A few weeks ago it was suggested I write an opinion piece on what the Australian voter is looking for in a politician. It has become clearer and clearer that like the rest of the world Australian voters want politicians like Jacinda Arden.
Today I will cast my vote in the NSW State Elections. In the lower house my sitting member belongs to a party who for the last 20 years has fought elections at national level on race to the bottom on who can spread the most fear, paranoia and disunity. A party with a coalition partner that is dogged by issues of public trust, personal integrity, respect for women, policy failure over water, live export and drought as well as support for mining over farming.
The Labor candidate texted me ( and the rest of the electorate) to tell me hospitals and schools are at the top of his agenda. Yet he belongs to a party that let another very serious incident showing disrespect for women give rise to grave concerns about the behavior they walk past. With a clearly not ready new Labor party leader thrown in the bear pit of fear, paranoia and disunity
And the Greens. Well I feel very much like First Dog on the Moon on this one. Its hard to support a party whose policies too often alienate the people who look after more than 50% of Australia’s landscape. Its hard to support a party whose core pillar is being green when I am not confident they understand what being green is.
We all want leaders who can run the country and keep us in the black and be green at the same time. What we also are screaming out for VERY LOUDLY is that those people have principles we are proud of.
I have no idea at this point in time what I will do with my lower house vote. What I will do is follow Jane Caro’s lead and do what our Prime Minister wont commit to. I will put the extremists in One Nation or elsewhere last on my ballot paper.
