DEBATE: Australian Federal Election 2010: Who Will You Vote For?

With the Federal election only two days away, now is the time to think seriously about who you will vote for. When you're standing in the polling booth on Saturday, I hope the wise words of Tianna Nadalin and Chris Bechaz are ringing in your ears.

To kick-off the first of what I hope will be many debates on GOAS, Tianna and Chris have kindly taken up my request of a debate by offering their insight into each party explaining why you should vote for them and why one is better than the other. How does each party effect you?

To begin, we have Tianna in the Liberal corner. Tianna is a journalism student and member of the Liberal Party.

"Just days after the 2010 Federal Budget was released, Kevin Rudd was depicted by [Herald Sun Cartoonist] Mark Knight as a modern day Robin Hood, and Julia Gillard his faithful Maid Marion. Now; with Rudd’s dignity assuming the prime position on her trophy shelf and a notch added on her belt for an illegitimate Prime Ministership; Rudd’s not-so-faithful deputy is still being hailed as some kind of saviour for becoming Australia’s first female leader.

So Julia Gillard is a woman... Big. Freaking. Deal. It doesn’t change the fact that she ‘got the job’ by prying it out from under Rudd’s feet, it doesn’t change the fact that she acted in a conniving and dishonest manner by lying on countless occasions to the public about her intentions, it doesn’t change the fact that she orchestrated the whole coup by making deals with Union bosses who as our ‘leader’, she is now going to be indebted to, and it certainly doesn’t change the fact that she was not elected to power; but rather forced her way there. It seems we have gotten so caught up in congratulating Gillard on her supposedly inspirational achievement, that we are incapable of seeing it for what it really is; clandestine theft of the country’s top job by a deceitful manipulator, to whom democracy is a romantic notion, not a style of government.

How can we trust a Prime Minister whose idea of doing right by the nation essentially undermines the whole notion of responsible government, which is the fundamental core of any nation which aspires to call itself democratic? Call me a naive Gen Yer, but from what I understand, Julia Gillard used cloak and dagger tactics to overthrow her colleague in order to substantiate her own political agenda... For all his faults, when push came to shove, at least Kevin Rudd put the party ahead of himself and stood down without any real attempt at opposition. As deputy, she had just as big a role in the development of the policies the Rudd government failed to implement, and supported the viewpoints which she then turned around and ousted him on, but of course, her having to come in and pick up the pieces of the mess left by Krudd (a mess which she played a major part in creating), makes her a martyr. Oh yes, and let’s not forget the carefully contrived deposition of the rightful ruler. Julia can maintain all she likes that she did it for the good of the people, but the Rudd administration was one which she had a first hand in sabotaging... her actions were centred around appeasing her hunger for power, not the betterment of the party; and by it, the people it was sworn in to protect. She knew that with a humiliated Rudd as the face of the ALP, the chances of them being re-elected to a second term would have been fairly slim. Don’t get me wrong, I am not unhappy that the Milky Bar Kid has gone back to doing what he is best at, but would have much preferred the exorcism of my right to be a below-the-line voter be the point of his demise, and not his now illustrious former deputy. Under Gillard, although we can still hope for that outcome, the ALP are definitely in with a fighting chance.

Regardless of what she achieves in the lead up to the election, and irrespective of whether or not she gets to officially move into the Lodge, Australia’s outright acceptance of her stolen seat at the throne makes this one of the nicest dictatorships in the world.
At the end of the day, If she can’t get the job honestly in the first place, how can we expect her to do it that way? Looking back, Rudd was certainly the lesser of two evils.....Cunning move indeed, clever Ms Fox."



In the Labor camp we have Chris Bechaz. Chris is a Arts/Law student and Union Organiser.

"The 2010 Federal Election is now less than a week away, yet amidst the bombardment of political advertising and obligatory baby-kissing it is easy to lose sight of what is truly at stake this coming Saturday. Belying what has been a relatively bland campaign is the stark reality that this election is shaping up to be one of the most important of the modern era.

And no, that is not an exercise on hyperbole. It is my firm belief. This Saturday we face a choice between two candidates who will take Australia down radically different paths, and it is my sincerest hope that I can convince you, the reader, that a vote for Julia Gillard and Labor is a vote for a modern, confident, progressive and prosperous Australia.

To begin I would like to outline some of Labor’s achievements over the past three years, as well as give some insight into Julia Gillard’s vision for the future of Australia. As my time is rather limited at the moment, I will focus my discussion on three key policy areas – the economy, the National Broadband Network (NBN) and industrial relations.

The Economy
Last week I had the privilege of hearing the great Bob Hawke speak at Simon Crean’s campaign launch. In typical Hawke style, he compared casting a vote to having a punt at the races, stating that if you want to back a winner, you have to first look at the ‘form guide’.

So what does the form guide say about Labor’s economic credentials?

It is unadulterated fact that Australia weathered the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) better than almost every other Western country thanks to Labor’s stimulus package. But don’t let me preach – I’ll leave that to Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz:
“You were lucky to have, probably, the best designed stimulus package of any of the…advanced industrial countries, both in size and in design, timing and how it was spent – and I think it served Australia well” – ABC Online, 7 August 2010
“[on the stimulus package] Not only was it the right amount, it was extraordinarily well structured, with careful attention to what would stimulate the economy in the shorter run, the medium term and the long term…when I look around the world, it was, I think, probably the best-designed stimulus program in the world and you should be happy that in fact it worked exactly the way it was designed to work.” – Sydney Morning Herald, 20 July 2010

Stiglitz’s views have been echoed by the Australian Treasury, the Reserve Bank, the OECD and fifty of Australia’s leading economists (The Age, 17 August 2010).

In brief, the stimulus package saved tens of thousands of jobs, and by extension families, businesses and communities. In addition, the budget is now on track to return to surplus by 2013 – three years ahead of schedule and ahead of every single major advanced economy.

This is what Labor has achieved through it’s sound economic judgment, and it is this sound judgment that Labor under Julia Gillard will continue to utilize in strengthening our economy further.

Labor has the form and I’ll certainly be backing them on Saturday.

The National Broadband Network (NBN)
Australians currently have access to internet speeds far below those of many other developed countries. Being a bit of an online gamer myself, I’ve experienced the frustration of being ‘ganked’ by gamers from the US or Korea with superior internet speeds. It seems according to Tony Abbott, it’s only people like me that are truly pining faster internet speeds. However, the benefits of faster internet connections extend far beyond the home PC and out into health, education and business.

Labor’s NBN, quite frankly, has the potential to revolutionise Australia in offering higher internet speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second (roughly 1000 times faster than most people have access to now). As part of the NBN, copper wiring will be replaced by optical fibre which has an almost unlimited capacity. This combined with faster broadband speeds is predicted to be a strong incentive for internet providers to offer less restrictive download limits – a huge benefit for families and businesses alike. The NBN is also expected to drive productivity growth, create jobs and become an integral part of our economy. In the area of health, the NBN will enable GPs and Specialists to consult in real time over the internet with patients in rural and regional areas – a move backed by the Australian Medical Association.

I and many others see Labor’s NBN as one of the great nation-building projects of the 21st Century – equivalent to the railway schemes of the 19th Century. Its potential impact upon Australia simply cannot be underestimated for the benefits will be shared by everyone, from the lowly online gamer to the largest corporations.
Industrial Relations
In 2007, the Howard government was swept from office on a tide of anti-WorkChoices sentiment. In 2009, Labor’s Fair Work Act came into force, which, funnily enough, returned a measure of fairness to employees across Australia. Amongst the raft of changes the Fair Work Act introduced, two in particular stand out as relevant to younger employees (whom I imagine form the majority of this blog’s readership).

The first change concerns casual employees. Under WorkChoices, casuals were not covered by unfair dismissal laws, but under the Fair Work Act they are now able to make unfair dismissal claims. Essentially, this means a casual employee cannot be sacked without any reason – an added measure of job security that is certainly a boon for many struggling tertiary students!
The second change revolves around individual contracts. Young people entering permanent employment for the first are most at risk when it comes to individual contracts simply because of the sheer imbalance of power between a first-time employee and a boss – negotiating better pay and conditions on your own with your boss can be outright terrifying! However, the Fair Work Act has banned many employees from imposing individual contracts on their employees and has swung the industrial pendulum back towards collective bargaining and agreements.
Unfortunately, with Tony Abbott at the helm of the Coalition, the spectre of WorkChoices continues to haunt Australia, so it is up to us all to reject the Coalition and put those draconian laws to rest once and for all.


And Finally…
I cannot conclude this article without some comments about Tony Abbott himself. Although I would prefer not to stray into the realms of negativity, the prospect of Abbott as Prime Minister is a frightening one and therefore warrants a closer look at the ‘real’ Tony.

To be blunt, Tony Abbott represents a bygone era. He is a man with his feet firmly planted in the 1950s whose conservative values are increasingly at odds with those of modern day Australians – a point I cannot emphasise enough. His well documented attitude towards women is archaic at best (I urge all readers to watch this GetUp! commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R45nm4BFNeM) and he is a known climate change sceptic. Certainly his rhetoric has softened over the campaign, but don’t be fooled. This is ‘Phony Tony’ at his best. One needs only glance at his political record as a minister under John Howard to see the real Tony Abbott – advocating WorkChoices and cutting health funding. And if further proof is needed of the real, conservative Tony, then take a look at his shadow cabinet - choc-full of MPs whose political careers he has resurrected from the tomb of the Howard government such as Kevin Andrews, Bronwyn Bishop, Philip Ruddock and Andrew Robb.
Most importantly, serious doubts remain about Tony Abbott’s real policy agenda. To date, the Coalition’s campaign has been characterized by plenty of negativity… and not much else. Of those policies that have been released, most have been lackluster (need I mention the Coalition’s ‘band-aid’ internet plan?), which begs the question, does Tony Abbott even have a vision for Australia? Where are the nation-building projects? Moreover, most of the Coalition’s policies are yet to be costed by Treasury – a point that should raise alarm bells considering the Coalition so loves to tout its economic credentials.

So can Tony Abbott and the Coalition really be trusted? Will Abbott really deliver on his promises if he’s so afraid of having them costed, or are they merely a smokescreen hiding a more conservative agenda – such as the return of WorkChoices under a different name?

On Saturday as you think about where to mark the number ‘1’ on your ballot paper, remember that Tony Abbott opposed the stimulus package that saved Australia from the GFC and continues to oppose the NBN that will revolutionise Australia’s economy.
As cheesy as it may sound, a vote for Julia Gillard is a vote for a modern, confident, progressive and prosperous Australia. It’s the bloody truth!
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are my own and may not necessarily be shared by the Labor Party."

So there you have it. Feel free to print this and take it with you on Saturday. It's food for thought anyways. For those of you who don't want to vote or don't think your vote counts, it does. And if you still don't believe me, think how you would feel, if you lived in a country where you couldn't vote.

Many thanks to Chris and Tianna for making this debate possible. As always, please feel free to leave a comment and keep the debate going.

Until next time, Happy Voting!