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!