Gregor Watson

So, who will you vote for this coming election? As disenchanted as you may be, voting is compulsory in Australia. Whether you like them or not, you’ll be contributing to putting a bunch of Laborials in power and will have to live with the gain and the pain of the full package that they present, along with the hidden extras that they won’t mention.

WHILST participating in the invasion and occupation of Iraq, the Australian government firstly justified its actions on the basis of alleged weapons of mass destruction and then, when this was subsequently shown to be an invalid case, on the desire to bring democracy to the Iraqi people. With this in mind, and with an Australian federal election looming, it is worthwhile considering just how well democracy is working in Australia.

Although there are a handful of Democrats, Greens and other minor parties, Australia is essentially a two party state (accepting that the Nationals are little more than an extension of the Liberal Party ). Regardless of the merits of any of the smaller players’ policies, they can never hope to win office due to the well established PR machines of the big two who continue to successfully manipulate the fears of the electorate with regards to economic management. Time and time again the public is persuaded not to allow those without a proven track record to have control of the treasury or even to exercise some influence by holding the balance of power. This argument is of course self perpetuating as without a chance to run the country the required experience cannot be gained and thus the status quo is almost certain to remain.

Of course, in theory, having just two parties shouldn’t present a problem. One party is in power and the other is supposedly the opposition to provide a balance. In practice though, their policies are too similar to tell them apart on many issues, an assertion that is supported by the fact that they share numerous campaign contributors. This situation has led to the coining of the name “Laborials” (Labor merged with Liberals) which shows voters’ discontent with the lack of choice on offer and is often accompanied by the lament, “Oh, why bother? They’re all as bad as each other.”

Even where the two big parties have noticeable policy differences, one could hardly argue that democracy is working well. In this situation people’s choices are corrupted by the politicians’ distorted concept of a mandate, the problem being that when the public votes for them on one issue they pay on another. An example of this would be the Howard Government’s previous election campaign that was based around interest rates. They successfully managed to scare the public into letting them retain power then hit them with the imposition of monstrous IR changes.

Whilst the politicians’ idea of a mandate is bad enough to make a mockery of democratic process, it’s not their worst abuse of power. In the case of a mandate, they have at least made their policies public, even if they managed to keep them to a very low profile. This is in stark contrast to some of their other big decisions that are not enunciated prior to the election or, worse still, are a complete contradiction of pre-election promises. In these cases though, they still feel free to force their plans upon the nation, this time justified on the basis of providing strong leadership.

So, who will you vote for this coming election? As disenchanted as you may be, voting is compulsory in Australia. Whether you like them or not, you’ll be contributing to putting a bunch of Laborials in power and will have to live with the gain and the pain of the full package that they present, along with the hidden extras that they won’t mention. Maybe you’ll think outside the square and vote for a minor party or independent but, without the support of other voters, the effect will be the same as your preferences will ultimately flow to one of the big two. Therefore, the only advice is to closely study their policies, consider their relative levels of honesty (or dishonesty) then prioritise what is important to you. Put the most harmful parties at the bottom of your list then work your way to the top. Oh, and also pray that we don’t try and go imposing our form of democracy throughout the world. It’s just not that great right now.

Born in Canberra in the mid ’60s to a Tasmanian serving in the air force and his Victorian wife, Gregor Watson moved soon after to spend his toddler years in Launceston. The family subsequently relocated to Hobart where he completed all his schooling from kindergarten to university within the public system. After graduating from the University of Tasmania with a Bachelor of Education, Gregor spent one year teaching on the west coast before returning to Hobart as a result of a mine closure at the town he was working in and statewide cuts in teacher numbers. He then undertook a number of short term appointments at the former HMAS HUON before being offered longer term employment (two and a half years) with the Department of Defence in Canberra. Upon his return to Tasmania he did a brief stint as a relief teacher before finding that everyone he’d insulted as he left before had forgotten him, and slotted into a teaching position on the NW coast. He then worked continuously as a teacher on the NW coast, east coast, the midlands and Hobart until late 1995 when he moved temporarily to Turkey to get married. Gregor is currently working as a lecturer in English at Dumlupinar University. On 13 January had his first child, an event that has strengthened his ongoing interest in Tasmanian affairs as he plans to return to Tasmania with his family in the not to distant future.