HEAR that?
That’s the sound of a gravitationally-challenged female of the species ending her song. And whilst the tune may not be your particular cup of tea, you’d have to acknowledge the quality of the voice.
Once again the peculiar and complicated electoral system devised by Thomas Hare and adapted for Tasmania by Andrew Inglis Clark has demonstrated its ability to create a microcosm of Tasmanian society within the House of Assembly.
This is certainly not the parliament I would have appointed. In fact, when I think about that, it’s an interesting experiment to pretend for a little while that you alone have the power to appoint the entire membership of the house. Do you appoint 25 people of your particular political ‘colour’? Or do you deliberately set about attempting to balance the chamber with diverse opinions, experiences and constituencies?
The Fat Lady
The former, of course, provides for Strong, Unambiguous Policy of a particular type (depending of course on the prevailing ‘colour’ of your house). In the past month or so, the particular type of Strong, Unambiguous Policy we have been encouraged to support is the colour of commerce. Would the same groups encourage us to support Strong, Unambiguous Policy the colour of, say, public housing?
The latter, we have been warned (insert sponsor’s message here), erodes certainty and creates instability. It also (space completely devoid of commercial endorsement) encourages informed, open debate and the exchange of understanding.
Obviously, in order to appoint your own House of Assembly it helps to have some vision of the type of Tasmania you wish to develop. But the electorate has no such collective vision — does it? Is it true that the place which we are to become is determined by nothing more than accident. Or do the tiny pieces of vision that we all contribute via the ballot box add up to something greater than the sum of its parts?
Back in the real world, we now have the product of our collective wisdom about to roll up their sleeves and get about getting on with it. In the hours following the declaration that Labor had been returned, I was stirred out of my melancholy musing about the commercial mate-fest we were about to endure by the sound of unexpected expressions emanating from the victor. I’m sure, in his victory speech, I heard reference to “social leadership”, “reconciliation” and “culturally confident society”.
This is nothing like what I expected to hear.
Could it be that the fat lady is a much better singer than I could have imagined?
