AUSTRALIANS: What do you want from the coming Labor government?

Question

This is a serious question. I'm going to vote against Howard for sure, but I don't imagine that a Rudd government is going to be heaven on earth.

(For instance, Hawke was a major disappointment to me.)

It's time for us to set an agenda: what will we require from our new government?

Some problems with the Victorian Labor government:

their strong secrecy;
their ramming through of major projects without regard to environmental damage, eg dredging of Port Phillip Bay;
their complete failure to tackle homelessness;
their inadequate funding of hospitals;
their devotion to the car and freeways over public transport.

MR AMAZING: You are right that there is a totalitarian tendency beneath the surface in Australia, towards both left and right, which is not often acknowledged. This worries me a little, precisely because most Australians are so complacent about their rights and freedoms. However I don't believe that the ALP is a totalitarian party ~ it is a very broad church with enough diversity to reign in the totalitarian elements. But I agree that we need to guard our freedoms jealously.

Answer 1

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Get out of this war and set an independent foreign policy.
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Sign Kyoto and take active steps to reduce CO2 emissions
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Cease racist persecution of Aboriginals
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Look after Water and Land Management issues outback
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Put the Care back into Medicare
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Prioritize Education, more cash for Schools and Unis
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Get rid of Detention Centres and treat Refugees fairly
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Help get those on Welfare back to Work
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Fix the AWA fiasco
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more will doubtless occur but that would be a great start.

Answer 2

Warning: I'm totally off the tangent.....

Which ever one wins, I am hoping for a smaller, a narrower socio-economy gap within the society.

I don't believe an increasing gap between the rich and the poor is a good idea. I don't believe it is ethical to sacrifice the poor for the greater good of the nation.

I grew up in Asia where capitalism has lifted the people from insane poverty. But capitalism is a double edge sword and the gap it creates bring about unbelievable insanity in a different term as well.

Here is just one example. Some people believe the whole thing was concocted by ....? Some others believe, the poor finally had enough, and took it against one race group. I believe the latter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BugSoNpjDQ

My husband said this would never happen in Australia.

Really?

I live in Melbourne where apparently there is a 5 year waiting list to see a dentist at the Dental Hospital. When the Hospital was given Millions by the government, they couldn't really use the fund for anything else but to flush the people out of the waiting list (gave them coupons to see Private Dentists). Does this not sadden anyone?

I was in Jakarta before the whole thing blew up (see Youtube link above) People on the street, taxi drivers, office employees, they couldn't even afford milk for their kids. The rich? The rich people of Jakarta have better living standard than average people in Australia....

*sigh*.... we live in the land of milk and honey.

Who ever wins, don't let the land of milk and honey turn into a nasty jungle like Jakarta May 1998 - after years and years of huge huge socio-economy gap.

(By the way, to those who clicked or are about to click the link to Youtube above, apologise for some of the comments posted there. You can feel the hatred in the air ..... pretty bad. I found this link randomly.)

Answer 3

As usual, an excellent question. The totalitarian aspect you refer to is concerning, especially after we have seen the laws and so-called 'reforms' ushered in by the Hoawrd government wiht the complicity of the ALP over the past decade.

The fact is, that Australians are very laid back about many things, rightly assuming that most of the world's nastier side effects won't trouble us much down here.

And because we're generally law abiding, there's a tendency to believe 'if you are not guilty you ahve nothing to fear'.

However, it is also fair to point out that when this laid-backness is upset, Aussies can become very irate indeed, and governments can feel it. Take the case of the young doctor in Qld, falsely accused of complicity in London terrorist activities.

Public outrage forced the government to treat him properly and lawfully, so that he was not imprisoned on those false claims.

The matter of David Hicks is another example ~ Howard was forced to cave and get the Yanks to send him home before the election, because of the public anger about his illegal detention.

And it is interesting to note that people have NOT made a hero of him, as so many right wingers claimed would happen. People were angered by his detention, not in favour of his behaviour, and knew very well where the line was.

So there is a streak of iron in the soft body of the Aussie public, and politicians who tempt their fate can find themselves in real trouble.

For myself, my hopes for a new government would be an end to public policies which see the run down of needed infrastrucure, less emphasis on building surpluses and more on building communities, and an end to deliberate policies of divisiveness and greed mongering.

To be honest, I'm not sure Rudd can totally deliver, which is why I'm hoping to see some Democrats and Greens, with their more creative and innovative approaches to social justice issues, in the Senate.

One thing I'm very certain of, however, is that it's not going to be possible with Howard.

I'm also concerned that he won't have the oomph to manage a sliding economy. For all his fine talk, he's been lucky to have governed during boom times, and while we don't have to sell the cat just yet, there is some trouble ahead.

Howard's answer will almost certainly be the typical top-end-of-town solution ~ squeeze the workers then blame them for not being aspirational and hard working enough. The American solution.

Our country needs someone who can steer the ship of state through these waters with an eye to bringing us all home safe, not jettisoning whole groups as they become 'inconvenient'. To my mind, neither Howard or Costello is the man for that.

Is Rudd? I'm not sure. But in this case, we know what Howard will do ~ it's time to try something new.

Cheers :-)

Answer 4

First of all, it's not a sure thing that Labor will win the election. They need to win sixteen seats, and that is a lot. We could easily see a repeat of the '98 election, with the coalition winning, despite Labor getting more than 51% of the votes summed up across the whole country.

In any case, what do I want from a government, Labor or Liberal?

* More openness. More honesty. No more manipulation of statistics (eg unemployment figures) for political purposes. The Howard government is brilliant at spin, and suppressing proper public debate. That's very bad for democracy.
* Less bureaucracy. Welfare, public health care, etcetera are essential, but they get unwieldy. Streamline them so they can do their jobs effectively and people know what services are available, and how to access them easily.
* More support for communities to solve their own problems - Aussies are pretty innovative. We also live in a vast country. One set of solutions aren't going to fit everyone.
* More independence for the media, judiciary, etcetera. The current government has been waging a campaign against anyone who criticises them. Remember how before the last election they were talking about weakening the powers of the senate? (strangely, they stopped talking about that after they got control of both houses in '04). Having a weak senate that can't reign in the power of the government is a Very Bad Idea
no matter who's running the country.
* Better funding for schools, universities, TAFEs... the cost of a uni degree should go down, no smart kid from a poor family should miss out on a uni place because they can't afford it.
* More equal standards of living. The wealth of society should be shared by all, in the form of better infrastructure, roads, healthcare... not just handouts and election bribes.
* An end to nationalistic appeals to military glory, and xenophobia.
* Revoking our totalitarian anti-terror/anti-sedition laws. Blowing stuff/people up has always been a crime, we don't need new laws that suppress freedom of speech (and other civil rights).
* Less reliance on primary industries, more encouragement for intellectual innovation. We should be developing new renewable energy technologies, more farming of native foods, an Aussie hybrid car industry, etcetera and selling them overseas. Good for the environment, Aussie jobs, and it'd reverse the brain-drain (at least a little).
* Better environmental protection. Ratifying Kyoto, and going beyond it.
* Independent foreign policy, not just doing what uncle Sam tells us to. Helping Iraq get back on its feet ASAP and then getting out, immediately!
* The willingness to say sorry to Aboriginal people. The current generation may not be responsible for what happened in the past, but we are the only ones in a position to correct the injustices of the past, and we should be sorry for not doing so sooner.
* Better treatment of refugees.
* A sensible approach to privatisation. Howard and co. just ideologically think it's the bees-knees. I want a government that recognises that some things work well when privatised, others shouldn't be.
* Citizen-Initiated Referenda (the Kiwis have had them since 1993). A Bill of Rights. Basically more protections for the rights of the Oz public, and more say in what our politicians can and can't do.
* Double-dissolution is a stupid idea. If you're gonna dissolve and re-elect both houses of parliament because of a disagreement over some piece of legislation, it would be easier and more democratic to let the public decide yes or no on that legislation directly, by referendum.
* Basically a more equitable, less money-oriented society, where the ethos of a 'fair go' can take root again, rather than everyone struggling to own more stuff.

You're right, a Rudd government won't be heaven on earth. I can't see it being worse than what Howard has done to the country though. I remember disliking the Hawke/Keating government, but at least they weren't racially divisive, and had a vision of Oz as a nation in its own right. Howard just wants us to be a wholly-owned subsidiary of the US, and is willing to tell us anything to scare us into accepting his actions.

Answer 5

It seems that every answer here just about covers everything of major concerns.

But I will add that Australians must never be denied the freedom of free speech to express our concerns of what may happened to Australia under a Liberal Party Coalition government.

And not be told what to do by a government who happens not to like what we say about them , when we ask for FOI about anything that is relevant to Australia,

Australians should when asked for such information , it should be given and not denied by government who don't like to part with anything that may hurt them. And a Government that is accountable for everything and take responsible for its own actions.

Seeing that Howard likes to blame others and not take the responsibility for the way his government has acted an not taking the responsibility of his actions, is losing the way Australia held its own, instead of following .And being so much in the past for most of the time harping on what may happen.Howard can't tell what tomorrow will bring.

Labour has a plan for the future, and if they can utilise their plan and it is beneficial for all Australians, then that will be good,

Now after Labour gets in and all their plans are in place and are working for Australians , what would happen if a future Liberal Party decided to undo everthing that this Labour Party did, They would take Australia down the road that Howard has done during the last11 years of his Government.

It would have to take a future Labour Government to make sure that a Liberal Governemt never got back in Poawer again.

Go Kevin Rudd Labour Party , at least give him a chance and let Australia Decide , and not Howard's Liberal Party of Scare Tatics

Answer 6

Yes, that's not much of a choice but they're some factors which let we've made a decision as:

The rich people's a lot of money then they also have big houses, modern vehicles, boats, vessels, jets and many more luxury things but we don't require which those things. We're needing:
- More places in Universities & Technical Colleges for our children so every children are equal opportunity in Education. Rich peopel can buy a good place in Oxford, Yale, Haward, Cambridge and/or elsewhere around the world as they like & want rather than push our children out of education system.
- Keep and protect our environment for our next gernerations, so they'll have a good place to live like ours now.
- Equal opportunity in health treament, because an illness/sickness is not avoid the rich or the poor.
- We want working and need a job, so the goverment must protect our rights and not given much power to the owners which sweating our labor when young but expel us when sick or older.
- Keep the housing affordable to every one and repayment on loan's limit up to 20% - 25% of our incomes.
Can you choice a better one from a various bads?

Answer 7

Get out of Iraq ASAP. Let the Americans sort it out because they are the idiots who started it.
Reduce the inequalities in education in particular. Not waste education dollars by giving grants to schools that already have Olympic size swimming pools and auditoriums into which you could fit the whole of some public schools.
Make university fees the same as those enjoyed by most of our current politicians to ensure that the best brains from all walks of society are available to make this country great.
Make medicare the best health system in the world and not use public money to pay dividends to share holders in private companies.
Get serious about the environment with the reversal of the decision on the pulp mill in Tasmania.
Put an end to negative gearing in relation to housing. If that is too hard then an end to it in relation to new developments where the houses cost less than a certain figure.
Many of the answers already given cover most of my thoughts on this.

Answer 8

I have seen some excellent answers, especially from 'Geng M', 'Twilight', 'Henry from Atherton' and 'Redlion'. I agree with them all.
My main concerns are health, education and pensions as I am an invalid pensioner with major illness that makes it difficult to work. The pension is difficult to live on. Hospitals are under-funded with too few doctors and even less nurses along with insufficient beds etc. Also, When I finished university in 1998 I was on the way to becoming a University lecturer but with the Howard government reduction in money to universities several hundred lecturers lost their jobs and the number of courses being taught were drastically reduced. The position I would have got ceased to exist. So, we need more money poured into education, medical area and into pensions etc.
That is my personal gripes out of the way.

I also would like to see our troops out of the war in Iraq along with a change in emphasis in Afghanistan. Talking about the military, I would like to see more money spent on navy patrol boats to protect our shores from (1) Illegal fishermen operating in our waters (2) illegal people smuggling (refugees and 'sex slaves') in conjunction with immigration and the AFP (3) other smuggling operations in co-operation with customs and the AFP. Also, one or two more Frigates to assist with patrolling our waters, especially against illegal Whaling by the Japanese in our water and to assist with UN peacekeepting missions.

I would also like to see a better wage system in operation where a family can survive without having to work two or three jobs to make ends meet. The old "basic Wage" system where the male wage was sufficient for a man, his wife and 2 kids to live on without too much strain was an excellent condition. I wish that never ceased. Certainly do away with the AWA's.

I could probably go on, as others with a long list, as there are a large number of things that need repairing.

I would like the ALP to sit down and make plans saying what they will do over 3 years, five years, ten years and 20 years if they can remain in office, and announce those plans to the public with how they are going to fund those plans within a fiscally correct budget. This way, they are taking the population into their confidence and so long as they keep to their word, can maintain the support of the voters.

Answer 9

The fact that you presume Labor is going to win this election shows you are arrogant and why would you vote for a party you see as a 'dissapointment' and one which isn't going to be 'heaven on earth'. If you don't think they can run the country don't vote for them!

Answer 10

I want a return to 'socialist-type' policies, where education, especially tertiary education is free, as in the WHITLAM ERA, a public health system that is functional.
I want a government that is long-sighted about the environment with real green policies not just aware of thedividend benefits.
I want social policies that assist those with handicaps, the aged, the homeless ,the sick and the mentally ill.
I want a government that will inculcate a sense of community values , rather than exacerbate the divide between haves and have- nots.
I MOST OF ALL WANT A GOVERNMENT THAT IS FAR SIGHTED AND NOT WAR-MONGERING...ONE THAT SEES PEACE AND JUSTICE FOR ALL PEOPLE AS ITS MANTRA