Eureka! Can Aussies finally start an honest conversation on what to do about the Government ?

To the outside observer – particularly the every-day Brit or American – Australia is often regarded as a sun-kissed paradise, drawing in many weary souls to the brighter pastures of the Southern hemisphere. Our appeals are many, whether it be our successful commercial and natural resource-rich economy, the “points-based” immigration scheme that is lauded by the likes of Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson or our relatively unapologetic and blunt attitude. It is absolutely understandable that Australia, with its relatively low population, incredible size, rich history, natural wonders, and culture have an appeal to many men and women’s hearts.

In my travels and life outside of the Great Southern Land of my birth, I have often seen and heard my friends in North America and Europe decry the current state of their home nations. Spurred-on by the thought of “moving Down Under” to escape the madness of modern Western society, they often forget that Australia is far from perfect. While distance and lack of headlines may make it seem like Australia has managed to escape the perils of modernity unscathed, this simply isn’t the truth.

The issues that affect contemporary European and American politics can absolutely be found in Australia. Stagnation, out-of-touch representatives that only serve their political donors, the power of an unelected media class that stifles political communication at every turn; as you can probably piece together, the problems are more or less the same. Perils of modernity tend to be shared across continents.

Unfortunately, both the government and majority of Australian people have avoided touching these issues with a ten-foot pole in order to keep up this appearance of “everything is fine mate”. We can always keep ourselves distracted with the s*#!show that is going on in the rest of the world and say “glad that’s not us!”. Indeed, this has worked for decades; Australians have typically tended to not care about the political kabuki theatre in Canberra, as long as the shop is running smoothly.

However, in the last two years, there’s been a major shakeup – dare I say, a possible wake up. As Australians have been taking to the streets more and more, and as tensions between the Federal or State governments and those yearning for normal life to return increase, Australians are now slowly waking up to the reality of their own situation.
These past two-months, Australian citizens took to the streets of their major cities in order to protest the strict lockdowns and travel restrictions put in place by State and Federal authorities. These unauthorized protests were some of the largest in Australian history – it’s quite unprecedented to see so many Aussies of all walks of life out in the streets, carrying placards, shouting, and arcing up to the police and cavalry. Even with threats of severe fines from the State, and the media going out of their way to dehumanize the masses, the energy of disgruntled Aussies isn’t subsiding.

This is especially the case as the facade is well and truly off about how the current batch of Australian politicians and policymakers operate. Hypocrisy, fear and brutality are the order of the day; a far cry from the Australian values of ‘Peace, Order, and Good Government’ and our beloved notion of the ‘fair go’.

It was already widely agreed in conservative circles that the Australian Labour Party has cared little about protecting the welfare of Aussie lives and businesses, instead choosing to cosy up to a pseudo-Blairite entity. One needs to look no further than Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ complete disregard for the protests, in addition to his cognitive dissonance about the current state of Victoria under his tenure. The problems are plentiful – from gang crime, to skyrocketing housing prices, youth unemployment and Melbourne losing its status as “most liveable city”. Dan’s less a “man of the people” as he likes to picture himself, and more like the resentful supply teacher who keeps students after class for not respecting his awful performance.

Perhaps that’s why he’s resorted to the typical cry-bully tactics by punishing proud Aussies for standing up against his asinine controls; which have included being unable to go further than one kilometre from your residence, or even having the privilege of sipping a cocktail without having to wear a mask.

Analogies about Labour politicians to one side, the largest surprise for many has come from The Liberal Party. Often touted as the only electable or viable option by the “sensible” and conservative voices in Australia, the Liberals have shown their true colours with their inability to stand up for any of the people who have elected them. In fact, I find it rather miraculous that the Liberals have managed to last this long without having a clear and discernible identity, policies or even a vision for the country that goes beyond the “business as usual” mentality that seems to be characteristic of the Liberals when they hold power.

The coronavirus pandemic has shaken the comfort zone that the Liberal Party have enjoyed for so long. Actually having to lift their finger for an issue other than immigration, they’ve bungled the response to this global calamity in too many ways; from not securing a diverse enough range and supply of COVID-19 vaccines, to introducing the strictest travel restrictions put in place by any government in Australian history.

Meanwhile, the inconsistent positions and policies of politicians like Premier Gladys Berijiklian highlight the huge identity problems that the Liberal Party faces. In recent years, the Libs have sought popularity – and media popularity at that – rather than competence and proper representation. At least the likes of Daniel Andrews and Labour ideologues are consistent with their contempt for Australian liberty. This behaviour of shifting the blame to the voices of the outraged, using the Police as muscle to crack down on anyone who says otherwise and refusing to take responsibility for their own incompetence has by-and-large been the operation of the Australian Labour Party and the Coalition for decades. Frankly, it is all the more troubling when comparing and contrasting the “Big City” politicians of Melbourne and Sydney with the smaller regional political players and groups in places like Queensland and Western Australia.

Charismatic leadership, community, local loyalty and an unabashed pride in Australian identity can be found in representatives like Bob “Crocodile Culler” Katter or Tasmania’s Jacqui Lambie, both resembling the Australian character more than the corporate wets of Canberra. These smaller players aren’t to be underestimated – they have an odd longevity and, as the two major parties squander their popularity by acting like the Soviet Central Committee, there’s room for growth that I’m sure they’ll take advantage of.

Unfortunately, the problem that exists in Aussie politics is similar to that of Britain. Labour is unelectable due to its cosying up to Leftism, and the Liberal Party is simply Labour going at the speed limit. This LAB/LIB duopoly seems to be made up entirely of the same breed of globalist paper-pushers or urbanite Marxists, whose only measure of success is a line on a GDP chart, or praise from the mainstream media.

While Scott Morrison may taunt that “Australia is the envy of the world”, recent weeks have demonstrated that Australia is copying the values of East Germany more than an English-speaking democracy. Neighbours are being turned against each other as hatred is espoused by both vaccinated and unvaccinated for individual choices. The fabric of Australian identity and mateship is being whittled away by harsh, short-term solutions to a problem that is going to persist for much of our lives.

Instead of admitting this fact and trying to reconcile with the people to get some sense of normalcy, the government instead has double-downed on its own incompetence to save face. It’s apparent to most that this current generation of bureaucrats and politicians are completely out of touch with Australian values. Both the ALP and Liberal Party have chosen to compete with each other in a race towards the bottom of the grey, formless, commerce-culture that has been far too dominant in the 21st Century.

Look at how flippantly both sides have sold off our nation’s land and assets for close to half a century for a quick payday and media applause? Look at how each administration has been just another lapdog for globalist ‘Forever Wars’ – and failing at that job miserably, as demonstrated in Afghanistan. Whether it’s Howard, Rudd, Gillard, Rudd again, Abbott, Turnbull, or Morrison, the same problems of ignorance, careerist conformity and sociopathic narcissism seem to persist in both of Australia’s legacy parties.

To think that this is the state that both Labour and the Liberal Party have devolved to. The identities that they have taken on are far cry from the days of former PM’s like Jack Lang, Sir Robert Menzies, Bob Hawke, or the king of political one-liners, Paul Keating. With the situation on the global stage devolving the way it is, it is high time that there was some decisive and honest leadership in Australian politics.

I believe it’s happening already; the aforementioned regional and third parties are starting to make more noise and more of an impact. The partisanship that was achieved to get a Royal Commission looking into the issue of veterans suicide was incredible and a welcome breath of fresh air from the usual tit-for-tat match, that’s too typical in a political duopoly. Out of the woodwork, more and more Aussies are getting vocal against the status quo – even on horseback, much to my amazement.

As the dominant political players fall out of favour in the main cities, the potential for independents and third options to gain constituencies where a large chunk of the political power is held increases more and more. This can only balance out the disproportionate voice that big business and the media have over Australia’s political system. If lockdowns, Draconian “vaccine passports” and border and travel restrictions continue, it’s likely we’re going to see more and more public outrage, and more and more of the demonstrations we’ve seen in the last month. Currently, the State authorities are sending in the police to do their dirty work, including shooting rubber bullets into crowds and excessively enforcing mask mandates. As more and more demonstrations against ‘democratic’ governments arise, they’ll just further bolster and inspire others across the globe.

 
So, what can Aussie voters do to ensure that this back-and-forth cycle stops, gain consistency, and get the ball rolling in fixing many of our unaddressed internal issues? In many respects, it is lucky that Australia is one of the few nations that has mandatory voting; almost all citizens’ preferences are going to get counted and we have plenty of trust in the electoral process itself – a luxury that isn’t afforded by many countries these days.

Getting involved in local councils, supporting independent candidates, growing the third parties into viable alternatives for the nation and starving the big parties of attention is key. The mass press has had a cosy relationship with the LAB/LIB duopoly, but with the rise of alt-media there are more than enough resources to build independent information networks that rival traditional media. It’s already happening (cough cough/quack quack).
Voters must realise that the country is a lot bigger than just Melbourne, Sydney, and Canberra – the passive urban attitude that we’ve grown accustomed to simply isn’t going to work anymore. We need to start ignoring the big whigs pitting us against each other, start looking out for each other, working together and using the bountiful resources that this country has to strengthen ourselves for whatever awaits us in the future.

Will this be our Eureka moment, finally? Or will we end up like the dead dogs executed by Bourke Shire Council; snuffed in the back of the head for our ‘protection’.

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(Originally published for The Mallard AU)