Newsgroups: aus.politics
Subject: Re: Policies - does only economic policy count? 
From: mjp@itd.dsto.gov.au
Date: 12 Nov 92 10:56:18 CST
 <1992Nov6.131857.5676@monu1.cc.monash.edu.au> 
 <1992Nov9.140350.165047@dstos3.dsto.gov.au> <1992Nov10.093603.5724@monu1.cc.monash.edu.au>
Distribution: aus
Keywords: gst, economic, policies 

pol253b@monu1.cc.monash.edu.au (Ms D Alexander) writes:

>>BTW Keatings comments last week convinced me to change my
>>vote. Seeing he has said Labor = Lib in the senate, I might
>>as well put lib before labor.

>Surely your vote is contingent upon the whole range of policies of both
>parties?  Besides, if you're anti GST, then a vote for Liberal is a
>definite vote in favour of GST, whereas a vote for Labor doesn't endorse
>GST, after all, they're not going to introduce it.

Well on the GST thing I will put labor before lib in the
reps. But quite honestly the difference between labor and
lib is so often a matter of degree that it makes very little
difference. More often than not Labor and Liberal take
different views in public forums, argue like hell in the
chambers and then VOTE TOGETHER for the bill. I think you
would find an examination of the voting record available
through Hansard very interesting. In terms of economic
policies they really only vary in a matter of degree.
It's just that one does it up front and the other by
stealth. An interesting point is that dispite Keating et al's recent
screaming about "how dare they use common law on workers"
(And I must say I support the right to strike enshrined in UN
covenents to which Australia is a signatory -- aside:
remember the justification for the gulf war.),
I remember Kelty, Hawke and Keating encouraging all
and sundry to sue the pilots during the pilots dispute.
This was the reason they all resigned.
Hawke did more than any other person to effectively
remove the right to strike in this country. Does that mean
that all people should have the right to strike but that
some unions should have less right than others (just cause
they were called a federation).

To clarify my decision, I think the effective difference
between the two biggest parties is marginal at best, and since
neither of them will have my first preference in the senate
then giving my preference to liberal there is a protest
against Keating's attempt to manipulate my vote and also
I am increasingly comming to the conclusion that maybe we
need a full on dose of the rationalists to get them out once
and for all. Right now we are like a frog slowly being
boiled.

To answer your broader question (thank god for another topic
on this channel). No certainly economics is not the only
consideration. You will find if you examin hansard
that the senate will spend 2 hours debating a
1-2% increase in wine tax but will close down debate as fast
as possible on rape, child abuse and wife bashing.
This is a good reason to vote for more women in parliament.
More generaly, I am increasingly of the opinion that if you
want
	Social justice
	Economic justice
	Good quality of life
	A good environment

you can not separate the idea of the economy from all these
other things as the irrationalists like to believe. If you
want any of the above you have to work towards all of them
in a coordinatid way because they are inseperably intwined.

E.g Social justice/economic justice.
the current fad is lean government which means selling off
any profitable govt enterprises either to reduce debt or for
dogma reasons, so that the govt is left with only loss
making buisnesses (the ones that won't sell). Taxes go up,
while the rich can afford to buy and control these powerful
money making enterprises. Bad for social and  economic
justice. Many of these buisnesses quite rightly have a
monopoly which makes the probem even more severe.

In the long run, what is good for the environment, and good
for the people is also good for the economy.

Michael



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Michael Pilling				Phone: +61 8 259 7017
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Newsgroups: aus.politics