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36 comments

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  1. mikestasse

    What I want to know is……….. why, in the face of all the shit we walked against yesterday, did people still vote overwhelmingly for the morons in Tassie and SA….?

  2. trishcorry

    I have no idea. The mind boggles.

  3. mars08

    This has everything to do with the behaviour and decisions made after the election. The fact that the majority of Australians voted for a Government with no policies other than ‘Stop the Boats’ and ‘Axe the Tax’ leaves a lot to be desired for the seriousness of how voters do vote at election time…

    Democracy is supposed to rely on the informed consent of the governed. In a functioning democracy, the principle of accountability holds that government officials (whether elected or appointed) are responsible to the people for their decisions and actions. Transparency requires that the decisions and actions of those in government are open to public scrutiny and that the public has a right to access such information. Both concepts are central to the very idea of democratic governance. Without accountability and transparency, democracy is impossible. In their absence, the idea that elections reflect the real will of the people, becomes meaningless.

    A true democracy democracy would take it’s mandate from the informed consent of an engaged electorate. We seem to have drifted a long way from that ideal.

  4. Wayne

    They didn’t some much as vote for the LNP,but to get rid of ALP after 16years of government.And you’re right in saying Mikestasse,the morons in Tassie and SA,isn’t most of Australia moronic ?

  5. Carol Taylor

    The only reason that I can think of is that people in those States are information-deprived, the only facts available to them coming courtesy of the Murdoch media whose interpretation is that Tony Abbott doing an *outstanding job* as PM.

    I wonder if the Murdoch media will report widely on items such as below. If it had been Labor the outrage would have been a headliner for at least 2 weeks.

    ORPHANS of soldiers killed or badly injured in service will have their welfare payments cut with the Abbott Government arguing it cannot afford them

    The good folk of Tassie are in for a rude awakening if they think that Abbott actually cares about jobs and/or welfare in that State.

  6. Wayne

    You’re spot on mars08 very well articulated and you’re right “informed consent” is the key.Unfortunately not in this country of sloganism, jingoism and obfuscation.

  7. cornlegend

    I think Jay Wetherill did ok in S.A. considering, but its poor old Tassie that will bear the brunt.
    It will be a decade at least before any chance of a revival.
    The ALP have some major soul searching to do, and after 16 years in power, people obviously wanted a change , but what a change.
    Pity help them
    Now it appears the Greens poor performance will even cost them “Party Status” in Tassie and the loss of benefits from that status.
    A sad conclusion to what Bob Brown had created there

  8. Peter Lowry

    “Murdochism” is what brought the Liberals to power, nothing more nothing less.

  9. clusterpod

    “Many Liberal supporters are making comments in the vain to ‘Get over it, stop whinging, Abbott won, Labor lost” “Go have a cry Boo Hoo lefties”

    And many labour supporters are making comments in the vein of: “It was hijakced by The Greens”, “It was a Greens recruitment exercise”, “It didn’t stick to the aims stated on the website”

    Sickening how quickly “the left” undermines itself.

  10. clusterpod

    *Labor

  11. clusterpod

    “What I want to know is……….. why, in the face of all the shit we walked against yesterday, did people still vote overwhelmingly for the morons in Tassie and SA….?”

    They were bought.

    Australian elections are now bought by advertising. The winners, largely, are the ones that can pony up the most dough.

    The advertising here in Tassie had to be seen to be believed.

  12. Sue Lofthouse

    If a march takes place in March and the Murdoch press isn’t there to report it, did it really happen?

  13. FSM is coming.

    People of Tasmania. What happened? Why? Most of us don’t understand. Can you all go out and ask: “Who voted for the liberal party?” If it’s like WA, In 3 years, I’m yet to find a single person who voted for Colin Barrnett. It’s RIGGED! Rigged I tell you!

  14. Hotspringer

    Never had a chance to visit Tasmania. Never believed Tasmanians were a bunch of inbred simpletons – until today.

  15. Dan Rowden

    Whilst the characterisation of the march by various conservatives is entirely and tediously predictable, it will have traction for many people because it has a fair measure of truth to it. What percentage of the marchers were Coalition voters do you think?

  16. john921fraser

    <

    I was under the impression that the term "moron" was reserved solely for the moron currently occupying The Lodge.

    Please correct me if I am wrong.

  17. john921fraser

    <

    @Sue Lofthouse

    Sorry I can't hear anything because the chainsaws in Tassie are making so much noise.

  18. Stephen Tardrew

    As a grass roots movement political critique has little relevance. I don’t care what the hell anyone else thinks I know it’s right to protest for justice and don’ give a damn for the incessant repartee between political pundits.

    I don’t care how Tasmania or South Australia vote I have one goal, and one goal alone, to promote social justice: the type of objectives defined by Victoria Rollinson in her speech.

    Damn the naval gazing. Fight the fight. We stopped the Vietnam war, logging old growth rainforest in Northern NSW, the Franklin etc. against all odds. Bugger the odds. It can be done. The only thing required is resolve and a clear objective not to marginalize those who, through no fault of their own, suffer due to greed.

    And with Global warming that means all of us.

    No compromise, no doubt no polemic rationalizations. Torturing refuges is immoral. Destroying the ecosphere is immoral. The unbelievable gap between rich and poor is immoral. The power of the military industrial complex is immoral. Concentrated media ownership is immoral and on and on it goes.

    We must promote the good solely for the sake of goodness. The time to delve into policy complexities will come. For now we need to protest and fight for communitarian social justice.

  19. mars08

    “Many Liberal supporters are making comments in the vain to ‘Get over it, stop whinging, Abbott won, Labor lost” “Go have a cry Boo Hoo lefties”

    As opposed to the mad monk and his mates who (post 2010) engaged in the longest dummy spit in Australian political history???

  20. Dan Rowden

    @John Fraser,

    I was under the impression that the term “moron” was reserved solely for the moron currently occupying The Lodge. Please correct me if I am wrong.

    Um, I think you may be wrong. I’m fairly confident it’s applicable to the entire content of the Government front bench.

  21. john921fraser

    <

    @Dan Rowden

    Oh god !

    Here's hoping I haven't put the emfarsis on the wrong silarble !

    Surely the "First man" of Australia has his choice of nomenclature ?

    Plenty of other nouns to describe the rest of his gang.

    But thanks for interacting.

  22. Dan Rowden

    Stephen,

    We must promote the good solely for the sake of goodness.

    A fine sentiment. The trick is finding politically workable community consensus as to the meaning and application of “the good”. That’s never as straight forward as we’d like it to be.

  23. Kaye Lee

    John,

    The “potato” reference came from Aboriginal people. I agree it is distasteful and I apologise. They are none too happy about having Warren represent them.

    In 2009 Kim Hill, CEO of the Northern Land Council said:

    “you know, that’s Warren and if Warren’s got problems with his aboriginality that’s his problem. He’s a self promoted aboriginal leader. People have said to politicians, particularly down south, this gentleman and others do not speak for aboriginal people in the Northern Territory ”

    Who speaks for Aboriginal people? You, Warren Mundine?

    In August last year, a relative of Mundine’s, Dr Gary Foley, said:

    “However it is Mundine’s arrival at the political door of Tony Abbott that appears to have surprised many pundits, even though one didn’t need to be a clairvoyant to predict that this might happen. Abbott has declared that he and Warren are “Kindred spirits” and so we can now expect the “bromance” between these two staunch Catholic boys to develop and grow. However, it remains to be seen whether this convenient relationship (or relationship of convenience) will ultimately be to the benefit of many Aboriginal people.”

    http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/essays/tracker/tracker26.html

  24. john921fraser

    <

    @Kaye Lee

    Yes I know of complaints against W.Mundine.

    A common problem amongst Indigenous men appears to be the $s.

    Just have a look at Geoff Clark & Ray Robinson for starters.

    The money problems pale into insignificance when one looks at the damage W.Mundine can do being aligned with Abbott.

  25. trishcorry

    Hi Stephen. Thanks for your comment. “As a grass roots movement political critique has little relevance”
    My blog nearly always focuses on the voters, not the parties. I see that the grassroots movement has significant political relevance. Either the voters were so disengaged, they saw the LNP as a saving grace with not too much change from ALP (as this was the mantra all through the election, no significant difference was promoted.) The media largely left our the Greens from debates and the Palmer United Party and the Katter Party. This leaves voters (who don’t engage in politics frequently) most likely a choice between two major parties or donkey or informal vote. What happens in our society is largely driven by Government decision making and it is the voters who get them there.

    For this grassroots movement to occur, there are a number of things happening in my opinion. Either the majority of voters were engaged and voted in good faith and were aware of all the policies and decisions that have come after 8th September and we were at that point quite a conservative nation. This doesn’t add up, as there would have to be a massive backflip in ideology at a national level.

    The second is that the Liberal campaign was such that it promoted the ‘What’ but not the “How”. In my opinion it is the “How” that has been damaging.

    This is coupled with a departure from ALP ideology in some instances (Asylum Seekers, Single Parents to Newstart) Voters not knowing if the PM they wanted in, was the one they would end up with (due to infighting) a three year campaign of consistently targeting ALP politicians at a personal level and a successful campaign assisted by the likes of one politician who has just been found guilty of fraud in a major union.

    The entire aim of my blog is to create awareness and get people engaged. Although I am a supporter of the Labor party, I encourage everyone to find their OWN affiliation with whatever party they choose; Join that party, get engaged; offer support. If it is an independent you support, get in touch with that candidate/member and ask how you can help. Also understand what preferences go where, this is increasingly important. Clive Palmer said in his major speech that Abbott is only there due to Palmer preferences. The Palmer person in my electorate didn’t even campaign nor attend any debates locally and got more votes than the Greens, Independent and Family first put together.

    The conservatives have a lot of money to be able to advertise and market themselves across all types of media, very successfully. Many progressive parties and independents really need people on the ground to volunteer and spread the word. Although social media is very successful, there are so many who do not engage in political debate on social media and different avenues need to happen.

    I truly believe with more engagement and less apathy, the true choices of the people will win in the end. Whether that is a true conservative nation with small pockets of progressives, or a nation that is very progressive and non-conservative, we would at least know this was the right outcome as there would be little apathy.

    The current Government is a conservative Govt and to me, this movement that grew in such a small space of time, which was highly successful, does not convince me that we are a nation with a majority of conservative voters, aware and voting with conviction for all the Abbott Govt policies/changes.

  26. Kaye Lee

    If anyone has twitter (I don’t) they may want to respond to the head of our Indigenous Advisory Council, that well known potato (brown skin but white on the inside), Warren Mundine, who tweeted:

    “Googled March in March. What a bunch [of] up themselves wankers! Total time waste! I’m off to the footy & a weekend with kids.”

    Well Mr Mundine, what have you done to deserve your three figure salary…or are you paid to have your photo taken with Tony and to go visit the kids you left because your wife was “too aboriginal”? I don’t give a flying f what you are doing with YOUR weekend. Some of us feel the need to act without the benefit of a job from the boys. You sir are a disgrace!

  27. john921fraser

    <

    @Kaye Lee

    Bit disappointed with the "potato" description.

    But fully endorse this :

    "Well Mr Mundine, what have you done to deserve your three figure salary…or are you paid to have your photo taken with Tony and to go visit the kids you left because your wife was “too aboriginal”? I don’t give a flying f what you are doing with YOUR weekend. Some of us feel the need to act without the benefit of a job from the boys. You sir are a disgrace!".

    I have even less time for Warren Mundine than I do for Shorten.

  28. Kaye Lee

    Yes I wrote about it a while ago. This list could be updated with many more bad decisions.

  29. Stephen Tardrew

    Dan I am not naive enough to know it is philosophically difficult to define the good. The right are very good at fear so progressives need to be good at triggering uplifting feelings of compassion, empathy and love. By triggering subconscious fear responses the right are appealing to primal, autonomic limbic reactivity which drowns out logical and ethical rationality in a wave of negativity.

    I don’t have a magical quick fix however if progressives are to succeed they must find a way not to trigger fight, flight or pain imperatives but pleasure based biochemical urge to happiness, goodness, compassion and love. By focusing upon tear jerking stories of injustice and uplifting solutions it can help to direct progressive goals. Focusing upon anger and resentment tends to undermine positive feelings of worth.

    In a way I think this is why many on this site tend to shy away from overtly abusive language and symbolism because it simply ads negativity to negativity.

    We tend to make simple biochemical process complicated through a complex web of language that does not necessarily engage emotional biochemistry required to shift hard headed dogmatic prejudices. It is vital to remember there is something gut-felt and heart-wrenching that triggers emotional responses too inequity. Feelings are absolutely critical and we ignore them at our peril. I know I bleat on about love a lot but what is the best counter to dogmatism and harsh retributive injustice? Anger ain’t going to cut the mustard. Psychologically based neuroscience can.

    Trish I am well aware of policy imperatives however we have to find a method of communication that firstly attracts those with limited policy experience because the majority of people are not going to delve into the complexities of party politics. Preaching to the converted serves no one. Remember people are feeling creatures and if you cannot appeal to their feelings, wishes, hopes and desires they will remain out in the cold.

  30. ShaunJ

    G’day All,

    Kaye Lee
    March 17, 2014 • 2:00 pm

    That’s interesting, I “voted” after seeing your reference, and result showed something like 4890-yes 53550-no. Now I was at Melbourne, and there would’ve been 20 to 30 thousand people there alone, and most estimates put the Australia wide number at approximately 100 thousand, that says to me that there are an awful lot of marchers that don’t have anything to do with so called “news” outlets such as ninemsn, or the MSM in general, I would presume.

  31. Gregory T

    Kaye Lee
    March 17, 2014 • 2:00 pm

    Kaye, the obvious second question, should have been – Were you aware that there was a march in March.

  32. Gilly

    @ Kaye Lee
    March 17, 2014 • 12:51 pm
    I totally agree with the “potato” description of WM. It is a well used mercenary tactic use by too many “potatoes” at the expense of real aboriginals. I grew up amongst aboriginals and almost all those who are aboriginal leaders and are accepted by white, so called, leaders show a remarkable lack of true aboriginal culture and values. To me the aboriginal culture is one of the most inclusive and tolerant around, a social culture worthy of far greater esteem than any political culture.

  33. brian standlick

    boohoo lefties get over it blah blah,just like the conservatives did during the labor party period.Gillard/Rudd did a hell of a lot of good for aus which the conservatives tried at every turn to damage and even with the support of a malicious media they couldn’t stop being implimented.

  34. Sue Lofthouse

    A Murdoch press puppet displays her bias for all to see (and also displays very lazy journalism skills):

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