2007 Australia Election - Democracy in action!Nov 27 '07 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Sometimes a fresh start is appropriate. Some may have noticed that Australia changed governments last week and with encouragement from my colleague and friend Letta, known around Epinions as Grandgram, it apparently behoves me, as a true blue, fair dinkum Aussie to make a comment. On face value the previous government lost by a landslide – at least that is how much of the rest of the world perceives the result. However I probably need to point out some of the basics of politics in Australia – at least for the benefit of non Australians. Government in Australia is by way of a three tiered approach, local, state and federal. In federal and state elections practically everyone votes – contrary, to the opinion of some, because they want to, not because it is notionally compulsory. I say notionally because I have never heard of anyone being fined for not voting and the maximum penalty is a mere $20-, which is much less than over 90% of Aussies earn in a single hour! (The minimum wage is about $16- per hour). The highest office in the land is that of Prime Minister – and to become Prime Minister first that person has to be elected to the House of Representatives. That means they have to gain, and retain, majority support from one electorate comprising about 90,000 voters. There are currently exactly one hundred and fifty such electorates federally. After each election the party that wins the most electorates appoints the Prime Minister – almost always the leader of that party. Each of the major parties receives about fifteen million dollars of taxpayer money to contest an election therefore removing the possibility of any party or individual “buying” themselves into office through donations. The minor parties and independent contestants receive lesser amounts. In all cases the amounts paid to successful contestants are set by the Australian Electoral Commission, a completely impartial body, who also run the election. The whole process is overseen by the Governor General. Australians are great supporters of our democratic process and perhaps the best evidence of that is that almost everyone votes and the counting is broadcast live on at least three national television networks and numerous radio stations – plus the internet. Over the last twenty five years Australia has been governed first by the Australian Labor Party (thirteen years) and the last twelve by the Liberal/National Coalition. This has been a great time of reform with, in reality, little difference between these two major parties. Australia has become a nation second to none in practically every measure and enjoys one of the most socially just and highest standards of living in the world. The 2007 election is notable for two reasons. The former Prime Minister, John Howard was the second longest ever Prime Minister of Australia (almost twelve years) and not only did his party lose the election but he is only the second Prime Minister in history to lose his electorate – meaning he is completely out of politics altogether. The second reason is that the Government lost the election despite presiding over the longest period of economic growth in history (most of the last seventeen years) and that growth continues unabated. So what happened? I believe the truth behind the perceived landslide loss gives a clue to what really happened. The first salient fact is that 42 percent voted for the government, and 43.5 for the then opposition (now the new government). So, in reality, this was a very close race! The fact that a great many electorates changed hands means little as about fifty of the one hundred and fifty are only ever won (or lost) by about one percent – that is, less than 1,000 votes out of 90,000 votes! The second critical issue was one of time. Almost twelve years in government, and a Prime Minister of almost twelve years standing, is a very long time and it was inevitable that sooner or later it would be “time for a change” regardless of how well the Prime Minister and government were performing. The third critical reason is that what the new government (and Prime Minister elect) presented was both a fresh approach and also one of little real change. So what of the future? Predicting the future is fraught with danger. However I see little real change in Australia’s position both domestically and internationally. Yes we will now ratify Kyoto and we will reduce our presence in Iraq over time. We will also retain the Australia/US/Japan and numerous other treaties and partnerships. We might even see the totally ceremonial title of Queen removed from the Constitution – but we won’t see any change to the Australian political system. The new government will likely successfully lead Australia in a very similar direction to that of recent decades – or that slim margin will quickly turn the other way in three years time (or less as we do not have fixed terms – only maximum ones!) For the record, I voted for the previous government but I have no qualms about the new one. Questions anyone?  |
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