Christian
radical reflections September
24, 2004
One of the more important
outcomes of this election campaign is already known. It has been evident for
some time. The major parties act as if they are afraid of facing it. The media
ignores it, and instead continue to obsessively divine which of the two major
party leaders have delivered a winning knock-out punch. Irrespective of this
media frenzy the loser has already been decided. For the loser the election is
as good as over.
Am I serious? Or is this
just spin, trying to grab attention from a few erstwhile Christian citizens who
bother to read this broadsheet? Indeed, I am serious, and because of that I am
trying to grab the attention of Christian citizens. The loser has been decided
and the election - whatever the outcome - is simply a confirmation that
Australian politics has lost the plot. With a frenzy that has two weeks still
to run, the nation is the loser. Australia continues down a path that manifests
political and electoral bankruptcy. Our loss is that this path requires we
ignore the principle of justice as a guide for how the citizens should be
represented in the parliaments of this Commonwealth.
We had better face up it.
These are dangerous times, and we shouldn't have to waste time in the silly
electoral circus that has been foisted upon us. The country needs authentic
reform of its electoral system. The marketing of the major parties and the
media frenzy in the run up to polling day can be no substitute for finding just
ways to implement just representation for all citizens in the parliaments of
the land. Discussion of the principles on which our system is based is avoided
by the two major electoral machines, and as a result the nation needs to be
persuaded to turn and address the underlying political malaise, the widespread
cynicism that engulfs the national electorate. An election should be
authentically educative and this election should also be about why this
cynicism has become rife and what we can do about it. But who can defend this
election as an exercise in political education?
The major parties blunder
on in the assumption that "politics" is their province. But without
genuine civic education inviting all citizens to consider the injustices of our
present system of representation, political parties become elite machines,
presenting fake pictures of the nation as an extension of their party
self-interest. They have lost the plot.
Yes, the current Prime
Minister bears much responsibility for the shallowness of this election. He
called it after shamefully toying with the country for months. Then he timed
its beginning to circumvent the legitimate examination of his conduct by the
House of Representatives. That is bad enough but the process of political decay
is much more than his the immature politicking he displayed by deciding on a
poll. That fact alone gives strong support to need for a change in rules - the
Prime Minister should not determine when an election is to be held. He doesn't
own politics. It is not his province to make such decisions.
Are there other evident
and verifiable symptoms of this loss?
Yes there are. Consider
the debate about Australia's international military obligations and the recent
pre-emptive war in Iraq. The rationale given by the Coalition Government has
justified this country's involvement in "regime change", interpreting
our military involvement as Australia's commitment to democracy. Time and again
it is stated that Australia must act militarily to defend democracy because our
nation is based on democratic values. The rationale continues that since we are
a free society, electing our own parliaments, we should certainly join forces
with other freedom loving nations and their governments to ensure the advance
of liberty around the globe. But ideology gives little guidance, if any, for
when war is to be waged.
But in this election
campaign - as with the current US election circus - look and listen, and listen
and look, and ask yourself if you have heard one word about correcting the
obvious failures of our own electoral system, about the injustices of systems
of disproportionate parliamentary representation?
It is not enough to
compare ourselves with others. We need to compare ourselves with the principle
of justice upon which our political and electoral system is based, and without
which it doesn't make any sense. We know that any system of government, at home
or abroad, can be manipulated, abused and go wrong. And since our political
parties avoid this issue, we blandly assume that our system of parliamentary
representation is consistent with the values we hold. At the very least such a
bland Liberal-Labor dogma needs to be tested openly. We need to find positive
and healthy ways of publicly comparing our political system with the political
values we claim to hold. We need a system of government that avoids the
propaganda and spin of party machines, and media magnates, and instead learns
to listen to the many citizens who believe we are failing down on our own
standards for political life.
Yes, this conclusion is a
very serious one. Without elections which call upon all citizens to engage in
such opened-up, public discussion about our own political failing, our
political life is diminished. The consequences for our political future are
serious. And viewed from this perspective, it is hard not to avoid the
conclusion that the war in Iraq, and the "war on terrorism" whatever
their legitimacy, have be used by our political leaders, and their compliant
electoral machines, as well as the mass media, as camouflage for this most
serious decay of our civic life.
The major political
parties avoid debate about their own defence of the electoral system, and give
us no elaborated rationale for their electoral conduct. They failure dismally
in this, but nevertheless are delighted to receive public funding for their
unbalanced campaigns. For all intents and purposes, they are silent about their
policies for the reform of the electoral act. And to invite true criticism of
their policies would indeed challenge their self-interest as elected
representatives as they seek to gain re-election. Whoever said that politics
should be subservient to the self-interest of political candidates and elected
representatives? This is why this election time this country is the loser. We
simply go into another election avoided discussion of electioneering
principles. In the main, candidates of the two main electoral machines put
forward policies about everything else except the reform of our system of
parliamentary representation. They want us to believe that their idea of public
debate cannot be improved upon. This is why the election, which should be a
constructive time of mutual political education, is now little more than a
farce, a media frenzy and a jockeying of inflated for air-time. It is a
national disgrace, a national disaster. And the current Prime Minister and his
Coalition, as much as the Opposition and minor parties and independents, have
to take their fair share of responsibility for this deeply troubling situation.
But then ordinary citizens like the current writer, and the current reader,
will also have to examine ourselves as well, and take up our responsibility for
this decay, and do something about it. I hope to write more on this next time.
As Christian citizens we cannot avoid it. We need to start thinking about how
to point to a truly positive alternative. And we shouldn't wait until after the
election to start doing this. To delay is to risk losing an opportunity to
begin positively now, while it is still day.
September 2004 © Christian
Radical Reflections, is written by Bruce C Wearne (PhD), 29 Lawrence
Rd., Point Lonsdale Vic 3225 AUSTRALIA, 61-3-5258-3913. Each edition
may be photocopied or retransmitted in its entirety but not otherwise
reprinted or transmitted without permission. This personal project
aims to encourage positive Christian citizenship, the development of
policies and political attitudes that better express our love for God and our
neighbour. Your comments are welcome. Email can be sent to bcwearne@ozemail.com.au
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~bcwearne/index.html