Less than we deserve

TASMANIANS have cause to feel disappointed during the state election by the poor quality of political candidates and policy debate, and some of the media commentary.

Certainly there are exceptions, but too many candidates, including some senior incumbents, come across as shifty, vacuous and uninspiring. For instance, it’s not good enough for Premier Paul Lennon to now promise to spend up big to resolve Tasmania’s public health crisis when Labor has been in power more than long enough to have fixed the problem in the first place.

Nor does Liberal leader Rene Hidding inspire confidence with his simplistic promises to fix everything in no time flat, especially given his party’s awful track-record in power, and given the difficulty of finding enduring solutions that balance our complex social needs with responsible financial management.

The Greens are obviously not without fault here and there is plenty of scope for their opponents to scrutinise the party intelligently and honestly.

But giving the Greens a fair go was not the aim of Mercury columnist Greg Barns this week when he took a hatchet to the party for not disclosing where a large proportion of its donations come from, even though Barns is well aware that most Greens donations are tiny contributions from members and grass-roots supporters. If he’s not aware, then he’s not competent to hold his prestigious commentary spot in the paper.

Barns makes no secret in his columns of his dislike for the Greens, but his suggestion that the Greens are financially mischievous reflects his personal political views. He misleads his readers to pretend otherwise. I would hope that next time Barns writes about political funding he attempts instead to perform a genuine public service by exploring how the Labor and Liberal parties rely heavily on big donations from highly dubious sources.

The Hare-Clark system is the fairest electoral arrangement in Australia, and Tasmania is the most politically literate community, so what we’re being offered is much less than what our electoral system encourages and what we deserve.

The politicians and the media both need to lift their game.

Andrew Wilkie
14 Powell Street Sandy Bay Tasmania 7005