By MAMAMIA TEAM
Okay folks. After much speculation, a few false starts, and innumerable Twitter rumours – the 2013 election date has been announced.
Australia will decide its next Government on September 7.
Kevin Rudd delivered a press conference at 4.00pm, in which he outlined the key issues for the coming campaign – and spoke about the values that Rudd believes differentiate the Labor party from the Opposition.
Rudd spoke about the end of the China Resources Boom and said conclusively, “that boom is over”. But the Prime Minister also said that ‘Australia is too positive a nation … to retreat into a tight little ball of negativity’.
Rudd talked about the need for a new attitude in politics – a theme that he has touched upon in previous addresses to the Australian public – and said that ‘the old politics of the past just won’t work for the future’.
“Three word slogans don’t solve complex problems – they never have, and they never will,” the Prime Minister said.
Kevin Rudd acknowledged that the Labor Party had made mistakes in the past – and also made reference to the fact that he had developed on a personal level in recent years – but reasserted that the Labor Party was in the best position to manage economic challenges in the future.
Top Comments
With this coming election, I've read some comments and heard many younger people (I'm 40-something) state that they have decided to neither vote nor enrol to vote, because there is no-one worth voting for in the 2013 Federal election.
For anyone reading this and who is considering not voting: true, we currently have poor leadership quality and the choice seems to be between the 'devil and the deep blue sea' in the lead up to this coming election. However, we in Australia are fortunate to live in a country which affords us the right and opportunitiy to remove, by people power, any government that is not performing to standards that are expected, or what has been promised.
In my humble opinion, in countries that grants its population a democratic right to vote, I consider the individual act of voting to be an ethical and moral obligation. Throughout the world, many great changes have occured through ticking the ballot. So many brave women (and men) fought for women to have the right to vote. And it was a vote which changed inheritance laws, allowing women to inherit property. It was a government vote that contributed to the freeing the slaves in America. It was an overwhelming 90.77% people-power vote in favour of counting the Indigenous peoples as part of the Australian population during the 1967 Referendum on the Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal People)(1967).
And for the Australian Republicans...voting is one thing we get to do that Queen Elizabeth II is unable to partake in back in the UK.
Before you 'choose' to not vote, or think it easier to throw away your vote than to make a decision, please remember that there are millions of people in the world who will never have the opportunity to at least attempt to voice their opinion regarding who should lead their country. Consequently, in less democratic areas, many people are tortured, disappear, and murdered because of the political leader they support. Voting is power. As Voltaire (not Spiderman) said "with great power comes great responsibility". Australians as a collective have a great responsibility to ensure that the government steering this country, whichever it be, does not abuse that power. So it is important we vote for a party who will think long-term and do what's best for the country.
Whichever political animal is elected - Labor and Kevin Rudd or Liberal leader Tony Abbott - l am just as confused as many as for which party I will vote. But please don't throw away your democratic responsibility - and it is a huge responsibility- our collective responsibility.
Not just a "right".
It has always seemed to me that if people choose not to vote or do an invalid vote then they have no right to complain about the results. I have previously acted as a scrutineer and a drawing of a penis or 'get f$&ked' on a ballot paper sends no political party a message, it's just a wast of a vote.
Anon, earlier I had a heated debate with a young lady of 24 (I'm 40-something) about this very issue, and got so worked up that I forgot to write my name in the name section of my above comment!
I suggested to this young lady that okay then, if she forfeits her democratic right and responsibility to vote, then she also forfeits her post-election right to complain about the outcome if she didn't agree with however the elected government manages Australia. I think in many cases (not all), it's apathy and intellectual laziness which is the cause of attitudes such as hers. I mentioned to this young lady that in 1913 a famous Suffragette, Emily Davison, who in an attempt to bring attention to the cause of women's suffrage, threw herself under the King's horse during the Epsom Derby.
This young lady had no idea what suffrage was, and not heard of Emily Davison. She was completely disinterested and slightly annoyed - our conversation was interrupting her Facebook browsing.
Bohemian Seahorses, I agree wholeheartedly with what you've said. I appreciate my right to vote and I accept the responsibility that comes with it. I think it's really important to engage in the political processes of our country, even if that means only numbering a few boxes (I know not everyone reads or engages in political discussion outside of elections).
For the record, I'd just like to state that I am in my 20s and many of my friends are also committed to making their votes count - so there is hope for us young ones yet!
I was bored of your essay in your first sentence. Sorry
I was living overseas during the last election and missed a lot of the coverage that inevitably went with it (I did vote though!)...I have to say I'm not particularly optimistic either way.
Neither Labor or the Coalition have strong policies for the issues that concern me, both appear to be going against human rights issues too. I don't really want to vote for the Greens because they are so far left that I wonder if they understand the economic issues Australia is and could face, and there aren't any independents in my area that are any better.
Having said all of that, however, I will still vote properly. I think that it's really important to have a say, and I encourage everyone to have theirs. I'll be voting for the person and party in my electorate that best aligns with my values (and I guess we have a month to figure out who that is).
It's always so refreshing to come across members of the younger generation who take an interest in may aspects of the world around them and not just what's "trending" on Twit-hard or Facebook.