A rant long overdue...

Wine of the Week:
Over the Shoulder Shiraz Viognier 2007 (Yarra Valley) - made by Oakridge Estate. It is one of their everyday wines and one that is really enjoyable after a little breathing time. You can get more info at www.oakridgeestate.com.au 

I always love elections. I remember going with my family up to the polling booth in the 80's and the one thing I always wanted to do was vote. It seemed that there was something really exciting was going on and I was missing out. 

From the hordes of t-shirt clad supporters handing out 'how to vote' cards to the mystery of going behind the partitions inside the church hall with your ballot papers, making your decision and stuffing in the large cardboard boxes from the Electoral Commission; I have to say, I loved it all and couldn't wait until I was eighteen so I could join in the fun.


Like most people, my early voting preferences were influenced by my family. We were an ALP household from the time we arrived in Sydney the day after Whitlam was elected in 1972. We rejoiced when Bob Hawke was elected in 1983 and were equally devestated when Paul Keating lost in 1996. And in every election (Local, State & Federal) since 1990, I voted Labor without a critical thought. 


As you get older, you start to think about your choice a little more and what impact that your vote would have. Family/party lines can potentially become strained as you start to have more questions around which party to vote for and who would be the right leader for your district, state or indeed country.


Which leads us to the upcoming Federal election and I will end the suspense right now - I will vote for Labor and Julia Gillard. That said, I won't be voting for them because I have done so in the last election and the election before that. I will be voting for Labor because they have will provide the answer I want to the one question that has been bugging me for a number of years - what sort of Australia do I want to live in?


I have been concerned about the state of the country - not the economic state but the social fabric of this country; a social fabric that was slowly picked at and damaged by the Liberal Party while in office. 


Some of you may know I don't hold John Howard in high regard. Reason being is that as the Prime Minister at the time, he was responsible for this deterioration in the social fabric of Australia and as such, created a divide that still exists in this country. A divide that didn't seem to exist when I was growing up. A divide that is based on what you looked like and what your background was. 

From the time that John Howard sided with George W Bush and said that we would back the US in their military action, he immediately declared that there was an emeny and anyone of middle eastern extraction should be considered with suspicion. As a result Australia, a country that prided itself on it's multiculturalism, had singled out one racial group as being a potential threat to what was considered all things Australian. This of course culminated in the events of December 2005 at Cronulla. 


While those events are a blot on our country's history, the fact that he did not come out in the strongest fashion and declare that what happened was "un-Australian" was almost as shameful and the single most irresponsible act of his time as Prime Minister. 

The fact that the Sutherland Shire is full of safe Liberal seats may have had something to do with that. 


A general contempt for the Australian public (re; lying about the children overboard affair), reducing funding to public education and wanting to get rid of Medicare - a national public healthcare system that countries like the US are screaming out for - all contribute as reasons as to why I don't believe that the legacy of the Howard years is a golden one. 


It is one of a less compassionate, less tolerant Australia. One that saddens me as I don't believe that the majority of Australians concur with but one where the minority has a very loud voice.


As I get off my John Howard soapbox, I can not help but think that the potential of the Abbott Government has the hallmarks of the Howard one. The fact that one of the catchcries/promises is that they will "stop the boats" says it all. It is clear that the Coalition believes that the best Australia for them is a divided Australia; that fact alone scares, depresses and angers me all at the same time.


I want an Australia that is compassionate. I want an Australia that is willing to look after each other, be proud of who we are and the different cultures that make up modern Australia. I want an Australia that also recognises our past - both before and after 1788. 

And yes, I want a prosperous Australia and the fact that we were able to get through the GFC without a massive downturn is a good thing. The Labor Government have made some errors and some bad judgements (the insulation scheme was one of them) but overall, I believe the positives outweigh the negatives.


You could say it is better the devil you know...but Labor have made some ground in repairing the social fabric that underlies this country. Kevin Rudd did lose touch but his leadership shown in his speech saying sorry to the stolen generation is one of the greatest achievements by any Government. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/02/13/1202760379056.html

In the end, I guess I am voting in hope that Julia Gillard will continue to look at the repairing Australia in a similar light...time will only tell.