed leadership was not the team approach the party wanted and it turns out Kevin had drive, but ran out of vision and ideas. So they rolled him. Enter Julia who within weeks of being made leader called an election.
The election campaign saw two parties struggling to sound exactly the same - even though they are still politically very different. Racist immigration policies were back on the agenda, climate change policies on the bench, it was a campaign run by risk averse spin doctors and it was a characterized by a total lack of any hint of vision for the future of the people in this country.
So now we have a hung parliament, which means at present neither major party can form government on its own and will need to try and make a deal with the unaligned MPs in the House of reps. Balance in the Senate is held by nine Green senators. Whoever succeeds in doing this will find it an untenable position for governing in the long term, and we will likely be back at the polls in 18months (we don’t have fixed terms here).
In a way its an example of democracy working perfectly - neither side can talk about mandates, or the support of the people. They have been humbled by the voters from across the political spectrum who have said NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
And in my electorate of Melbourne, we elected for the first time, a green MP in the House of Reps - Adam Bandt. Someone who stood for social justice, marriage equality, anti-racist policies and returning whales to the rainforest. With their power in the Senate, this means the Greens now have real influence in Government - one that has not only a brain, but a compassionate heart as well.
Other things of note in the election - Wyatt Roy age 20 was elected and instantly dubbed Doogie Howser MP, soft cock hatemonger Steve Fielding lost his seat, first indigenous MP elected from WA and watching the election on TV with Twitter commentary was hilarious. Sausage sizzle at Kensington Primary sadly fell below the high standards set by my previous fav polling booth at Thornbury Primary School (which also had the fannish cred of being in the electorate of Batman).
fav tweet:
"Hello Australia. Look at your Parliament,now back at me. Sadly, it isn't me, but it is hung like me."
and of course - Hitler reacts to the Australian election