G’day. Here’s my budget piece, published elsewhere on the site last night. No structural reform, no addressing of the intergenerational crisis Costello used to talk about, no big measures to save our rivers or reduce our reliance on oil, no investment in health and education. Sad, really.

 

I felt almost indifferent to the budget, as if we’re dancing around to the same old tune as the world becomes more frightening and dangerous by the day. There doesn’t seem to be anything anyone can do to stop the slide into world war. I’ve just heard about the beheading of an American hostage in purported revenge for American abuse of Iraqi prisoners. A colleague saw the actual beheading on TV, so be careful if you’d prefer not to have your dreams invaded by the horror.

There doesn’t seem to be any hope for any good coming out of Iraq. The neocon bible in Washington, The Weekly Standard, has published a piece called Democracy Now by the neo-cons’ most authoritative writers, Robert Kagan and William Kristol, which argues that Bush is in denial and that something drastic needs to be tried. They suggest bringing forward the Iraqi elections to September.

I’ll be in Brisbane tomorrow for a forum on journalism education. It’s at Customs House, 399 Queen Street in the city at 2pm. Email j.poulter@uq.edu.au or call 07-33469564 for more info.

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Springing the money trap

The last time I can remember a political party so blatantly bribing voters it wants to win over was the NSW election before last. The Liberals offered cash to voters once it sold the public’s electricity system. Voters were insulted that the Liberals thought their opposition to privatisation could be bought off, and Labor won in a landslide.

This time, Howard and Costello are combining bribes with blackmail. Here’s $600 in lots of voters’ pockets before June 30, and lots more later. To Labor – feel like saying no to preserve some money for substantial boosts to public health and education? Feel like doing some solid, long-term reform for all of us? Are you that brave?

To voters they want to swing to them – have a beer on us. Have several.

But what’s to stop voters taking the bribe and voting Labor anyway? How many will be peeved that all of a sudden there’s money to burn to ease their budgets? Will they believe that the Libs will keep their promise for ongoing increases in family payments and tax cuts? Is Labor game to take the Libs on?

Basically, the Libs want to give lower income families more for kids, get the middle class to work harder, and give the rich a tax cut. Yeah! Pity the kids won’t have decent public health care or education, but heh, we’ve got an election to win here.

How brave is Latham? Crazy brave? Howard and Costello have laid the same trap for him as they did for Beazley in 2001. Will he cave in, as Beazley thought he had to, and thus leave no surplus for Labor to do important, long-term things for our health and education?

One thing’s for sure. Howard and Costello want Labor to think an early election is on. Mid July for August, during the Olympics, perhaps? They want them to panic, and they want them to split, especially on the tax cuts for people earning over $62,500 a year.

Will Latham dare try to persuade Australians that it’s not worth it to accept bribes to keep this government, and actually proves that the Government deserves to be thrown out? Is he prepared to lay out how Labor would spend the $37 billion Howard’s promised to spend in the next five years? Is there a real difference between the parties?

Underlying all the calculations is Iraq. Howard is to meet Bush in the US next month. As yet, neither he nor Bush have taken responsibility for the nightmare Iraq has become. Will Iraq and the broader issue of how to fight Muslim extremists break through to become the defining issue of the election campaign, dwarfing voters’ consideration of whether this or that dollar will be in their pockets?

Yes, if they come to believe that the stark differences between the parties could mean a safer or more dangerous future for their children. Then, money in pocket won’t make the difference. Maybe Howard and Costello are hoping they’ll so dazzle voters with cash and promises of more that they’ll forget the really big issue of our time.

But that can’t be true, because they’ve given $35 million “for values, civics and citizenship education in our schools”.