Australian Election

[moses2792796]

Last night Australia voted the left-wingers into power. The new prime-minister, Kevin Rudd, is the leader of the labor party. John Howard, the previous prime minister led the Liberals which despite their name, are the Australian equivalent of the American conservatives. In Australia I have noticed that because there are only two major parties, the division between them is much smaller, neither would be considered extreme in any regard. The victory of the labor party seems to follow the current trend of left-wing support around the world. Unfortunately this 'change' in attitude is one that occurs entirely within the current system, while the left and right wingers have their differences, they are fundamentally the same in that they both support a system which places the 'wants' of individuals first (Clay may disagree with me here). They both advocate a system that has no specialist leadership but rather relys on the majority to make decisions. This means that the majority of decisions made are done so by people not qualified to do so. While some may argue that this is not the case in a representative democracy they fail to realise that the representatives, due to the nature of their jobs have to make decisions based on what will win them votes. Essentially this means that the leadership has no focus on what will be good for the country in the long term.

In his acceptance speech Kevin Rudd made some interesting statements. He vowed to end pointless arguments between corporations and unions, public and private enterprise and so on. This seemed constructive, he also plans to start bringing Australian troops home from the middle-east. Hopefully this means that we will have better relations with the Islamic community.

Unfortunately Kevin Rudd is still fooled by the moral absolutes, with no real grounding that democracy is built on. The idea of freedom as a tangible and definable construct, the insistence that democracy is a moral 'good' and the fear of the 'nazi ghost' that to this day warps modern views on race and fascism. I fear that unless Kevin Rudd, or a future prime-minister, is concealing an agenda that the majority are not ready for, then Australia's future is as grim as that of America.

[I Like Beer]

Didn't Rudd say that Global Warming was his main priority?

As for me, I'm glad Howard is gone. He has a close relationship with Harper, our PM, and they shared many views and often borrowed talking points from each other.

This increases Harper's isolation especially on the topic of Climate Change. Again, that can only be a good thing.

[moses2792796]

Climate change is a symptom of a wider problem, one which can't be cured by treating the symptoms.

[Elrathin]

Climate change is a symptom of a wider problem, one which can't be cured by treating the symptoms.


Sounds like your screwed then, better to just end your life and go to whatever your maker is then. Unless of course you are actually smarter than that and actually realize that you have to deal with the situation you are in.

[moses2792796]

Yes I am doing what I can, the fatalistic approach of 'I can't do nothin' is pointless. However, I focus on the real issues rather than being distracted by what is only an effect and not a cause. The one good thing about global warming is that it might actually set people thinking about the way in which civilisation functions, as it is the most visible sign of its destructive behaviour. The fact that the effects of individualistic, humanistic, industrial society are now being manifested in a way that cannot be ignored (except by republicans) means that man will have a better chance of changing their course in the near future.

[ECW]

Rudd's victory ushers in a new era of Australian politics where alignment with the neocon views of the Bush administration isn't a prerequisite to conducting good foreign relations.

[moses2792796]

Well I am glad that our prime minister is no longer slavishly devoted to the US.

[davo]

The Labor party will function almost identical to the Liberals for the past 10 years, except they'll be more willing to sign Kyoto, welcome 'refugees', say sorry to the aborigines, dumb down our schools, create a 'republic', and introduce more hate whitey propaganda.