The day they tried to turn out the lightsBy NEIL CREMASCOOne of the most shocking and sinister outcomes of the federal election is the possible Coalition domination of the Senate, with the help of the far-right religious fundamentalist party Family First. Many fear that Australia is now reduced to a one party state, as the Senate becomes a rubber stamp for Howard’s agenda. Intriguingly, there are two political parties remaining conspicuously silent on this frightening development, and they are Labor and the Democrats, both nationally and on a State level. The reason for their skulking silence is that both these parties directed preferences to Family First, and must now accept blame for the possibility of a Senate that’s set to privatise Telstra, erode worker rights, allow media magnates to dominate opinion even more, and effectively reduce the Senate to a simpering shadow of its former self. In Tasmania, former Labor Premier Michael Field must answer questions over what involvement he had, if any, in stitching up rancid backroom preference deals with Family First, that put them within striking distance of a Tasmanian Senate seat. Labor and the Democrats' morris-dancing, corduroy brigade, should now be roundly condemned as each Coalition Bill sails through the Senate without scrutiny or amendment, lurching the country further and further to the loony right. The best we can hope for now is that humans will learn by painful loss, put in a little more thought the next time we all vote, and never forget that Labor and the Democrats tried to turn out the lights in Tasmania. Prior to becoming a trainee doctor at the University of Tasmania, Neil Cremasco was a public health officer working in infectious diseases surveillance. Neil lives in the Huon Valley, South of Hobart.
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RAPID RESPONSE EMAIL: What do you think? Monday, October 4, 2004 |