We as a nation get a week of free space to consider what to do come election day, who do we support and whose policies, or perhaps variations of policies do we want to keep the country running for at least the next 3 years.
I know I have grown a bit tired of claims and counter claims and evn more tired of the negative finger pointing associated with avoiding a recession. Yes, I may not be alone in the bafflement on that one and I would say there are equally numerous people who believe we should have done nothing to stop a recession. It is a perilous slope for me and as displayed over the last 3 weeks it was one for the politicians as well. The economy is on the mend and in better shape than anyone expected, it personally has made no difference to my lot in life but my neighbour kept is job and the guy across the orad got a new one- so it worked for them and I share the happiness in that.
I have watched world news and the problem with people smugglers is world wide and not just some isolated little concern for Australia, and while it is important to stop boats taking the dangerous journey to our lands, it is ten time more important to deal with illegal immigration through our airports and even the tracing of falsified and counterfeit documents. A few thousand people by boat is really a small problem to address, while the tens of thousands of people sneaking the other means doesn't get the direct attentions it needs. I can only speak personally and I think my blog really is just a personal view after all, Australia is under criticism for its treatment of illegal immigrants, Nauru was one of those serious problems and if we do want to be taken seriously in the United Nations we do have to apply international laws to the problem. Eat Timor may come on side, it may not, but during the negotiations Nauru and its government have the opportunity to deal with its own UN position, and once done it too can again be considered as part of a short term solution. It does make sense not to committ to a country whose government is undecided and who is not a signatory of the United Nations Refugee treatment agreement. To act too fast would put us in the same difficult position we were under during Mr Howard's last term.
Naturally I have an interest in broadband as I use it and it is fundamental to my childrens learning and education - if fact broadband, fast broadband will be their working environment once they have completed schooling. It is wise to set the network in place now, not in ten years time when all the jobs have gone overseas to countries with high speed access networks. I might not need full streaming myself, but big business needs this more and more each days as it deals with business interests globally; if Australia really is going to have a future in trade then a strong fibre service is imperative. It isn't a white elephant as some seem to suggest. In the late 1800 South Australia committed to the overland telegraph from Dawrin to Adelaide - it was opposed as costly and wasteful and many doubted it would have nay use for the future. In fact it was even declared no one could afford to even use it once it was completed. Australia was fortunate the program went a head despite protests as this single program opened up Australia to the world as well as itself. This NBN is no different in scope and no different in its boldness, but what will transpire in the future will be an acceptance that it was a damn fine program to run with.
Okay, these have been some major points and naturally the are other views and other positions, which is like any contest in the land, but this isn't a contest to be dicided just on the colours of your team, in fact it was probably following the team that caused some of the countries problems in the first place. Remember how long it took to even get climate up and running as an issue, and in the end the team sort of played an own ball then claimed they didn't. Now we are faced with a national problem of water, or the lack of in certain parts. It took over 100 years to decimate Australias rivers and I am surprised that some in the parties contesting complaining it hasn't been fixed in 3 years so the government has failed.
This is like being told to fill in the Grande Canyon in three years and being given on tip truck to do it. To do anything positive for the river system and for the Murray will take at least 20 years and even then it will be touch and go on it survival. Governments can do a lot to help but they cannot reverse, over night, the destruction of a century. The current government is reducing many of the free access points to water, but it will take time, a lot of time to even get a consistent flow back into the system. It does not help matter when one state doesn't want to put water into this environmental rescure operation and this must be an issue addressed swiftly, otherwise the 20 years will quickly become 50.
Always health is one of the pressure point in an election and already some areas have been greatly benefited by the new super clinics and the phone help services. This does not by pass tradition GPs, but it does help to combine expertise in localised areas for some regions, which in itself may help save someone having to journey to a hospital to wait hours for treatment one of these clinics could have given. I and I guess many, will admit it hasn't been the perfect roll out, but then in the history of all governments, no new system was delivered perfectly straight away. Medicare when it was introduced was a complete dogs breakfast; today it is very effective, if not always liked.
For me making decision is a serious business, I like to make the right one and I like to think I have at least thought about what I am going to do. Environmentally my decission was made easier. One party still had climate change on the table, true it isn't an election issue but it is still there; the other party won't put it on the table at all and has advertised it will again oppose any climate action. I know, like me, people wanted more than just a promise to promise but given the difficulties last time when the opposition simply blocked anything that was associated with dealing with climate change, I could see why this new path was taken. The important thing to remember is that the subject is still alive, there must be hope in that, because a dead subject means we go backwards.
This has been a long election campiagn and there have been pluses and minuses promoted quite freely about the interweb and traditional news streams; the polls are once more selling cereal and holiday homes up the coast so it is now just time for us to cast a vote and decide just how do we want to see Australia tomorrow. For many this will be a hard decission to make and I wish them well in their right to make it.
Thank you for your patience. but I hope keeping some idea of what is going on alive at least this one, single, ignored Australian had his voice heard...
No comments:
Post a Comment