Election 2010: ARE WE THERE YET? And do you care?

I was so into the election. For most of this year I’ve been interested and I sort of peaked on election night. I cared A LOT. And so did you. We nearly crashed Mamamia on Saturday August 21 when traffic spiked massively and all the election posts we’ve done during the campaign have been enormously popular. But now….well, I’m just so over it. I’m struggling to care about who becomes Prime Minister and I never thought I’d say that.

We’ve just totally lost momentum and I’m starting to feel more and more uncomfortable about the way 3 or 4 blokes are deciding everything from the Prime Minister to the budget to policy changes. How did that happen? Somehow it doesn’t feel very democratic, more a quirk of the system.

Like what about Andrew Wilkie getting to demand all those things for Hobart? Lovely for them but is our whole country being held to ransom so Hobart can get a $1b light rail system?

And what’s taking the other 3 independents SO LONG to make up their minds? They’ve had plenty of thinking music – 11 days of it. And I can’t help but think things might be moving faster if they stopped talking to the media and read all their papers and MADE A DECISION.

I have asked Julie Cowdroy, our resident political correspondent to give her opinion on the status of the country.  She writes….

“On election night, (gosh that seems like a long time ago) I must admit that I got excited about the prospect of a potential hung parliament. I truly did. Finally, we as a nation had an opportunity in front of us to craft a new agenda for Australia. I know, I know, I’m idealistic. And unashamedly so. However, I am left totally uninspired and frustrated.

As I read the newspapers and watch the television, I see the faces of men who are holding us in a place of uncertainty and quite frankly, are not using their time well.

The independents bring a wealth of parliamentary experience and are clever career politicians. However, to be so inward focused rather than working on how we can use that experience to creatively move the nation forward – that is what is missing.

The histories of the men at the centre of the debate mean that we are dealing with much disgruntlement. Rob Oakeshott, and Tony Windsor are disgruntled Nationals. Wilkie is a disgruntled Green. Tony Crook who took over from Liberal MP Wilson Tuckey is a disgruntled National, even though he is still a formal member. And then there’s Katter who is talking about how he sees the world through the paradigm of a North Queenslander, and kind of always seems disgruntled. Disgruntled with the Nationals, the science of climate change, people who are gay… This disgruntlement equates to a certain kind of backwardness. It’s looking back on history, rather than future focused planning. Backwardness is not something Australia needs to embrace in our current global climate.

Don’t get me wrong. I wholeheartedly believe that a focus on rural Australia is absolutely important. Politics in Australia is unfairly centralised around the urban centres. Warren Truss reminded us this week that all the current Cabinet ministers are city based. Rural areas were largely forgotten in this campaign. But now they have been thrust into the spotlight. I do think this is a good thing. I think that regional areas deserve the infrastructure they are crying out for. It’s crucial to our economy. Further to this, the rural areas have amazing potential for our immigration program. Many mayors in country towns welcome this. However, I must hasten to illuminate that I don’t believe that this combination of independents who are holding Australia in limbo are representing these future focused needs of Australia.

Granted, talks of parliamentary reforms are great and absolutely necessary, but that’s the easy stuff and what everyone agrees with.

But at the moment, most Australians have written off the next three years and are praying in the next election to come as quickly as possible to have another shot at forming a strong government. My argument is, why should we have to wait?

And this current situation is perfect for making sure we don’t have to.

While we sit here and listen to Wilkie’s demands for four-lane bridge from Tasmania to the mainland and Oakeshott’s complaints about Heffernan’s phone calls to his home (it’s quintessential Heffernan, laugh it off), Iran is making more steps towards developing nuclear weapons, Pakistan is underwater producing what is a massive humanitarian crisis for years to come, we have soldiers tragically being killed in Afghanistan, and a volatile global economy. And we are wasting our time listening to Wilkie’s demands for a big office and lots of staff.

The task of every nation on the planet right now is to survive within an increasingly globalised, volatile world. Massive people displacement, climate change, religious extremists and economic instability are common challenges for every country in the world. There is a massive opportunity for Australia to pull together our experience, education, solidarity and work towards a new vision.

I don’t know, maybe I speak too early. Perhaps the independents will prove me wrong. Hope so.”

Who do you think SHOULD be prime minister? How do you feel about the independents? What would be your advice for them? And if we had to go to the polls again, would you vote differently?