Australia's Negative Political Climate

The barrage of negative political posturing seems to be fast defining our nation as a pessimistic and negative breed who are influenced and caught up in drama and upheaval, analogised by what is impacting on our children, and adults for that matter the world over, via social media networks and consequently causing issues such as anxiety and depression. Are we self depressing via allowing negative political forces to manipulate our well being and psyche as a nation. American politics seems to have driven its people into financial and personal depression through a brutal political system that has transpired into a competitive game between 2 groups working essentially for the one team, but causing much more destruction than good in the process. Personal victory at any cost to its people collectively is devastating and represented by opposition for the sake of opposing. The opposition in Australia is dangerously following this same pattern. It is fast deteriorating into a self projecting political game, of which our overall wellbeing is peripheral and not the complete focus. Unless Australia and its people respond now to reject this self destructive and negative political game playing, we'll also find ourselves in an undesirable predicament. It's obviously important for political parties to keep each other in check but more important that political parties honestly and genuinely do what is right especially in times like this. Echoing and repetitive mantras are designed to disorientate and consequently cause people to lose their objective bearings. There aren't too many major reforms that have been rolled back or dissolved within Australian politics, especially ones that have been vehemently opposed. It is a case of opposition for the sake of opposing. The GST is an example of the scare mongering, albeit on a lesser aggressive manner. Labour through Keating initially floated the idea but then opposed it when refloated by the liberals. Our politicians generally have the same mindsets but in some instances extremism sneaks in if we allow ourselves to be hoodwinked by negative politicking. Let's not allow this type of politics to cut off our noses to spite our faces.

 

Hi and welcome.

In my opinion, it basically comes down to corporate dominance. America is so dominated by corporate interests that i fear it is essentially hopeless. Only a revolution will save them now. They are politically paralysed, serving the interests of the powerful far more than the interests of the commoner (called common, because they are the norm).

I think we're about 20 years behind them. So in 20 years, if we don't change course soon, we may be in much the same position.

Having said that; we're filthy rich (relatively speaking). This is when people seem to care less about issues of greater importance than ourselves, because "i'm alright mate"?

 

True enough the revolutionary process has already been started and will emerge more and more openly,and I agree the content will be and is concerning property rights and economic inequality ,we are seeing the chief political mechanism of Capitalist rule ,the ALP oh and as the latest 'Polls " show the Lib\Nat coalition is looking a bit on the nose as well ,the problem they have is of course that in office it is they who will face GFC mk2 and with absolutly No room to manuvre with surplus in order to stimulate ,oh and lets not forget on the Fiscal frount the intrest rates are going down ,in order to stabilise the housing market bubble ,only problem there is that lowering intrest rates mean lower attractiveness to Investment.


Looks like the irresovlable economic contradictions of the capitialist Mode of production is hitting a brick wall called Depression.Oh the min ig boom that accopunts for 70% of exports ,boom means bust get ready ,its time to start thinking Revolution again.not just in the USA.

 

Yes I think we are on a declining run, how bad it gets will be determined by where you live globally. A great depression......not so sure about that. GFC mk2, maybe not as steep as the first but likely to last much longer. Corporate and political institutions learnt nothing from the first GFC, all they did was relabel the product and re sell it. If the product is a dud it inevitably fails again.

Problem for Australia is we now have no money to insulate us from the worst. So we will feel this collapse much more than the first. Retail here has been griping for two years that things aren't great. It has fallen on deaf ears. Today will shed more light on the future as Europe is reeling yet again and stocks are plumetting. The libs may not get a chance to solve the problem as it may arrive sooner than we think.

Like anything moderation is the key. As we are seeing these days the corporate monopoly is not working. The world has tried the socialist extreme.....did not work. You have to find the happy medium, a financial and social utopia so to speak. That will never happen as long as humans are involved. We are a greedy animal with very little thought for those around us. It seems our job on Earth is to destroy everything we touch.

 

For countless decades, both Australia’s two major political parties have been playing this insidious and endless “merry-go-round” game of them verses us, which was deliberately initiated to con and confuse the common people into believing there was “two” political parties. But in actual fact, there is only “one” political party. If we use our common sense and look deep enough, we will discover both these political parties (Liberals/Nationals - Labor/Greens) are the left and right arms of the same twisted and distorted body. The twisted distorted body belongs to the foreign bankers and foreign Governments who rules our politicians - and who in turn rule us.

Yes, the opposition party is suppose to keep the ruling party honest with checks and balances, but when was the last time an opposition party released an issue to the media or general public regarding a ruling parties dishonesty or bad policy that the public or media didn’t already know about FIRST?

This begs the question as to why tax payer are funding opposition salaries and expenditure to the tune of hundreds of million per year, when these politicians are doing nothing more than sitting across a table asking the ruling party same questions and getting the same answers that the media ask and get for FREE.

We have a situation whereby the opposition will be elected into Govern this country without any decent policies (or completely suspect policies) simply on based on the incompetence and mistakes of the current political party. This situation is a sad indictment of the Australian political movement and its people when there is a race to the bottom, and not the top.

As with all “addicts” you have to hit rock bottom to be able to climb back out, and when this financial situation MK2 goes BANG, lets just hope the Australian addicts can finally see for themselves who the real parasites have been and who have cause the problems - politicians.

A $trillion economy, and for the past two decades nothing has been built or purchased for the Australian people - besides a few relocatable portable school buildings. Just what in hell have they been doing with all this money?

 

We're just spoilt brats.

 

$10trillion in 10 years, and nothing has been built or purchased for the people. I suppose politicians building or buying "something" or "anything" for the people is asking for too much, and we would be considered spoiled brats. All we have been living off is a resource industry and an over inflated housing market, but I guess we are spoiled brats wanting so little. LOL LOL

 

We're worrying about a new LED tv and wondering why we can't afford 3D and woe is us.

 

I mostly agree on the single 'system', but i disagree as to the left/right arms. I don't see Labor as leftists at all, and the greens are more centre-left than far left on economic matters. The Greens would perhaps be further to the left if the overwhelming power of the international financiers would allow it, which of course they wouldn't. It's because politics serves power and by large the 'system' is just too complex for people to grip (me included), so people go around thinking they've got it good (here anyway). So the 'people' don't have the power in our society. And maybe we do have it good too, because our wealth is on the back of people in the third world, who subsidise our life with cheap labour and poor environmental and social outcomes.

 

I dispute that Australians have it too good. If “good’ represent material possessions; then yes, maybe some Australians do have too good, but overall, the majority of Australians do it tough to survive. Ask any of the 300,000 plus homeless Australian on this cold winters night if they have it too good. Ask the individuals with a mental illness or disability if they have it too good, or the parents of a child that’s been killed in a accident due to shoddy road conditions if they have it too good.

Politicians keep telling us we have it good, but where is all this “good” we are suppose to have?

Politicians have not constructed anything or purchased anything for the peoples benefit for the past four/five decades, but they claim we should be grateful for what we have.

Politicians don’t want to build anything or buy anything for the people, because they keep saying that cannot afford to do it. They seem to be able to borrow money for everything else, then why not borrow money to invest in Australia’s future by building and buying.

They could easily borrow money to build mines in this country, whereby ALL the profits would stay and be returned to the Australians who own the resources in the first place. If they are not competent to operate a mining industry, then how can they be competent to managing a whole countries economy - it begs the question.

They are parasites that have had their snouts in the gravy train for so long, they now wouldn’t know what a days work is.

 

What you're suggesting, is a massive expansion of government power and creating many new government monopolies, which would bring us pretty close to communism.

Australian's do have it good, in general, relative to every other country on earth. This is part of the ridiculous negativity, Australia has one of the highest living standards of any country, the most wealth per capita, high social mobility, high equality, Australia is quite simply one of the best places to live on this planet. Sure, we can do better(especially in regards to our Aboriginal population), we are not perfect, but there is no need for such exaggerated negativity.

The government has just spent 40billion dollars on the NBN, and Australia has an extremely high quality of infrastructure, but of course the work is never done and massive population expansion in recent decades hasn't helped the situation.

The Opposition isn't supposed to "keep the ruling party honest", they're supposed to provide an ALTERNATIVE GOVERNMENT with ALTERNATIVE POLICIES. The parliament provides the check and balance, and that need not necessarily be the Opposition.

Our two major parties don't "work for the same team", they are diametrically opposed. The ALP is the political arm of the trade union movement, and the Coalition pretty obviously favour corporate interests, although Joyce has delusions that they also represent rural Australians.

We have a minority government, and yet this has been spun as evil and undemocratic. We are being led to believe that there must be one party alone, in majority, to govern effectively. This is simply not the case, there is no reason that we should not have more independents and minor parties in the lower house, it would certainly make the country more democratic, and all these idiots claiming the country is being "held to ransom" by independents and minor parties can blame themselves for the inherent failings of the two-party system.

Perhaps there should be greater political education in schools, political history and science, and perhaps English should give greater focus to the tactics of the media.

I'm not surprised that the political debate is the way it is. When crap like Today Tonight, A Current Affair, those ridiculous breakfast TV shows, Neighbours, Big Brother (and for that matter, 99% of reality TV) is so enormously popular, not to mention tabloid magazines and the booming success of ridiculous sensationalist blogs and junk journalism on the internet, it makes perfect sense that our politicians talk in silly slogans, create endless drama and are as extreme and sensationalist as they can get away with. It is not politicians that need to change, it's us that need to change. We get the politicians we deserve.

 

Governments already have the power to buy & sell, so expansion, or additional power is not necessary. The Government/people owing and mining the natural resources of their own country would not create a monopoly, nor would it be tantamount to communism - it would just make a whole load of common sense for the people who own the resource to be getting the “lions” share, not the sour milk left at the bottom of the dish.

The $40 billion spent on the NBN is yet to prove its value, and if the current uptake where its already been installed is any indication; then its going to be a “white elephant” of massive proportions.

I do find myself agreeing with many things you have to say. Especially when you say we need a true opposition party with alternative policies, and not one that just say’s NO for the sake of saying NO to everything; even when the policy is good.

“bum fingers” “limp sack” and “no-nuts” have completely tarnished and destroyed the peoples faith in the brand Independent candidate, and they showed the people how easy it was for these sleazy characters to sell their vote for a hand full of beans.

Wholeheartedly agree that there should be more curriculum dedicated to political history & science; focusing on media tactics and their biased behaviour.

Really not surprised that the media barons always present these “dim-witted” reality show on TV - its called the “mushroom effect”, “keep them in the dark and feed them bull-shyte”. And the “mushrooms” keep falling for it time and, time again.

Also agree that we get the politicians we deserve. It becomes very difficult trying to talk with someone in regards to serious intellectual issues, when you have to competing with alcohol and two flies racing up a wall - I have seen longer attention spans in dogs than I have in some Aussies. LOL

 

We already do own the natural resources, what you want is a government monopoly on the means of production, aka nationalised mining industry, and it has been suggested in the same breath by dumber at least, that we should nationalise the banking industry, the energy generation industry and implement protectionist policies.

The government passed the MRRT, amid huge opposition that the mining companies pay more tax.

Independents are not there to say no to everything either, they negotiated significant policy and frankly, their electorates are the best represented in parliament right now in terms of real political power. Too many people have an "all or nothing" attitude when it comes to politics, negotiation among independents and minor and major parties should be the norm, not the exception, and there is nothing at all wrong with it.

The typical Australian is pretty well educated, we have one of the best education systems in the world. But we do not teach much of our own history as part of the standard curriculum, nor politics, nor media analysis. News and journalism standards are becoming a real problem in this digital age, and many are not properly equipped to filter through the garbage.

 

Yes, we own the natural resources, but certainly NOT getting the lions share. In fact, financially, we getting the scraps chucked to us by foreign landlords.

What’s the problem with the people owning their own power supply , and owning their own bank; we did once - was called the CommonWealth Bank. Were we communists back them just because we owned one bank?

You arguments hold about as much logic as a sieve holds water.

Independents electorates are the best represented in Parliament - are you completely off your rocker? Go up to Port Macquarie and speak to the people up their about “bum fingers” and see if he represents them. The same goes for “no nuts” Winsor’s electorate - go and have a chat with them. You might just have a different opinion after you actually speak with the people from these so-called “best” represented electorates. LOL

Why the hell do you think Winsor and Oakeshott are so detested and hated by the people of their electorates. Its because these pair of scum-bags went against the majority of their electorate wishes, and that’s certainly NOT representing them. The only thing these scummy pair are representing, is their OWN best interests.

Stop sugar coating the word negotiations like it was something special and honourable, when all it really means is a common bloody bribe.

 

Give the Independents a break, they don't have the luxury of policy support from a party. In many ways they represent the points Edmund Burke made in his famous Speech to the Electors of Bristol - i.e. "you didn't elect me to be your mouthpiece, you elected me to represent you and that means I have to make decisions on your behalf". That might seem a bit paternalistic but that's probably because I've over-simplified and possibly blurred the message Burke was trying to get across.

If the idea is that 51% of an electorate gets to write the script for an MP then I'm afraid I'm with the Founding Fathers of the US who believed that "democracy" (as it was known in the late 18th Century at least) was akin to mob rule, the rule of the majority and stuff everyone else. I get a bit annoyed with party discipline but at least you get some idea of what you're voting for, you only have to look at the party platform.

But we have to see ourselves - small players though we are - in the world context. That world context is overwhelmingly capitalistic and overwhelmingly corporate. Do I want BHP-Billiton to be able to strong-arm our governments? No bloody way. Do I want the means of production to be socialised? Not yet, we're not ready for it, but it's going to happen in the future.

 

These pair of scummy Independent (bum-fingers Oak shott & no-nuts Winsor) don’t deserve a “break”. They had the best policy support any politician could possibly hope for, and that was being elected by the “people” on the policies they platformed on.

It was my understand individual political candidates were elected to be the “voice” of the people, and that’s exactly what bum-fingers and no-nut didn’t do - their selfish, self-centred two votes completely ignored their electorate 300,000 + votes and voices.

In Oakeshott’s electorate “Lyne” the ALP only received 11,459 votes out of 88,261.
The national party received 29,216. The ALP had never previously won the seat of Lyne in recorded history, and that’s why Oakeshott’s self-serving interests was such a betrayal to the people living there, when he sold their vote and their voices to the ALP for a hand full of beans.

http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2010/guide/lyne.htm

My elderly aunt met Oakeshott at one of his pre-election functions. She re-calls her observation of him being that of:…“a sleazy, effeminate little man that she wouldn’t trust as far as she could sling him” - her exact words.

That’s why both these scum-bags are detested and hated by the majority of the people in their electorates.

Australia has let itself become a small international player because the people have allowed politicians to sell everything we have to foreigners. I’m not suggesting we have to own everything and become communists, but we own nothing. We don’t even own our own airports or navy bases anymore nor any of our ports; these are leased out to foreign companies.

Ebay was the only thing that saved the sale of Australia Post from these scummy politicians.



http://candobetter.net/node/2846

 

Theseb

 

Absolute Cods Wallop Culldav!!! If the electorates wanted a national they would have voted for the nationals.....They simply didn't. It doesn't matter what labors vote was. Oakshott and Windsor were voted in as Independents, which means they have no allegiance to any party otherwise they would have represented the nationals!! The Nationals are obviously on the nose, especially due to the fact they couldn't pick up these seats in these electorates!!Their electorate voted for the representative who they thought would best represent them in parliament. Their electorates have benefited as a consequence, which suggests they voted for the right people despite your negative and outright ignorant opinion. Anyone in their right or left mind would not have sided with Abbott and his sleazy appeals to get him over the line. What a heap of absolute sour graped crap!!! You lost and that's it! Your feelings are hurt, well too bad! You didn't get your own way this time around, get over it!

 

yes a good dose of nationalisation of the banks and basic Industry ,including every coal mine and ironore as well as gold ,copper and everyother mine .Diamonds included .And in the intrests of the humans excluding the "Share holders "we take Ginas billions as well as rupert murdochs ,ect ,and we have More then enough for the transformation of the economy from fossil fuel to solar ,planning production for need not profit ,oh dear we all know it makes sense ,as the Alternative ,is well INSANE!

 

Gillard's deal with the miners left them much less threatened by nationalisation than the tiny amount they were in Rudd's version of the mining superprofits tax...
Under that deal they threatened to withdraw their investment and go elsewhere...
ACTU laughed at that... Sure, if they wanted to go elsewhere they could, and we will run the mines, outcompete them, make the superprofits and pay the superprofits tax...

 

The truth is never “cods wallop” and allowing the people their democratic voice is not “sour grape”. Maybe only to fanatics who cannot see past their own blind agendas.

If the people in these Independents electorates wanted an ALP Government, they also could have voted for the ALP candidates in their electorate, but they didn’t - so there goes your theory out the window!

Yes. The people voted for Independent candidates, not major political parties, because the people in those electorate wanted to be represented in Parliament by candidates Independent of any major political party. But “bum fingers Oakeshott” and “no nuts Winsor” didn’t stay Independent for too long, did they? What these cretins did, was sold their electorates votes to the troll queen for bribes (a hand-full of beans).

If both these sleazy Independents were “true” Independents, they would have given their constituents their democratic rights, and called for another election regardless of bribes from either major party.

Remember how “bum fingers” was so enthralled with the media attention and spotlight that it took him thirty minutes to say something that it would take a normal person to say in thirty seconds.

You want to believe all the lies and con job, then that your prerogative.

 

The Liberals and the Nationals are opposite sides of conservatism and the voters of those electorates voted independent because they didn't want to be stuck to a Liberal Program...

The Nationals [earlier of course the Farmers Party] are freetraders while the Liberal Party is a party supposed to represent small business, from the Liberal Protectionists...

Labor on the other hand was divided by the strong right wing influence of the AWU and the SDA and NSW Labor right, who conspired to get rid of Rudd...

 

But going back to another election at the time would most likely of ended up with the same result, therefore a waste of tax payers dollars and still in the same predicament. Windsor actually spoke about the sleazy win at any cost politics of Abbott, which helped him make up his mind. Windsor is obviously a conservative, but obviously had no faith in Abbott at all, which speaks volumes about who Abbott really is. The current leadership of Abbott, Pyne and bishop are liabilities to the coalition. They are just too negative. Hockey, seemed to be a fairly decent politician until he became hopeful of the coalitions chances due to a sudden decline in the polls for labor, therefore knew his bread would potentially be buttered by Abbott and subsequently emulated his style of politics. They were obviously caught between a rock and a hard place. The best of both evils were labor and gillard, not coalition and Abbott.

 

These scabby politicians have been known to blow upwards of $50million each on advertisement campaigns for re-election, and it doesn’t bother them in the least about squandering that amount of tax payer money, but ask these same scabs to spend money giving the people their democratic voice in holding another election, and suddenly they cry “poor-mouth” and advocate they don’t have the money. What a load of croc!!

These two scum-bag, morally bankrupt Independents, knew they should not have “personally” made a deal with either major political party to Govern - that’s not what the people wanted. These two Independent took away the democratic right of over 800,000 Australians and replaced that with their own two personal votes for bribes, and who knows what other personal financial gain they got as a reward. Those actions are not diplomatic, nor is it democracy; its what happens when two scabby Independents without morals, ethics or principal sell their constituents votes for person gain.

They should never have taken it upon themselves to take such a sanctimonious action as wanting to make a “deal” with one of two “devils” - they should have made the conscious decision to make sure the Government was a good one for “all” the people, or hold another election and let ’all” the people decide.

The troll queen is a pathological liar and an incompetent leader, and Manager, and Abbott is no better, but “bum fingers” Oakeshott and “no-nut” Winsor are still standing right behind the troll queen advocating she has their full confidence - what does that tell you about these cretins character.

As trustworthy as a black snake picked up by the tail!!

 

Who are you suggesting would have been the government for all people. At that time the vote would never have changed and therefore would still have been a hung parliament. You don't seem to be keen on either party, so don't know what your issue really is with the independents. They had to make a decision or waste every bodies time and money for what most likely would have been the same result. Would you have been as vehement towards these guys had they sided with the coalition?