I might have to eat my words. From what I have read two of the Independents dealing with the government are liberal 'progressives'. This strikes me as a contradiction in terms, particularly when you look at their track record. Firstly I applaud the ascension of independents. We do not have any effective competition in parliament, so we need more of them. The problem is that they have no resources or knowledge. They are radicalised by the fact that they are ignorant 'idealists', and as they say, nothing is as dangerous as a 'little bit of knowledge'. The problem of course is that our media favours the major parties, and this is bad for two reasons:
1. The independents are not taken seriously, not trusted, as nothing is known about them
2. The independents are unable to attract the support of wealthy Australians. i.e. They lack credibility.
This is why we are left with 3 independents who might well decide the outlook for government. It only now comes to my attention that Rob Oakshotte and Andrew Wilke want to see the Coalition take steps on emissions. Geez! Here is the problem:
1. Human induced climate change is a nonsense, and these candidates are not critical thinkers, or well-read, because they are independents with no time or resources. So who wins in a debate between parties reticent to say there is no human link, and uncritical scientists, who treat science like it was a popularity contest. We all lose.
2. The Coalition I guess is a positive for emissions by deciding to cut immigration. This is an easy policy for Labor however to match....at least for this term. Oakshotte might be happy with that as a compromise. Katter will love it.
It gets worse. Recently I was watching a presentation given by Dick Smith, who because of the scientific acumen of his 8yo daughter, has decided to take up the cause of Population Growth. Among the listeners was an independent Rob Oakshotte. I hate to think what we learned at this seminar. You can read my response to all their assertions in this blog post, but it shows where the Member for Port Macquiarie is heading on public policy....into the wilderness.
The implication is that a deal between the Independents and the two major parties is looking less likely. The reality is that these guys - particularly Rob Oakshotte and Andrew Wilke - will want to shore up their electoral support by forming allowing one team to form a government. The implication is that - taking voters to another election is not likely. They might be punished as 'obstacles to government' if they did, and no one wants that. Bad competition is better than none. For this reason, I think a deal will have to be done, and the Liberals still seem to be the most likely to lead government. I must say however that I am a little less confident, the more I read about these independents.
I really am trying to believe in the 'Independents', as we need competition between the parties. The problem I have is that they support non-issues like climate change, and I even saw Rob Oakshotte at Dick Smith's Over-Population seminar. So I guess he is anti-immigration. I think they are just trying to show us they are bipartisan. You can't take anyone at face value anymore in politics. Its not about facts, its all about perceptions. Don't expect any integrity from these people...its all 'game play'. They end up being corrupted by the process. It taints all who dare to engage. In the meantime, we all get stressed out pondering the implications. Great system!
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Author
Andrew Sheldon
