Source: Daily Telegraph
Well, we're certainly now into a brave new world, aren't we? Some interesting times have befallen us of late, what with what looks to be a certain Hung Parliament now taking shape down in Canberra. At the time of writing this post, the ABC Election computer is stating that the ALP and Coalition have won 71 seats each, with the Greens having 1 seat, and there being 4 Independents (Andrew Wilkie seemingly having won his seat down in Tasmania). While that still leaves 3 seats in doubt, what has become completely clear is that neither of the major parties have a clear mandate to govern, having not won the 76 seats required to have an outright majority in the House of Reps.
Which is why the media attention of the last few days has been so heavily focussed on the Indepdendents sitting in the HoR. Bob Katter, Tony Windsor, and Rob Oakeshott have overnight become the biggest political sensations in all the time I've been following politics. The sad part is, however, is that all three gentlemen have been members of Parliament for several years each, and yet not before now have they ever received this kind of attention. So in a way while the current situation feels extremely reactionary, the fact is these three have a real chance to make some significant changes to the face of Parliament, least of all in response to the weak-as-piss campaigns and policy statements that both of the major parties advanced during the recent 5 week election campaign.
What I have found most interesting is the way in which these three men have discussed what will ultimately sway their decision process in selecting which major party to support in minority Government. It is true to think that these three, being from the right-of-centre of Australian politics, might necessarily support a Coalition Government, it isn't until you listen to what they are stating as deal-breakers that you start to think they might ultimately stray towards Julia Gillard's incumbent ALP Government. For these three gentlemen, the big issues are the National Broadband Network, Health & Education dollars & reform, and action on climate change (including the pressing issue of water availability).
Now, here's where things get interesting. If you look back at the campaigns run by the major parties, and in particular their respective advertising, these broad issues very rarely got much air time. All the ads were about were asylum seekers, population levels, middle-class welfare, and debates about the economy. No mention in the MSM about the real issues affecting average Australians, the issues raised by the aforementioned Independents. So could it possibly be that the new powerbrokers of Federal Politics have their finger on the pulse of what is important to middle Australia than the major pollys do? It sure seems that way, given how the votes went on Saturday. This is particularly evident when you realise the Greens were campaigning on similar lines such as these, and that party saw the biggest swing towards them of anyone.
Leaving all of this aside, however, there is one slight fact that someone like Tony Abbott seems keen to overlook (despite his protestations of late that the Coalition deserve to lead, the fact is the Greens picked up most of the ALP soft vote, the LNP picked up the dregs - so that is hardly a mandate of anything). The simple fact is this - Julia Gillard and the ALP have first dibs on attempting to form a minority Government, and there is nothing that he or anyone else can say that might change that fact. Well, apart from the Governor-General, who ultimately has the power of veto over most of these matters. So he really needs to shut up, and let the democractic process take its course. Certainly, so far since Saturday he's not really shown the mantle of a leader, rather more like someone impatient to be gifted what he seems to think is already his.
If nothing else, this last week has shown that the Australian democractic process has actually been enriched by what happened on Saturday, with the start of a move away from the dualistic approach of major parties, and moving towards something a bit more in common with the origins of our current parliamentary system. Canberra needs to be less about party lines, and more about good policy, and good decisions that benefit the nation being enacted. We've seen the Australian people request a move like this, and now it is up to our leaders to listen to what has been said, and try and enact what the people have requested. The times are a changing, and our politicians need to do the same. But aside from all this, the basic political maxim remains - good policy is good policy is good policy. A shame there was so little of this in the 2010 campaign...
My final word on this topic at this stage simply has to go to Bob Katter himself, a man I am finding myself in total awe of. He is simply amazing. This video, his viral ad from the campaign, sums up why he is so completely Double Rainbow...