Aussies- who ya voting for???

[OzAurora]

I was amazed to come in here and see that there is no thread about the current Aussie federal election, could this be one of the most important elections since Whitlam was elected and made it an imperative to pull out Australian troops from Vietnam???? I dont know, but certainly it is the most important election of my era. So what are the options???? As I see it,

Howard
Lies
deceit
fearmongering
no 'sorry'
try finding a doctor that still bulk bills
robbing peter to pay paul tactics with unemployment figures- the government is adamant that they have decreased unemployment, however they have merely shuffled these figures around by way of creating 'traineeships'- I have personally been a victim of this two years ago, where I was made redundant from a secretarial position as my employer was able to get someone on a traineeship for 'free'. Of course it is good that the government is making it a priority that people cant just sit around on the dole, but what happens when the traineeship is over?, many employers simply get another person on one (there is no policy of only one traineeship and you must keep your trainees on once they have completed their traineeship), so is this really creating less unemployment at the end of the day?
less higher education funding
increased HECS & PELS rates, creating huge debts for those students who are lucky enough to get in and then at the end of the day, where is the prospect of finding work
and dont even start me on this current governments lack of environmental policies that correctly address the notion of 'environmental sustainability'
a good economy- well this dosnt realy concern me, social equity means more to me and low interest rates, well if the property market wasnt so inflated where I live then maybe low interest rates would be a concern, but I doubt that I will ever be able to buy a house.....

Latham...
the lesser of two evils I guess


The Greens
Get my vote

 

[A_Wanderer]

Greens - totally insane communist/anarchists.

Democrats - POS party run by a drunk

Labour - under the leadership of a thug

Liberal - Can run the economy, actually sticks through in foreign policy where it matters, gets my vote.

 

[Angela Harlem]

I truly fear what the Liberal government will do to education in this country. I still cringe at the words of Jackie Kelly recently over western Sydney and universities. I think I still need to sort out what my priorities are before I can decide as while education is not something I am that involved with right now, many many Australians are and I dont know if I can bring myself to vote for a government who seems so determined to hold us back as much as possible in that area.

Then I look at Latham...Yep, we're as fucked as America in terms of choice.

Democrats will never get a vote off me.

Guess my vote isn't really going to count this year.

 

[AussieU2fanman]

Liberal all the way. Did Howard have any choice WHAT SO EVER in taking Australia to war? It's about running the economy people! We almost purely rely on America for all our imports\exports, we desperately need to maintain a PERFECT relationship with the U.S. If Mr Howard said fuck off to Bush, America would say fuck off to Australia. Howard's main job is to ensure the economy is stable, without America, its fucked. Good work Howard, keep it up. Keep on kissing Bush's ass. Liberal all the way

 

[beli]

Im in an electorate so Liberal the other parties often dont even both contesting. I will probably vote for whom ever has the balls to put their name forward as long as its not the Transcendental party, the Taxi party, or the Fred Nile party.

 

[Kieran McConville]

I hate this thread and I hate what this forum is becoming. I would not tell any of you my voting intentions if you put a gun to my fucking head. In short, it's none of your goddamn business.

PS, yes, this election is extremely important.

 

[zoney!]

Oh come on, Keiran...Tell me who you are going to vote for so I can tell you why you are wrong!

 

[A_Wanderer]

Any your height and weight

 

[indra]

I think it's interesting that your Liberal party are the right-wing nutjobs. Just makes me laugh.

 

[beli]

Yes, takes a little getting used to.

I was reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez many years ago and the impoverished peasant workers were rebeling and extolling the virtues of the Liberal party. Did my head in that book. Everytime I read the word "Liberal" party I had to keep saying to myself "Socialist" party. lol

 

[A_Wanderer]

^LOL, so true - I have bugger all choice, I would vote for any party that hade a hands off social agenda (allow gay marriage, recreational drug use, abortion etc.), sound economic and welfare policys with an interventionist liberal foreign policy. But thats just not going to happen so I will be forced to vote Liberal or Labour, whoever is closest to that mark.

 

[OzAurora]

I really am very sad to see that a good economy and basically f'ing money will determine how many people vote............this really does make me sad

 

[A_Wanderer]

Well I would be sad if I saw all that shiny money wasted on welfare, education and health, I say everything in life must be devoted to the aquisition of more wealth because I am an evil capitalist Mwhohahahaha !

No I am not being that serious, there is a definite place for spending on health and education. Even welfare can be useful if allocated properly. I just dont think that the state must be there to provide everything for the people - freedom to choose is important.

 

[Angela Harlem]

How is a good economy not a priority? It cant be the only one, but it must be important....no?

 

[Earnie Shavers]

It's the key to the others.

Can we pick and choose who we want from each party to run which things? That'd be fine.

 

[beli]

It's the key to the others.

Can we pick and choose who we want from each party to run which things? That'd be fine.

Wouldnt that be wonderful!

 

[OzAurora]

I think a good economy is a priority, and it does help to shape other aspects of social life, welfare etc. However I dont see it as the flagship political agenda in determining my vote, I believe that there are many other things just as important, if not more important than just a good economy and from my perspective the Libs seem to be only about constantly reiterating this fact that they have provided a good economy- all of this dosnt really affect me though- I basically live on just a little more than the dole in one of Australia's highest un-employment areas. Anyway, there is more to Australia and Australian life than just a good economy- try selling this agenda to the many Australians who live on or just above the poverty line- living on around $250 bucks a week, paying heaps for petrol, seeing housing prices continually rise and rise out of any grasp that you might be able to attain one day and horrendously high un-employment!!!! and knowing that your hecs is once again going to go up again- further adding to the horrendous debt that you already have- hearing about a "good economy", well it just dosnt cut it. Maybe the people with their investment properties, $50 000 a year incomes, private schooling and brand new cars- maybe it means something to them

 

[Angela Harlem]

Our unemployment is now at 5.3% is it? I'm not sure exactly. Last time Labor were in it was around 7.3%? Interest rates, the infamous 17%. Wouldn't matter if houses were virtually free, if the interest rates increase much more then it wont matter to even those on $50,000 a year, no one will be able to afford a house.
A good economy feeds many things. It isn't the be all and end all, but it's terribly important.

 

[Kieran McConville]

All governments get lucky (or unlucky) to some extent. None of the intellectually dishonest ranting about Labor's supposed economic awfulness acknowledges the fact of the GLOBAL recession of the early 90s. That situation did not improve till the mid-90s, around the time the present government came to power.

I despise Peter Costello and co, not because they are committed to managing an economy well, but because their rhetoric places all of us, the people, at the service of the economy. Our only purpose is to serve the economy, to literally work until we die. That is not the world I want to live in.

Honestly, I'm still not saying which way I'll vote, but it won't be for the winner, that's one thing.