How will you vote this year in the forthcoming September Federal election? What criteria will you use to decide who to vote for and what are the crucial issues that will determine your vote? If the polls are a reliable guideline Australians have already made up their minds which way they will vote and the likely outcome is an Abbot lead coalition. It appears that the posturing and lobbying , the rolling out of new policies by either side of politics will have little if any influence on how we will vote. A commitment to the common good and issues of justice and concern for those most in need rate only as side stories and not fully debated within the public space and as being crucial to defining who we are as a nation and our hopes for the future. Day by day media comments by those who call themselves political analysts , the Federal Press gallery included, often present our polticians as entertainment reporting their comments in a demeaning way and coloured by the journalists own political leanings. Others report with minimal details leaving the listener or viewer unsure or even confused about the issue. Headlines that do not reflect an accurate account of the policy outlined and are sensational lack integrity.
Few journalists attempt to evaluate and analyse policies with out an already predetermined position nor seem to understand the complexity of political life and the many competing demands that politicians face in responding to the ethical, social and economic challenges of the day. If they do, they ignore many of these issues and instead continue to offer to the public limited factual news and more opinion. Many newspaper and media editors, proprietors and journalists all appear to believe they know what is best for our society and how to achieve it, often denouncing the advice and knowledge of experts with their own idealogical viewpoint without substance. For the average voter the challenge is to sift through the mountain of commentary and to decide that which is helpful and to discard the rest.
Recent comments by senior corporate bankers and retail giants that suggest that caring for the disabled and poor is something we cannot afford at the present and who are opposed to any form of tax increase , while they themselves draw large salaries, is a disturbing trend and suggests a growing divide between the haves and have nots. Wealth is increasingly capturing the public and political debates necessary for a healthy democracy. while less well resourced and community groups struggle for space and time in the media. Economic justice for all , where the common wealth is shared among all Australians has become unpopular among the new elite of the nation.
Recent comments by senior corporate bankers and retail giants that suggest that caring for the disabled and poor is something we cannot afford at the present and who are opposed to any form of tax increase , while they themselves draw large salaries, is a disturbing trend and suggests a growing divide between the haves and have nots. Wealth is increasingly capturing the public and political debates necessary for a healthy democracy. while less well resourced and community groups struggle for space and time in the media. Economic justice for all , where the common wealth is shared among all Australians has become unpopular among the new elite of the nation.
For the average voter what then can we use as the criteria or guidelines to decide how we vote.?Self interest or pragmatism is one and a voice for the common good another Vote we must because men and women of times before us have fought for our freedom and our right to participate, to govern ourselves for all Australians. Not to vote at all is not an option and also a statement that we are not responsible for the state of the nation.
Politicians alone are not responsible for the lack of good public debate. We all have a role to play. Increasingly many voices are now calling for attention to core values as the basis for sound public policy that does does not support self interest. Issues of climate change affecting the life of the planet and its inhabitants is not a matter of opinion but fact. The plight of refuges and asylum seekers is not a problem but the cry of displaced and exploited people. The place of work is not only about earning an income and paying as little as possible for labour but also about identity and hope. The values of honesty, transparency, compassion justice and mercy are not to be seen as added extras and only important when you are caught or in extreme emergencies. Social cohesion may be at risk in Australia if we do not set aside ideology for the sake of me rather than embrace policies for the we.
Australia has a stable democracy the envy of many nations. The challenge for us is to preserve it for the future and not let ourselves be captured by an elite that puts self before all.
Politicians alone are not responsible for the lack of good public debate. We all have a role to play. Increasingly many voices are now calling for attention to core values as the basis for sound public policy that does does not support self interest. Issues of climate change affecting the life of the planet and its inhabitants is not a matter of opinion but fact. The plight of refuges and asylum seekers is not a problem but the cry of displaced and exploited people. The place of work is not only about earning an income and paying as little as possible for labour but also about identity and hope. The values of honesty, transparency, compassion justice and mercy are not to be seen as added extras and only important when you are caught or in extreme emergencies. Social cohesion may be at risk in Australia if we do not set aside ideology for the sake of me rather than embrace policies for the we.
Australia has a stable democracy the envy of many nations. The challenge for us is to preserve it for the future and not let ourselves be captured by an elite that puts self before all.
