If the Coalition Scare Campaign Was True

Top 10 headlines from the alternate universe in which the Coalition campaign had been based in fact:

• Howard vindicated as interest rates hit 10% - per week


• Stock market plunges, halt to trading called as red guards seize ASX


• Banks to be nationalized immediately, says Politburo spokesperson Gillard





• Dockworkers halt imports, demand 7-figure raises


• Business owners urged to stay indoors as unionists take to the streets


• November 30 declared 'National Being Ashamed of Australian History Day'


• Sydney CBD in flames as firefighters strike


• Executives and families to 'wait quietly on curb' for bus to re-education camp, Propaganda Ministry decrees


• Bible 'subversive', to be banned


• Five executed for forging potato-ration cards

Sadly, we're stuck in the real world where the headlines merely read "Howard humiliated" and "Libs implode". Sigh.

FRODO!!!

Private Property

I went to a private school. Although I didn't care for school life, I guess I got a pretty good education. I received a partial scholarship to my school, but even so the school fees were a struggle for my parents, and to this day I appreciate their sacrifice. My sister went to a local public high school instead, and so within our family and neighbourhood we could make a good comparison, and I think they compare well: my sister's education was far from lacking, and we both ended up at the same university.

95% of all murderers and rapists are public-school
educated. No offence, but it's true.

More and more Australian parents are following the same road. Like parents everywhere they want the best for their kids, and education more than ever is seen as the crucial first step in a successful career. I don't blame parents one iota for choosing the best school they can find and afford.

Like many others, I worry about the implications of this trend for the country. I'm naturally suspicious of any shift in control of such an area of crucial national interest into private control, and what could be more important to the national interest than our schools? I think Australia's excellent school system has been the main reason we have, for so long, been able to regard ourselves as such an egalitarian and classless society. This comment from the American experience sums it up best for me:

"Our public demonstration of elementary and secondary schools has many problems, but if we turned all education over to the private marketplace, many Americans could not even afford elementary school. Even if we used public vouchers, we would lose one of the fundamental benefits of public education - the chance for children to rub elbows with others from all walks of life. (Those who could afford to would add their own funds to the voucher and buy a "better" education for their children, leading to extreme segregation by income group). This shared experience may not be efficient, in market terms, but it is effective in making democracy work."
Osborne and Gaebler, (1993). Reinventing Government, Ch1, p. 46.

If private schools continue their expansion, then our children, from an early age, will be segregated into two distinct socio-economic groups. In many cases, the gap will not be vast, but it will be there. And it will grow. I have a picture in my mind of the sort of ethnically diverse group of kids you might see in a government advertisement, but worry whether such a picture could be taken at many private schools.

In the U.S. I saw some really disturbing trends. Public education has had a long and proud history in the United States, but there is an unfortunate bias built into the system. Schools are administered by local school boards, and a great proportion of the funding usually comes from property taxes. More expensive houses, higher tax revenue, better schools. For this reason, there is often an enormous difference in the quality of schools between wealthy suburbs and poorer, urban areas. (Another effect: In California, a ballot initiative to cap property taxes send their schools plummeting to some of the lowest-ranked in the nation.)

The U.S. is also seeing an explosion in religious ("parochial") schools. This is even more worrisome as a prospect; kids in such schools (if they are not, indeed, home-schooled) spend their formative years surrounded by only ideas and materials that have been carefully filtered to reinforce a particular and narrow religious ideology. It cannot be healthy for a mind to be shielded from competing ideas. In later life, fanaticism and intolerance can only be fostered by kids who have received such a limited education. I know - I've met them. They certainly have the courage of their convictions, out of a sheer inability to conceive that a sane person might be able to think differently.

What would I do with my own kids? It's a tough call. I don't have kids yet, and I recognize I might feel differently when I do; but right now I feel that there is real value in growing up with other Australian kids in an equal environment. If the school isn't good enough, then that's a reason to fight for better schools for all Australians, not to take my kids out of the system.

That's why I feel that Labor's response to Howard's school fees rebate should have been, "A rebate on school fees? We'll do better than that - we'll pay for your child's entire education from prep to year 12 - and we'll do it at a school in your neighbourhood!" Just enroll your child in the nearest public school near you.

More from the Department of Desperation

The following, as quoted in the SMH, is from a letter from MP Bronwyn Bishop to her constituents.

Most of us will survive the economic slide and the lower living standard but my concern is for our youth.

Our youth have never experienced a socialist government with its continuous barrage of laws, rules and regulations, the never-ending interference of government and unions in our lives and the soul-destroying unemployment as our living standard drops...

Have you ever wondered how so many members of the Labor Party have become very rich whilst in government, while workers become poorer? How do they become multi-millionaires...

It would be sad to have the old failed socialist, union-driven government influencing our youth.

It is hard to imagine the sense of panic that leads to material like this. Each one of those sentences is a pure gem of hysteria. My favorite: "Most of us will survive" implies the coming Labor economic apocalypse will claim a few lives. "Members of the Labor Party have become very rich" is simply bizarre coming from the Liberal party.

Clearly, when the Liberals are this sure they are doomed, we can have a little confidence in Saturday's outcome.

Update: The full text of the Bishop letter can be found here.

Beyond Dirty Tricks

When I lived in the USA, I was in horror at the stories I'd hear around election time. The voting process itself is a mess, and the count subject to interference from a vast array of interests - county, state and federal electoral agencies and state departments, a veritable zoo of voting methodologies and voting machine vendors.

Even worse were stories of Republican supporters delivering fliers in black neighbourhoods reminding people to make sure they didn't have any outstanding warrants when they came to vote. Reminders to vote on Wednesday (elections are held on Tuesdays). Anti-democratic tactics of the lowest order.

At least it couldn't happen in Australia, I thought. Although we have our differences, the integrity of the electoral process is important to all of us. Or so I thought. I'm aghast at today's revelations about Liberals in the seat of Lindsay - you can read about it here and here. The evidence is there in photographs - this is out-and-out electoral fraud by the Liberal machine in Lindsay. Jackie Kelly, the retiring member, has tried to dismiss it as a "chaser-style prank", a bit of "skylarking". Have a look at the flyer and make up your own mind:

(Click for larger view)

Given that Gary Clark, Jackie Kelly's husband, was caught with a handful of the flyers, her attempts to distance herself from the operation won't be very credible. Regardless of who's responsible, I hope the AEC takes this very seriously. I'm sure the Liberal party will distance itself from this "lark", but the individuals themselves have tried to subvert the democratic process and must be brought to account.

Ghosts at The Age

I've never enjoyed the AP news flashes the Age puts on the web site, but this one takes the cake.

Amusing perhaps for the footage of gullible Ohioans marvelling at the ghost, but that's not what the Age seems to be suggesting. They can't decide whether it's a ghost or an angel. Presumably this story wouldn't make it into the print edition, but that raises some questions about where the newpaper begins and ends these days.

And what the hell is the AP doing filming a gas station in Parma, Ohio and putting that on a global wire?

Blog update (and minor infamy)

I received a call welcoming me into the "Friends of Landeryou" society! Apparently a little short on material, Andrew Landeryou on his notorious blog The Other Cheek, turned me into an ALP heavyweight and turned an off-the-cuff and rather pedestrian posting on this blog expressing anger at the Richard Pratt's price-fixing scandal into a vicious and slanderous attack on a pillar of Australian society. The article is here.

Although Landeryou's attack (on Simon Crean, not me) is silly in my opinion, it did get me thinking about the responsibilites of blogging even on such as small scale as this. So I removed the blog from the branch website, and changed domains as well so there can be no confusion. That way it's clear what I say is my own opinion only, and I can keep the blog going even if I am no longer involved with the branch. No, I'm not gone - there was just some downtime while I moved the blog back to the blogger domain.

Things have been slow recently - the campaign and a push on my company's VoIP project have taken their toll. I'm working on some fascinating posts though, one on interest rates and one more on Lathams AFR editorial. I bet you can't wait.

(Updated to include original link, duh.)

"The Great Deceiver"

You might hear a lefty moan about how the newspapers are the tool of the corporations and used for their own evil corporate agenda. I think this is, in fact, often true, in the way that real-life consipiracies are. Not six men sitting around a table in a dark room plotting to pull one over on the public, but idealogically driven editors keen to please their bosses, who believe the public needs to see the information they are pushing. I suspect the aven Roger Ailes believes that Fox News is fair and balanced.

If The Age's editors have a secret agenda, though, it's certainly not to get Howard back into office. The great deceiver is in a class of his own reads a headline today. Although the content is far from Revolutionary Worker stuff, it basically boils down to "Howard's a Liar".

The gloom must be setting in around the PM's office when you're waking up in the morning and reading pieces like that. It seems we're in that twilight area where he's a sitting politician (fair game) but on the way out (so time to sink the boot in).

Latham Rides Again

An op-ed by Mark Latham is hardly good news for anybody these days, at least within the ALP. Personally, I find a lot to admire in Latham's straight-talking, tell-it-like-it-is, 'Testify, brother!' ways. I'd find even more to admire if it wasn't for the air of farce and perfidy that also surrounds the man.

The wires today are summarizing Latham's piece and this has been widely reported. His claims that both parties are appealing to middle-class greed is hard to deny. All of us on the left wish for a shift back from a focus on the economy to social justice, and away from mortgage-talk. But two facts step in here to rain on the socialist parade. Firstly, the people do want their money, not a tax hike for social services. Secondly, they vote. Even though we know better than they do that the economy isn't everything and that we need to ensure quality of life for all Australians, no bleeding heart is going to be able to lead a party into electoral victory these days.

Certainly, Labor must cop some of the blame for leading the public discourse to this point - speaking of the "tax burden", playing this silly game on interest rates, helping to keep the economy at front and centre of the debate - but such is the reality of political life today.

As for Latham's screed on housing, that's a tricky one. Nobody ever claimed we were suffering a crisis of housing quality - only affordability. The rise of median home prices, debt levels and the percentage of disposable income spent on housing are not all due to everyone living in McMansions. There is something seriously out of whack with the housing market. I do agree that most proposals so far, such as the first home owner's grant, are ridiculous, as giving money to buyers merely furthers the inflation. Reducing the incentives for investors with multiple properties would be a start, but what the full solution will be, I (as one despairing renter) am at a loss.

Unfortunately, I don't think Latham has any better answers, but I suppose it's a good thing that someone is raising the issue.

Wage Pressure

The Government's line on inflation and the economy in general consistently includes a line about "wage pressures", and how the Coalition's economic wizards can hold them down, and how Labor's slavish devotion to the unions will drive them up.

Think about this for a moment. What does economic growth with low wages growth mean? It means that corporate profits increase disproportionately faster than the wages of average working Australians. If you derive most of your income from investements, and use your salary as pocket money, then this is great news for you. You want a booming stock market, and low wages can only add to corporate profits. If, like most of us, you live on your salary, you want to be paid a fair wage for the amount of value you are adding to the company or comminity in which you work. Modest and proportional wage growth is not only good news for a worker, it's a necessity for social justice in this country.

So how do they get away with using this line? Well, a big part of it is sure to be interest rates - having your income growth kept low is less scary than having your mortgage rate go up. Although most of us do live on our salaries, a lot of Australians have their overall wealth overwhelmingly tied up in the family home. This precarious balancing act of debt and unaffordable housing does not seem to me to be a healthy thing.

So what will Labor do about it? Not a lot, I fear is the answer.

Notes on the campaign.

Well, the campaign is underway. Howard is on the ropes, and despite not wanting to jinx it, I think people are feeling pretty good - unless you're battling away in a marginal, I suppose. Yes, believe it or not, this is more that can be done to defeat Howard and his minions than sarcastic blogging...

The campaign launch itself was pretty upbeat. Evan Thornley did a good job introducing Simon and his longtime friend and colleague Julia Gillard. Julia was a hit with the (quite sizeable) and did a good job re-convincing us that Simon is a good bloke and that politics matters.

Even in a safe seat like Hotham, it's important for the future to be seen by the electorate - and not to be seen to take them for granted. With the senate vote so important this time, there's no room for slacking...

Yes, believe it or not, there is more you can do besides writing sarcastic comments on the internet. Shopping centres and train stations are good fun, delivering leaflets is good exercise, and helping on pre-polls is not glamorous but very necessary. Even better, carve out a day or so before the election and head to a marginal electorate where they are probably really desperate!