In all the argy bargy of recent Australian politics, it is useful to contemplate what Australia would be like now, if a conservative government had been elected in 2007.
There would probably be an
unemployment rate in the double figures, a conservative government having
engaged in massive sackings in the public sector and having refused to assist
unprofitable firms in the private sector. That’s the market!
One or more of the
Australian banks, large or small would now be bankrupt, there being no
government guarantee of borrowings. That’s the market!
There would have been no
stimulus packages which everyone took with glee, spent, then promptly forgot
that the government ever gave it to them. Never was the government so popular
when those stimulus packages were being handed out. But memories are short in
politics.
Schools would not have the
facilities that they now have as a result of the schools building program. Yes
there were problems! They were massively
overstated.
Higher education would still
be staggering along, taking in larger and larger numbers of direct paying
overseas students to stay alive.
National health reform would
never have commenced. My own profession nursing would be running on larger and
larger numbers of lesser skilled workers, because like the Howard Government,
the conservative government that succeeded them would not allocate monies to
universities to educate sufficient numbers of registered nurses to meet
workforce needs, much less the huge shortage of registered nurses nationally.
We would not have had a
carbon tax, when just about every other country in the world is moving to
address climate change through either a carbon tax or an emissions trading
scheme.
We would not have any mining
tax and the massive profits from our resources would continue to go out of
Australia to overseas countries.
Refugee boats would have
been turned around where the conservative government thought they could get
away with it. More refugees drowned. More navy personnel would have been speaking
out about their disgust at what they were being asked to do. Hysteria about
refugees coming by boat would be a fever pitch again, while the majority of
refugees who fly in by plane are ignored. Nauru would have been re-opened and
once again we would be hearing and watching on the news, stories of refugees
isolated from any chance of fair processing of their legitimate claims, taking
desperate measures in their despair.
The gay marriage debate
would never have reached even the stage of the permission of civil unions in
several states, and there would have been no conscience vote allowed in Federal
Parliament on the issue of gay marriage.
This is not to say that
there have not been stuff ups, mistakes, and initiatives that have been badly
explained to the electorate by the Rudd, and then Gillard Governments. Nor is
it to make any excuses for what has happened. But it is useful, as we
contemplate a possible Abbott Government in the near future, to think about what
that government would look like.
How would an Abbott
Government cope with GFC Mark 2, now underway in the world? Most likely they
would cut government spending drastically, and let the market sort it out. That
would cause a lot of economic, financial and business pain. Unemployment would
definitely be in the double figures. Would they guarantee the banks? If not,
some of them would be in trouble. Would they hand our stimulus packages?
Probably not.
The education sector would
face similar disparities in government allocations to those faced under the
Howard Government where private schools were able to build new blocks and
swimming pools, while public schools held classes in poorly heated
demountables. The universities would have to continue to take in larger and
large numbers of directly paying overseas students.
The health system would
continue to be State based with devolution of decision making to the local
level, read, the Coalitions mates, the medical profession. The empowerment of
nursing would stop eg through Nurse Practitioners having Medicare rights. At
the other end of the nursing profession, the deskilling of workface nurses
would continue in deference to employer cost modelling.
The carbon tax would be
abolished and lighter imposts placed on big business to monitor their carbon
emissions. Tim Flannery’s appointment would be abolished and not replaced.
The mining tax would be
abolished, and several government programs would be left without sufficient
funding, including further stages of national health reform.
Refugee boats would be
turned around. More refugees drown. Relations with Indonesia would reach an all
time low as the Indonesians resent the Coalition preaching to them about their
responsibilities.
Still no conscience vote
allowed on gay marriage in Federal Parliament.
With parts of our media rabidly
campaigning against the Gillard Government in every word, in every breath they
take, it is worth reviewing the last 5 years and thinking deeply about what we
want for Australia’s immediate future. Tony Abbott is a chimera. He is good at
selling a message, especially a negative message. But he is not a leader, and
he is not the leader this country needs at this crucial time in our history. We
need to get this right. It is so important for all of us.
