Allan Takes Aim Blog

The decline in political standards is affecting Australia

Perhaps it’s just because I’m getting old and crotchety or are my observations are right that, in some parts of Australia, politics have declined so much they remind me of the gang warfare of the late twenties and early thirties that provided the basis of many films and TV series of which we were won’t to say: Only in America? Lest people think only State and Territory politics are concerned, the decline is as pronounced at the Federal level as it is at State and Territory level.

Much as politicians boast ad nauseum that Australia is one of the world’s leading democracies, perhaps it is fortunate it is far away from the rest of the world and so escapes closer scrutiny. Indeed many in Australia complain that the foreign media treats Australia with indifference. On the other hand perhaps this indifference serves us well because pictures of Australia as the benign democracy are seen infrequently in the foreign media.

The truth is, most of the pictures seen in the foreign media suggest Australia is a nation obsessed by sport. In fact many people today, young people in particular, are more familiar with men and women who run, swim, jump, play tennis, football of all kinds and golf because the media promotes national champions in sport as bronze Aussie heroes than they are of the politicians who control their future. On the second tier of Aussie heroes are celebrities whose main contribution to the community is gossip that, unfortunately, is often heeded.

When taking a close look at Australian society it seemed to me that the main focus in life for many Australians is the acquisition of fame and/or wealth. Sad to say in very many cases these objectives are achieved at the expense of honesty and integrity a conclusion better expressed by the title of the film written by, and starring American comedian W.C.Fields: ’never give a sucker an even break.’  For some Australians these words form the basis of their new religion: GREED.

Currently, a cohort of NSW Labor politicians, union powerbrokers, business people and the politician’s associated friends appear to have become the most zealous followers of that religion. Similar cohorts are rumoured to exist in other Parties. But for me the most noticeable change is how many politicians are no longer democrats but demagogues who, having donned the purple cloak of celebrity also see themselves as demigods.

Once upon a time the theme of male and female political candidates was their wish to serve the community. While their speeches still suggest this they now also subtly suggest that voters would be silly not to vote for them.   And if only to show the venality of many would be politicians, some turn down the offer of being a candidate unless assured of being elected.

Just as Labor, The Peoples Party, has lost its direction so, too, has the Liberal Party.  Both Parties are now much the same: Conservative. That said, perhaps the time is right for Labor and Liberals of conservative political bent to separate from their respective parties and set up a Conservative Party.

As for the Greens, where do they stand? I ask because, at every possible opportunity, they asseverate their dedication to the environment as if they were the only people who understood it. In other respects their philosophy is little different to Labor’s; a little more different than that of the Liberals; but far removed from that of the Conservatives.

Nonetheless it has something in common with the other parties. Despite its mooted allegiance to transparency, openness and honesty, like Labor and the Liberals, its policies are decided behind closed doors. Finally, behind those closed doors while policy is being decided, the question that occupies the closed mind of many participants is: how can I acquire Power, Position and Pelf, if possible?

As for the concerns of voters who just want politicians not to forget why they’ve been elected: they are honoured more in the breach than the observance.

Blog: Allan Takes Aim; https://donallan.wordpress.com; dca@netspeed.com.au

The wonderful world of politicians’ promises

 It has to be said that our wonderful world of promises would be even more wonderful if it didn’t have so many people who make major and minor promises that too often they never keep. Unfortunately when major promises are not kept the wonderful world often becomes a world of despair while failure to keep minor promises often makes it a world of disappointment.

Generally speaking, minor promises are made between individuals and they are often made without any expectation of ever being held to account if the promise is never realised. That all of us make such promises should not be used as an excuse. The truth is, we shouldn’t make promises if we don’t intend to keep them.

It is true also that at times not keeping a minor promise can lead to trauma because the recipient believed the promise to be sincere. A common area where this effect can be seen is when one person promises another they will love them forever that the recipient takes seriously but is then broken. The tabloids are often full of reports of a suicide or homicide caused by a false promise. That’s the more serious side of broken or forgotten promises; broken romances that heal quickly are more usual.

But it’s the world of despair occasioned by the breaking of major promises that interests me. Many of these promises are made by government across a vast range of issues both national and international. At the same time promises are made by celebrities who no doubt mean them when they make them without thinking of the consequences, which is why they are often accused of making them in the interests of personal publicity. People tend to think this way because the promises often fail to meet the expectations of the people named as beneficiaries but the celebrities still get the publicity.

My main interest however lies in the promises made by politicians in their efforts to be elected to parliament. For example: recently an election was held for the seventeen positions in the ACT Assembly. Three parties gained enough votes to get them into the Assembly with the final result eight Liberals, eight Labor and one Green the result of which that a minority Government was established by the eight Labor and one Green joining together; whether or not it works remains to be seen.

I mention the ACT only because the same situation occurred at Federal level in 2010, the only difference: it was combination of Independents and Greens that allowed Labor to form a minority government. That situation prevailed until yesterday when the Greens walked away from the agreement they signed with Labor. I mention it because it has greater relevance at the moment due to the fact that Prime Minister Gillard has announced an election for 14^th September.

Putting it politely, the performance of the Federal Government is not something to write home about. Since taking office in 2010 the Labor Government’s performance has been a litany of disaster The asylum programme for refugees has become a money making venture for criminal people smugglers who risk the lives of desperate people in search of a better life while  promised education funding plan and dental care for children are still mysteries.

The litany of failed promises is too long to print. Examples: the NBN, Pink Batts, BER, Carbon Tax, and Child Care Subsidies the thought of which would have you rushing for a bex, a beer and a good lie down.   Further failures in the litany are:  Grocery Watch, Fuel Watch and the $1 billion Cash for Clunkers

Of particular interest to me is the promised but unfunded National Disability Insurance Scheme which, when announced, I welcomed in my Chronicle newspaper column. Since that time however, it could appear that before my peer group (the over 65s) will ever benefit from it we’ll be pushing up the daisies.

While shortening the litany of Labor disasters in the interest of readers’ sanity, it would be wise to get ready for the coming Federal election and Labor’s litany of new promises and decide for yourself how many of them you think will be kept.

That said, however, before voting in September, you will also have to judge if you think the Liberals promises are more likely to be delivered.

Blog: Allan Takes Aim; https://donallan.wordpress.com; dca@netspeed.com.au

Many a mickle makes a muckle

In case you didn’t know, in the Lallans language of Scotland a mickle is a small amount and a muckle a big amount. And so it is that over time in Scotland the phrase heading this column which means’ a lot of little things make a troublesome big thing’  became established.   

Perhaps it was John McTernan the media mistakenly call a Scot (he was born in London in 1959) and perhaps even more mistakenly called Gillard’s Brain, that caused the mickles that started Prime Minister down the road to some very big muckles 

But no matter, even if the so called Brain caused the big muckles the Prime Minister is facing, she is the person that voters find responsible for growing uncertainty in the community. That they think so is because they are constantly being bombarded by statements from Labor Government Ministers that Australia is the envy of the world.

No doubt it should be but when the mining tax financial panacea the government boasted of falls to meet government’s promises of $2 billion by only raising $126 million, voters start calling into question the government’s credibility and honesty. And when they hear further that the government is proposing to tax their superannuation benefits and use the money to help fund its grandiose feel good proposals they worry even more.  

 Indeed some people I know who have voted Labor all their life say they are fed up waiting for the Utopian society Labor continually promises to bring them through their latest social engineering policies.  At the next election, out of habit some will vote Labor again. But I venture to suggest that many will not. And nor do I think they will turn to the Greens who are even greater believers in Utopia.

More to the point over the next decade I hope young voters decide to form new parties that will bring new vision to politics. Just as younger people decades ago went on to create new and better cars, medicines, health systems, agricultural practices, aircraft, space ships, ocean going ships et all, that improved travel and the very basis of life, we need young people today to create the new future which will only come about by the setting up of new political governance models.

Labor parties are anachronisms and Liberal parties are anything but Liberal. As for Green Parties there are as many styles of Green Parties as there are shades of Green, Conservative parties including Labor, Nationals and every other Party that despite their supposed allegiance to democracy, are ruled over by people of dynastic bent. And as we have seen recently, some are just bent. Indeed even at the moment many people in some parties could move to a different party and fit in comfortably.

In the meantime as new political models will take time to become established I’d like to see a system set up that would ensure no member of parliament served more than two terms.to ensure a continual injection of fresh ideas, something currently in short supply.

Unfortunately real political warfare and revolution have disappeared. Instead hundreds of minor groups with tunnel vision have taken over unlike in earlier times when people died for their ideas. And much as we now disapprove of this without them unfortunately we could be stuck with the current outmoded system for decades to come.

Blog: Allan Takes Aim; https://donallan.wordpress.com; dca@netspeed.com.au

I’d like to start with a short apology to my faithful subscribers. Unfortunately due to computer malfunction I have been unable to post blogs for nearly a week. Although the problem is not yet totally fixed I hope to restore full service as soon as possible.

Remember: a new world sprang from chaos

On the basis of events in Federal and ACT politics over the past few years one could be forgiven for thinking that a group of special agents used by Chaos, the legendary evil organisation in the American TV comedy Get Smart, whose objective was to destabilise the US and seize power, had been brought to life in Canberra. And if only to keep the analogy alive a group of agents led by Maxwell Smart and Agent 99, used by the US Government’s Control organisation to combat Chaos, had also been brought to life in Canberra.

If you don’t believe me visit Canberra. Even if you can’t recognise them, you can be sure that agents from both groups will be keeping themselves well fed and well-oiled, all the better to carry out undermining their enemies on behalf of their respective masters.

The characteristics of the Canberra groups are much the same as the originals: bungling and ineptitude. Naturally the bungling and ineptitude of the originals was the cause of much laughter. ‘Get Smart’ was a masterpiece of satire.

Sadly many Canberra agents are disguised as politicians. Unfortunately, while the ‘Get Smart’ originals provided a good laugh’ Australians at large are doing more crying than laughing at their imitators in Canberra. To give some perspective to Canberra, Chaos is seen as both the Federal Liberal/National Party opposition and in the ACT as the Liberal opposition. Usually this state of affairs lasts for an electoral term but not always.

At the moment the Governments federally and in the ACT are in power courtesy of Independents (?) and a Green, who owe them no allegiance but, like all pragmatists, observe the philosophy that when you’re on a good thing stick to it. Pragmatically, they also keep repeating the old political cliché to voters who have little idea of what they do: we don’t do this for ourselves, we do it for you.

But the big difference between politics and make believe is that the insults in the latter disappear at the end of half an hour while ones made in today’s world are recorded and repeated endlessly in the media. This has led few voters to believe politicians who say today that at the end of a political day such insults and their effect also disappear.

That said, let’s look at the Federal and ACT situation. The ACT first: for the next four years no matter the mistakes of the ACT Government, nothing is likely to change. This puts the onus on the Opposition to ensure Government’s mistakes are kept before voters while  at the same time, keeping a close eye on what voters need and turning those needs into future policy.

Federally however, scene is different. Voters already know there is to be an election on 14 September. However, unlike the ACT’s fixed electoral date, it is possible for a Federal election to be held before 14 September, which would give the Opposition time to get rid of the chaos in its ranks.

On the basis of the Federal Government’s record over the past two years and three months, I suspect that if voters could be canvassed today they’d say an election should be held before September. And also, if asked who would win, I bet they’d say the Opposition.

Blog: Allan Takes Aim; https://donallan.wordpress.com; dca@netspeed.com.au