Tag: federal POlitics

Is Australia a Democracy?

Published by admin on September 28, 2019

At first glance, one might think the answer is obvious. Of course we are.

But, wait a minute. Let’s look a tad more closely.

First a definition: Democracy; a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.

So far, so democratic.

But doesn’t that suppose all votes are equal? And what about that bit about, “all the eligible members”?

To the first point, I maintain that as long as the maximum level of campaign contributions are more than most people can afford, and as long as huge contributions to political advertising are allowed, then all votes aren’t equal. The simple reality is that Gina Rinehart’s huge contributions to political parties’ advertising campaigns give her a far more powerful say in how our nation is governed than almost every other Australians’ vote.

The same with corporations, unions and special interest groups. They, who aren’t even Australian citizens, And who, in the case of corporations may be representing foreigners, get a far more powerful say than the rest of us.

In what universe is that a democracy?

Australia is ahead of most countries in that political campaigns are to a large degree publicly funded. Yes, I know, not perfect but far better than most countries.

So, why don’t we take a huge step towards re-establishing ourselves as a democracy, by banning donations to political advertising campaigns, and banning political advertising by any entity that is not a political party running in the election?

It’s simple and it would make a massive difference.

And it would also reduce the number of those annoying ads during election campaigns.

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What The MRRT Can Teach Us About Labor’s Loss

Published by admin on May 28, 2019

First. At little bit of history.

The idea of a Minerals Resources Rent Tax, (MRRT), was introduced by Kevin Rudd and became law in 2012.It was a sensible solution to a genuine problem, yet it was electorally very unpopular, was – not surprisingly – vigorously opposed by the mining industry, and was eventually dumped by the Coalition in government.Today, you’d struggle to find anyone who thinks it was a bad idea, outside of the Mining Industry, and even they’d admit it, if they were honest.

So, what was the problem back then?

During boom conditions, mining companies were making vast profits from extracting irreplaceable national resources, while the great majority of Australians were missing out on any benefits. Much of the profits went overseas, so it was a double whammy for Aussies.

You’d think it’d be a no brainer.

So, why did it fail?

I would argue, it failed because Rudd told the electorate there was a problem and offered a solution in the same breath.

This enabled the mining industry and their Coalition lackies to ignore the problem and to campaign on what was wrong with the solution; that jobs would be lost. A complete lie of course, but an effective one.

So, what could Rudd have done differently?

Well, he could have spent six months telling the electorate how it was being robbed by foreigners and corporations. This would’ve forced the companies and the then Opposition LNP either to try to defend the indefensible, or to shut the hell up.

And you know they wouldn’t do that.

Once the electorate was suitable incensed, Rudd could’ve then offered the MRRT as a solution.

He’d have won a major victory and been hailed a hero.

So, what does this tell us about Labor’s recent loss?

Simply this.

Labor made exactly the same mistake Rudd did, but on many fronts. Shorten offered multiple problems and solutions almost in the same breath. This enabled Morrison, along with the various vested interests, to skip right over the very real problems, and either attack Labor’s solutions or present them as draconian and unnecessary.

And again, an electorate that wasn’t given time to understand and accept the NEED for change, was led to be terrified of the solutions.

Morrison never offered solutions of his own. He simply pretended the problems didn’t exist and daily attacked the solutions as having either much worse side effects that they actually did, or claimed they weren’t even necessary.

Just like it did with the MRRT, the strategy succeeded, beyond his wildest dreams.

So, in the unlikely event of any Labor strategists reading this, I implore you to learn this simple political lesson: Never, ever, offer a solution until the electorate is thoroughly convinced that the problem is genuine and that it’s being hurt by it.
In fact, here’s a simple action plan:
1. Get into power by any means you can;
2. Spend the first six months educating the electorate about the genuine problems you’ve inherited. Really spell them out, over and over again;
3. When and only when you’re certain the electorate is convinced that the problems are real and MUST be fixed, do you offer solutions;
4. Implement the solutions through the rest of the term;
5. Go to the next election with a track record of getting really good things done.

It’s not that hard, people, especially when the Coalition mostly can’t even acknowledge that the problems exist, because that would be contrary to their profoundly flawed ideology of Neoliberalsim.

But above all, do not make the same mistake a third time.

Australia can’t afford it.

Our Election and the lessons of America

Published by admin on April 30, 2019

Today, Observation Point compares Australia with the US. Not to gloat, but to highlight what’s at stake in this election.

First, this very day, in any major town or city in America, you’ll l find homeless people, thousands of them, camped on the streets. Many of them are Vets; many have been driven into bankruptcy by healthcare costs.

Now, for my second point, imagine that you sit your small child down and say, “There are nasty, horrible people who want to kill you. They could appear at any time, any second. So we’re going to practice. Get under your desk, be as quiet as you can, and maybe the nasty man won’t see you and shoot you.”

And you don’t just do that once, you do it Every. Freaking. Month. Think your kids might be traumatized?

Yeah, me too!

Well, that is exactly what happens in most American schools. They call it, Active Shooter Drills.
Any of those things would horrify us in Australia. Yet they’re just the way it is in The US.

So, do they all have something in common?

They do! Its called Predatory Capitalism. not the kind of capitalism practised by businesses competing to offer better prices and service.

I’m talking about the kind of brutal, utterly unconstrained Capitalism that kills off healthy businesses for short term profit through asset stripping.

Where drug companies can systematically target the most vulnerable people in America, lie about how addictive their drugs are, make billions in profits, while literally thousands of Americans die from overdosing.

Where healthcare companies can structure plans so their profits are huge while clients die.

Where help for the needy is stripped away so taxes can be cut and profit maximised.

We might ask why Americans put up with this.

The answer is simple. They’re powerless to do anything about it. Lobbyists in Washington, funded by Predatory Capitalists, outnumber politicians about 1,200 to 1.

Those lobbyists have just one job – to maintain the status quo; to make absolutely sure things never get better for ordinary Americans.

Now the reason I’m banging on about this, aside from the sheer horror of it, is that there are powerful forces at work here whose sole aim is to make Australia just like America.

One of the most dangerous is the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA), whose goal is to get rid of all government institutions. You can read some of their objectives here

They want to drive taxes down to the point where government cannot do its most basic functions.

They are determined to remove all government controls on the economy, so that Predatory Capitalism can have its way with us, completely unimpeded.

When you choose which party to give your vote this election, please keep in mind that several ministers in the Morrison government are card carrying members of the IPA, and are dedicated to its goals.
Is this what we want for Australia?

What Drives Scott Morrison?

Published by admin on April 22, 2019

As the old song begins, “Here’s a story, sad but true…” – (Runaround Sue by Dion for those of you too young to remember).
Not just true, but true thousands of times, millions if we include the US.

The story matters because it shines a light on what informs and drives Scott Morrison.

Shayne grew up in a medium sized town in NSW, finished high school and went to work in a local factory, the largest employer in the district.
He married, and together he and his wife worked double shifts and saved like mad, until finally, they had a deposit for a home.
They, plus a couple of kids after a while, were doing okay.

The factory was quite profitable, but a consulting firm showed the owner how he could make even bigger profits by moving the operation to China.
And so he closed it down and took it offshore.
Several small businesses that supported the factory closed down right away.

Shayne, along with many others, were suddenly unemployed in a town with, equally suddenly, high unemployment. Eventually, he and his wife couldn’t meet their mortgage payments, so the bank foreclosed.

Now he was not only unemployed, but, along with his family, was homeless; he was what’s technically known as being seriously short of a buck.

But what’s this got to do with our PM, you ask.

Well, Morrison is an ardent follower of American style Wealth Theology. This preaches that if you’re poor it’s your own fault. You deserved it, so God made you poor.

So, according to Scott, Shayne deserved to be poor, otherwise he wouldn’t be in that sorry state.

On the other hand, Wealth Theology also teaches that the factory owner must have deserved to be rich and so God made him rich.

Well, I have two questions for Morrison.
What did Shayne do to deserve his situation? and
What did the factory owner do that made him so deserving of God’s largesse?

I’ll finish with a question for you, dear reader.

When you understand Morrison’s strongest beliefs, are you surprised that his govt:
> Cut penalty rates;
> Cut the NDIS;
> is giving huge tax cuts to the wealthiest among us?

No, me neither.