A little while ago, I was involved with www.thinkliar.com, a website dedicated to highlighting the...how should I put this...non-core truths perpetrated by John Winston Howard, with the catchy catchphrase 'Think John Howard. Think Liar.'(1)
Set up in 2003, the website was obviously an unqualified success, with John Howard and his Liberal-National coalition romping it in at the election in 2004, winning both houses of Parliament for the first time in over 20 years. It was a success, that is, assuming the purpose of highlighting the slippery nature of John Howard was to get him re-elected. Which, on further reflection, was not our intention.
Maybe the website was a slow-burner, since Little Johnny lost the 2007 election in spectacular fashion. If the website (and domain name) still existed, I would like to take some credit.
Nonetheless! What I'm saying is, whether or not I was personally responsible, I was glad to see the end of Howard.
And now his successor, Kevin Rudd, seems…pretty good. We’ll see. But now that we have the Labor Party governing at the federal level, it looks like his State Labor counterparts might not be so lucky at the next election.
And this is what I was trying to get at.
Australians generally like having a balance in politics – we don’t want any one person or party having too much power. This is another theory for why, after Howard won both the Senate and House of Representatives in 2004, and abused the power, he convincingly lost the election a little over 3 years later (the other theory being the influence of thinkliar.com).
Now with a Federal Labor Government, I think a lot of people, myself included, won’t be so reliant on having Labor State Governments, and I think their situation is looking more and more precarious. NSW has been a basket-case for a while, now, and that affair with apparent corruption in Wollongong can’t help (though the fact that the Opposition in NSW is a complete rabble may help the ALP for some time). Tasmania has also now joined in with a recent fiasco, which can’t help matters: Shredded note brings down Tasmania's Deputy Premier.
And though the Victorian ALP seems strong, I’m not so sure. Below is some of my recent correspondence sent to John Brumby, Gavin Jennings and Peter Garrett in relation to, primarily, the channel deepening project in Port Philip Bay (sent on 5 February 2008):
Dear sirs
I am writing to give you fair warning of what I think may happen at the next State election.
I have been voting (2) Labor a long time (and was actually quite active in trying to get rid of John Howard), but even I am tempted to vote AGAINST Labor at the next State election.
In doing so, I would be voting for the same reasons I wanted to get rid of the Coalition federally, and Jeff Kennett in Victoria. Both of those Governments became arrogant in office, did not consult with the community, and seemed to be making deals that were not for the benefit of the majority of Australians/Victorians (John Howard also had a problem with being honest with anyone, and in my opinion was pretty ordinary economically, but that's for another day).
These accusations could also be made about the Victorian Government today. There is a hell of a lot of dissatisfaction out there, and even though the election is quite a long way away, there is a possibility that your Government will be voted out for the growing raft of poor environmental decisions it appears to be making.
I urge you (and Mr Garrett) to reconsider these issues of vital importance to our environment - there is still time to make new plans, to hold your heads high and take on board the criticisms of the electorate.
We don't really care how much power the Port of Melbourne thinks it needs, or how much profit Connex wants. We do care about our bay and the Yarra, about traffic congestion, about increasing pollution, about spoiling natural areas like the Gippsland Coast.
To us, the public, it seems there are good alternatives to these problems - start developing Western Port NOW, invest in adequate rail infrastructure (for both passengers and freight) even if it means a trade-off with less investment in roads for a while (I know how much governments love roads), encourage all homes to install water tanks (or even provide them free - I've heard this would be cheaper and better than building the desalination plant), get alternative energy sources up and running straight away.
Some bold initiatives like these would re-invigorate support for your Government. To be honest, off the top of my head, I can't think of anything bold that the Labor Government has done since attaining office.
If, however, these ideas are not feasible, then tell us why. Engage with the public. That is what democracy is all about.
Don't make me vote Liberal. I really don't want to. But for the sake of our democracy, I may have to.
Yours faithfully
Riley Jones
You heard it hear first. And you heard it here second.
Let the betting begin.
PS Yes, the title is saying that John Howard is a goose.
(1) A line based on the classic 'Think Squirrels. Think Nuts.' from The Office (apparently): “What does a squirrel do in the summer? It buries nuts. Why? Cos then in winter time he's got something to eat and he won't die. So, collecting nuts in the summer is worthwhile work. Every task you do at work think, would a squirrel do that? Think squirrels. Think nuts.”
(2) Or at least preferencing…
The value of Andrew Charlton
2 years ago
