The Last Days

Its 20th August 2010. We've been at for 3 weeks and the southerlies have nearly killed us as we stand around  waiting in the strong winds and sleet ( been around zero for days and we have little shelter ) for the polite people who take a card from each of the three parties represented .  The forth party,  who are expected to hold the balance of power in the Senate, and maybe even in the reps, are not often represented . The Labor blokes hand the Greens cards out . (Labor having 1st preferences to the Greens in over 50 seats in the country ).
As usual we husslers enjoy the chance to talk politic and practical stuff --most of the passers by would clearly rather  talk about absolutely anything else . The big thing affecting the mood of the mob  this year seems to be the flood of letters and ads they get bombarded with from the media . One of the blokes in our workshop said his young son was going to vote for "so and so...."party  because  he hadn't got one annoyance letter from them .When told that that party produced as much as anybody he said " who am I going to vote for now?"  That's one big grizzle we share with the public - the outrageous waste of money and  only available to the bigger players-- those who get more than 4% of the vote .
For the first time in my memory we haven't had a candidates forum organised by an independent body  like our local community radio station . When Jaycees stopped doing it we kept the tradition going until I was stopped by the very station I helped found  . ACL offered to help too but my impression was that so few would come,  it would not help the business of making sure people knew who they were voting  for. The only place to get people involved,  sadly was through the paper so i spent my time writing letters and standing on the hustings .Labor organised their own candidates forum but didn't invite everyone. What a mess . Most of  us were very surprised to hear that Colac business Inc is being accused of not being independent . More here
Its clear that without how to vote cards most people do not know who they are voting for ( everyone on the hustings agrees about this and many other issues ) - that is,  they might know one or 2 people and the party they prefer  but the form in box requires them to give numbers to people they don't know and who aren't clearly identified on those sheets . Those people who get numbers 2 and 3 could make all the difference to the outcome.
Never before has the danger been so clear . Unlike the time Steve Fielding got in,  the major parties showed good sense by not risking a hung parliament or one held by a strong controlling minor party. If Labor win this election ( seems unlikely to me ) they certainly won't win the next when the people realise how they are prepared to compromise to keep power . Sometimes we are protected politically from our own stupidity and arrogance and sometimes we get the government we deserve . It won't surprise me if this time , its the later.
This year Labor are so desperate and unthinking that they are prepared to try and hold government when there is every chance their preferred party will control them if they got in. I have struggled to hold my tongue on the hustings over this because I find Labor party members unwillingness to discuss this quite disturbing ----considering what an ineffective and unworkable parliament we are all likely to face over the next 3 years .All the good things we could have got on with on a bipartisan basis - instead --made into more footballs.

Where does the boundary exist with proper engagement with the passers by ? Thankfully by the honest friends there I have got a bit more careful in what I have been saying recently -I have- been there most days for long hours . If I  say " Are you are interested in the balance of power in the Senate?" it is more off the party ticket and perceived proper process than most who just say the name of the candidate and the party .  Its so much harder too when you know so many people and you know they want to know how to vote against the minor parties like the Greens but may not ask you( some thankfully do but not nearly enough  ) The natural great Aussie tradition of ribbing with the public is  stifled there.
Always fun though to talk amongst ourselves ( we agree on many things and disagree strongly on others )One local great Labor supporter and teacher quoted my favourite political piece  from Churchill . We have shared much that is precious to us all and regret openly that most of those who pass us by do not care to even think or talk deeply about the dilemmas of  holding a balance in our most precious free space on the planet .
One lady Lib said she found it hard to take FF serioulsy . -'" their people all seemed to be so wacko" . I sort of agreed ,even though I am one of them . The paradox is obvious to anyone who has been part of a church or a big family of any kind . I said  I thought the mystery of our democracy is that its clearly held in the hands of "the wackos" . Helpfully , we had discussed earlier  how when you get the chance to observe human behaviour as we were doing , so many people behave like sheep ( When we collect as we do for charities we note that If the first one gives they all give , if  first one doesn't give , the rest often don't ).
The people on the edge  may be wackos but they've  got candidates standing in just about every electorate in the country - which means they are representing somebody . FF are one of the few parties that won't get the handouts for advertising costing them big to stand each time . While they often come from churches  and strong communities that meet and greet regularly and while  they are seldom taken seriously much by business just as  they aren't by media its  all normal stuff to us .   The wackos are used to doing things in faith .  Considering they are unlikely to get Steve back and will be probably be doing it all for nothing candidate wise this time their effort is one of faith  . Good Wackos  believe and practice faith - they believe in the kind of miracles that got Steve in and faith in the kind of miracles that keep our "take everything for granted free country democracies" -from-imploding( from getting what we deserve- Take Mark Latham's actions with ballot paper)
Will FF disappear?- I think not , because their basic integrity is not compromised by power as so many of the other parties have been and will be .
Not one of us there on the hustings who cares about politics wants the sheep to rule - and yet they might this time . One mature bloke who refused to vote ( waiting outside for his wife) said he couldn't vote for any of them reflecting the mood of the crowd generally ( I'm sure the advertising has done our demo a great disservice  by annoying the public with the waste element)
We discussed the waste element and agreed that funding independent forums would be great . We all like "Town hall meetings",  as they have been dubbed this year because the people get to know the candidates and don't need wads of paper to know who to vote for .