Breathe in and relaunch

Image Lonely Planet

We were so positive and dynamic. We were full of good ideas, chatter and an evolving sense of self. Then came September 8th and all was silent. The pain was palpable. The deep seated anger has not gone away. People continue to be short of expletives and really vulgar metaphors to describe what is going on. No one likes Tony Abbott, to put it mildy. We are full of disbelief at the destructive nature of his manner of operation and his total incapacity to articulate considered and well thought out views. No science. No climate science, no right to seek asylum, no women, no information, no diplomacy, no NBN. The list is endless. From the time he walked in he has worn DeBono's black hat in a very stark and startling way. We never fail to be revolted and dismayed. His team is not governing. They are ungoverning. They are taking our strengths, our icons, our voice and blotting it all out. We had a productive,positive, international image and place and now our world is looking at us as though we have gone mad. Our international friends are still being our friends. They keep trying to show us the way. Canada sent a letter to congratulate Mr Abbott on his carbon tax repeal. He read it out in parliament obviously having not one skerrick of an idea that the Canadians are world leaders in carbon reduction schemes and are really hot on renewable energy. His post modern approach means he describes our knowledge and then makes us adhere to that which then determines our behaviour. Our main stream media is a no news media, we seem powerless to prevent the abuses of democracy around the country and the removal of the organisations and companies we need to stay sustainable and viable as a nation. The media cannot be blamed for this. They demonstrated on a daily basis that Mr Abbott's team had no real policies, no real thinking, no vision and were inept. Still we voted for them. But did we? Most of the votes did not go to him. It's the way seats are distributed. Then we found out nothing is being done about blatantly dubious tax claims, the vested interests with mining and media , the inappropriate tweeting at government  sanctioned level, the right for people to seek asylum, social justice policies and initiatives and the not so small matter of missing electoral votes. There is no sense that things are being followed through in the right way. The opposite in fact. The thought this will continue for 3 years is untenable. We just cannot carry on like this. We had the energy to fly and go a long way and we were full of enthusiasm. We are now stuck in a quagmire with the increasing knowledge this may well be quicksand and we do not have one thing in this country we can turn to. Not a leader, not the media, not the laws, not the constitution - although that is telling that our constitution makes no mention of a prime minister and cabinet. Maybe there was a reason other than the much preferred "assumption" explanation. We have returned to our parochial stance and given we live in a global situation now it is no wonder we feel all wrong. We are being pushed to accept what is going on and yet, the international community can see right through it. We have been going along with it. We haven't found a way to change anything as yet. A big lesson for us all. This ungoverning might have traction in our parochialism but on a world stage these people just do not stack up.

The convoy of no confidence 2013

Image ABCNews23

The media are rattling hollowly around their cages. I have never seen Australians as angry as I have this weekend. They may not seem it when you meet them but the fact the election is not a topic for discussion on Monday morning, it has been totally sidelined, the fact that people are getting the facts really clear on Twitter and Facebook is full of rude and vulgar messages about what we have done as a nation means Australians have drawn a line in the sand. We are not going to take this. People are angry Tony Abbott was voted in because he simply does not have the skills to work at that level and that was demonstrated well by his behaviour in parliament over the last 6 years and then the lack of capacity to show articulate and well considered policy. He has nonetheless been voted in. Not by much. Labour has the primary vote and so any notion they have not done well is nonsense. The price we have paid for biased , interfering and unbalanced media is the loss of two credible Prime Ministers. There is a third in the wings who is hog tied by the conspiracy of silence in the party and then the knowledge the change we have been offered is the change right back to the Howard era. So many of them are the same. They were ousted solidly in 2007 for a reason so people are angry they are back. People are angry we have someone who has no credibility and we are angry we stood by and let it happen. The media wrote the script and ascribed our roles. Sunday morning was a bitter, bitter taste. Britain investigated its press. France went through  the nonsense of its silly President who was not cut out for the job and have gone for someone very conservative even though he is from the socialist party. Australia then has elected an odd assortment of people into the senate some of whom are coming back to haunt us from the past and so there is a real feeling of uneasiness. Those who did not vote for Tony Abbott do not understand why you would let him be in charge with all the case evidence before us and those who did vote for him thought what? Nobody knows because nobody anyone knows voted for him. This election was corrupt. There were too many chiefs and not enough indians, too many cooks who spoiled the broth, too much scrutiny of some and none of others. The stuff of linguistic and advertising study. The election has been called a wash up in the news and yet The ALP experienced the single smallest seat-loss of any outgoing government since McMahon in the early 70s. Media are trying to interfere in the choice of a new Labour leader. Don't you think they'd have enough sense to leave well alone and keep their big noses out? Some are advocating that politics be taken off the main course in media and that people should take themselves off social media. Labour still has the primary vote so who is saying Kevin Rudd did a fine job in spite of a very brutal media bashing? Who has acknowledged that Julia Gillard actually kept this lot under control but couldn't contain the relentless stirring of rumours by the media? Who has noticed we can't think because everything is shouted at us? This election was the most corrupt I have ever seen because it was neither fair, nor balanced nor reported without opinion.One by one competent politicians are targeted and taken out. The Greens got quite a bashing too and yet the so called disaster for Adam Bandt did not occur. We are angry all of this is misreported, misrepresented and then ends us up in a place we have absolutely no wish to be - no respect , no pride , the laughing stock of the world and no leadership choices. The world watched it happen and saw what we did. This is why Australians have taken to some very colourful expression of their feelings. It has hit hard. We have some lessons worth learning but we need to learn them without interference. A psychologist says we shall find it hard to accept - someone quite rightly pointed out that many will simply never accept what has happened and the repercussion of that in Australia will be interesting to say the least.