I missed the debate. I was out. I have it recorded, waiting to be watched. Do I really, really, have to watch it?
I met a neighbour who said she’d watched it; said it was very civil. And that the audience behaved. Even more reasons not to watch it. She didn’t mention the incident of Morrison saying he was blessed to have healthy children in sympathy with the lady who explained her child was autistic; which since triggered confected outrage among the usual suspects.
I did see a bit of Sky News aftermath. Apparently, Albo was pinned by ScoMo on boat turn-backs, but ScoMo erred by querying why the Labor Party always sided with China against Australia. The audience was polled and gave the debate to Albo by a short head. A more general take was that Albo won because he didn’t mess up. In other words, he won because he didn’t lose.
I don’t really care about the debates or who wins them; unless they’re entertaining, apropos a Donald Trump debate. They don’t alter the facts on the ground. The most important of which is that in recent years, leftist parties have lost their collective minds. Voting for modern Labor is not within cooee of voting for a Bob Hawke or Paul Keating. It’s voting for a resurrected Jim Cairns, made modern. Maybe that’s doing Jim a grave disservice.
George Orwell, in The Road to Wigan Pier, wrote that “one sometimes gets the impression that the mere words socialism and communism draw towards them with magnetic force every fruit-juice drinker, nudist, sandal-wearer, sex-maniac, Quaker, nature-cure quack, pacifist and feminist in England.” Orwell would be impressed to see how far the Left has come since 1936 in embracing faddish fetish causes. To pick one. The Victorian Change or Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Act 2021 is a poster child for new Labor.
Those who vote for Labor must either be unbalanced or have a morbid tribal attachment. However, even more disturbed must be those who vote for the Greens or for one of those dreadful refugee-loving, climate-hysterical, fringe parties or candidates. Climate 200 fits the bill perfectly.
One of its lower house candidates, numbering thirteen comely women, is contesting my electorate of North Sydney. She goes by the name of Kylea Tink. When I say I prefer dripping-wet Trent Zimmerman, you’ll understand how bad are her polices, or thought bubbles. She wants a 50 percent reduction in emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2040. No new gas or coal developments. The immediate release of all refugees held in detention in Australia; and so on into la-la land. And she might win.
The problem for the dwindling number of sane voters, of course, is that main-stream centre-right parties have also lost the plot. For example, virtue-signalling has eroded and replaced standing on principle. In microcosm we saw that when Morrison threw our SAS troops to the wolves, as he did with the man accused of raping Brittany Higgins. Presumption of innocence? What’s that when the baying mob must be appeased?
Examples on a policy level. On climate change, the government’s policies are only slightly less idiotic than are Labor’s. On defence, Labor will always tend to spend too little on defence but then the Libs spending is derisory and a shambles. So, we are effectively defenceless in either case, might as well spend extra money on free child care. On Aboriginal policy, instead of making the case for a unified cohesive Australia, the Libs pander to the cause of singling out Aboriginals for special treatment. Even if, for the moment, they are not onboard with constitutionally enshrined segregation.
In sum, while Labor into has moved into bizarre territory; the Libs are chasing after them. This couldn’t and wouldn’t happen without a seismic and generational loss of common sense among a majority of voters. Politics is truly downstream from culture. And “we” (us conservatives apart) are undoubtedly getting the politics and politicians we deserve. An unhappy thought. Meanwhile I’ll put Ms Tink last; try to find a UAP, or One Nation, or Lib Dem candidate to put first and, hold my nose, and put Zimmerman second.
Good summary, Peter.
As for conservatives, it occurred to me tonight while watching Rita praising Ron DeSantis (rightly) for banning sex talk (including re homosexuality, ‘transgender’ people etc) for children in grades 1 to 3 that ten years ago the initiative would have been seen as far left-wing. Why? Because teachers shouldn’t be discussing those subjects with children from grades 4 to 7 either but even the Florida Governor wouldn’t press his luck.
This spectrum creep, as I call it, is a carcinogenic problem for rightists. To wit: doing a victory dance about holding a sliver of the field in a larger battle they’ve unknowingly or indifferently lost.
Hardly a debate, I watched most of it and will never get that hour back.
Same old shit from both and the so called undecided audience, give me a break, they looked mostly to be losers on welfare.
Piss poor.
In my electorate of Werriwa it doesn’t matter what I put on my ballot paper. I might just leave a big cock and balls as frankly it doesn’t matter and nothing will change. I have the trifecta of non-left parties in my electorate but LDP, PHON and UAP ain’t going to move the needle, individually or collectively.
Could be worse. I used to live in Hughes. Their choices are Craig Kelly and then 6 leftists (LP, ALP, Green, Climate 200 x2, TNL)
As Gandhi once said (or words to that effect), “If a Politician is an idiot then the people that voted him/her/it are in good company”……………………………………
Crash and burn with the (good) Phoenix rising out of the ashes is the only way out of this mess.
Didn’t watch it, don’t care. Albo will win all the debates as the ALP leaders “always” do. Scomo went after the ALP on China & immigration (especially this one as the inconsistencies are glaring, Rudd mk2) and I’m not seeing any meaningful media analysis of outside the usual pundits. Now Albo has gone to ground with an allegedly +ve RAT, riiiigggghhhhtt.
Just an observation of recent years but I hazard a guess conservatives are either so disaffected by the small l takeover of the party or are just too busy to be in the audience of these things. They will always lean left and further to that, the fact that Fewfacts 9 poll gave it to Scomo as well as Newspoll but the audience gave it to Albo just firms my view above.
Albo’s whole campaign captured in a few short words.
Notice that he is not talking about climate action, covid restrictions, dividend imputation or capital gains tax. This is classic of the Labor Party. They do not scare the horses by revealing what they intend to do, then they get government and suddenly it’s the full green-progressive socialist agenda. I’ll leave the final word to Peter Garrett: “once we get in, we’ll just change it all”.
Husband: It’s sad really. The leader is no good but there’s nobody else in the party you’d consider up to the job in any event.
Wife: Quite right. The Democrats are all batshit crazy these days.
Husband: I was referring to Labor here.
They should have had all members the uniparty there. Then they could have had a mass debate.
Peter,
same here in Warringah – UAP or PHON no 1 then Katherine Deves 2. with Labor/Greens/Zali Steggall Last in that order
Senate NSW – UAP. PHON then a lot of thought into how to do the rest
A stand of Green placard wavers at one of my local traffic intersections today.
Every one of them was of the more elderly doctors’ wives types. Nice comfortable suburban life.
I see Albo’s gone for the Biden approach – lock himself in his basement until its all over.
reader – I feel your pain. Consider instead who you want your $2.75 going to.
Peter, if you must cast a legitimate vote in the HoR (which I generally caution people not to do), I’d suggest the following:
Tink last
Greenfilth second last
Labore third last
Zimbo fourth last
Any other candidates above them, ordered as above according to perceived lunacy. There are eight candidates running in North Sydney. The run off will eventually come down to Zimbo V Tink or the labore imbecile. Any nose holding by yourself is thus kept to a minimum.
Dunc – it’s now $2.914 per vote.
Yep. The Libs must be destroyed. Put them below the Greens.
The Liberals are a far-left party. Net Zero, gay marriage, masks on planes and in airports, emasculate the military, Aboriginal worship. All Greens’ policies delivered by the SFLs.
It’s a similar situation here in Higgins, once a safe Lib seat but increasingly marginal as a result of demographic change, re-distributions and the influx of wealthy lefties. Both the sitting sopping wet Lib member and Liars candidate are female doctors. The main challenge is from the greens who put up a gay footballer last time and I believe have a new candidate now. There’s no teal but I’m sure there will be a ragtag of independents on the ballot. There has been very little advertising or junk mail so far which probably means the parties think the result is a foregone conclusion but the winning Lib majority has steadily declined over the last few decades. My strategy will be as others have mentioned – greens and liars last and the least unattractive independent first. On election night I plan to send the lib member Katie Allen, who has stopped replying to my many emails about the parlous state of the electricity grid, an “I told you so” email.
My electorate is deep dyed red. I don’t even know if LNP have a candidate.
Fortunately, I received an email from the PHON candidate, so there is some hope.
Great post Peter. Spot on.