A Vote for the LIttle People

Even if you’re not a political beast, it’s hard not to be drawn into the pre-election madness and at the very least have an opinion…especially when you live in a marginal seat and your vote actually counts.

The Australian Federal Election is coming up and from where I’m sitting, the outcome could be anybody’s guess.

Moreover, the results of this election will probably be determined by the likes of me…the undecided voter. I won’t say swinging voter. I mean undecided!

The undecided voter gets a lot of bad press. Typecast as wishy-washy, apathetic fence sitters, we’re expected to be on one side or the other. This is usually interpreted as having “an informed opinion”.

But what if you want something more? Something which isn’t currently being offered on the menu? What about the idealist, the visionary?

Undecided voters often have strong values, beliefs and principles. We can be very committed to changing the world but perhaps we’re just a bit jaded by the political juggernaut.

I know there are good people in politics but we don’t often see much of that. Besides, how are you  supposed to vote at all when you don’t believe that shafting people is how to run a nation? We might have great local candidates who I respect but when you look at politics as a whole, it can be pretty appalling. All the very worst behavior we work so hard to stamp out in our kids, is actually nurtured and encouraged in our national mosh pit. Bullying, teasing and name-calling are fought out to the political death. You just need to watch Question Time to see it all in action. Nobody can behave like that outside Parliament and still have friends. I think they call that “Parliamentary Privilege”. Everywhere else, we call it “bullying”.

Yet, come election time, these same bullies are all charm smooching the nation.

After that little rant, how am I going to vote?

At this point of time, I’m still sitting on the fence.

In the past, it didn’t really matter how I voted because I lived in a safe seat. My vote didn’t count. However, now I live in a fairly marginal seat and when the balance of power could be dangling from a thread, my vote actually counts. I have to be responsible and make a well-considered, conscious choice. We’ve had hung parliaments before and the future of our nation could be riding on my shoulders. That’s a huge responsibility (even if it is an exaggeration).

So how am I going to make up my mind? What’s going to be the clincher?

For me, it all boils down to jobs. I work in a small business and I want to keep my job. Moreover, I’d like to stop the flow of locals down to Sydney each day commuting to work and instead see more fairly paid local jobs. That would make a huge difference to our community.

More jobs also means, more spending which in turn means more jobs.

I like spending!

A faster train to Sydney is also a necessity. Commuting is a hard slog!

I would also like to remind the media that this election is about people. I’m not talking about Kevin and Tony. I’m talking about us…the little people. This country is made up of little people…just like lots of little Lego bits of all shapes, colours and sizes joining together to make a house.

I’m a little person and I know a lot of little people too.

There are quite a number of empty shops around at the moment. Empty shops mean broken dreams, incredible personal loss and hardship. For every empty shop or office, there are also a lot of businesses struggling to survive. These are very tough times.

Secondly, I have kids at school and I see what goes into giving all kids a sound education. Our teachers are the most amazing people you will ever meet. Being a parent isn’t easy and we hand our kids over to their teachers everyday and expect them to solve all sorts of issues which leave us for dead. They usually succeed in doing that as well as well as teaching them the 3Rs. Well done!

Speaking about little people and big achievements, I wanted to share with you about a painting I bought recently at the school art show. It’s a painting of a rainbow elephant. The elephant is made up of multi-coloured thumb prints. Each student had their own colour and they carefully dabbed their thumbs in the paint, blotted off  the excess and stamped their thumb onto the canvas without so much as a smudge. That’s a huge achievement when you really think about it. Now this masterpiece was created by a small class of primary school boys and their amazing teacher with such love and patience. I mean, how many parents actually let their children paint at home? Most don’t. Their teacher helped them do it. Helped them achieve the seemingly impossible. After all, how many boys do you know who sit still? (Thinking about this artwork…it is a great example of teamwork in action and could teach those people down in Canberra a thing or two!)

It’s kids, who by the way can’t vote, who really need to be in the forefront of political thinking. They have their entire future ahead. They deserve to reach their whole potential whatever that might be just like a small acorn growing into an amazing oak!

Lastly, I have to mention the health system. I have way too much to do with this land of hidden cutbacks. I have been having blood transfusions every three weeks for the last five years. Each transfusion takes about 4-5 hours. I used to have these treatments on weekends down in Sydney and my parents minded the kids while I was there. When the hospital moved into the new building, weekend services were axed and I had to have my treatments during the week. These decisions were made essentially to save money. Reduce expense. This was very difficult for me juggling the kids at school but it was impossible for anyone who worked full time. Heaven help you if you are sick and have a job! The “system” somehow seems to forget that even sick people need to eat. I wrote several letters but in the end, I voted with my feet. I now get my transfusions at our local hospital instead. This is still a juggling act but it largely works for us. Not everybody has that choice. (I must also comment that I have always had the very best care from all my doctors and nurses. They have quite literally saved my life!)

This brings me onto homelessness. Homelessness can be in your face but it’s also hidden…underground. Perhaps the most unappreciated fact about homelessness is how quickly it can happen and that nobody is immune. It just takes a few twists and turns of fate. You lose your job. Get sick. Relationship busts up. Bad things often happen in threes. The “homeless” are often just very normal, everyday people. It could be you. It could be me. We all need to love and embrace them. Offer a helping hand.

So whatever you might believe about public spending, we all depend on a safety net and having the basics. That needs to include jobs, good public education and good public health so that when your world falls apart, there is always a net and people don’t fall through the gaps.

I just had a tea break and realized that I haven’t mentioned the carbon tax or boat people. These issues are supposedly quite big in the campaign, although they’re beyond me at the moment.

I am very concerned about the environment and I’m serious about doing my bit. When it comes to food scraps, we have a worm farm at home and the dog eats the rest. At the start of the year, I decided not to use any plastic packaging in the kids’ lunches and I have succeeded. You would be surprised just how much plastic packaging gets wasted in kids’ lunches. I’m not perfect. Our coffee machine uses a lot of plastic pods. Grr!

As for the carbon tax, it is beyond me at the moment. I can’t afford high power bills and am fairly dependent on the clothes dryer due to my health. At the same time, we have to do whatever it takes to slow down global warming.

Hard decisions!

Although I live on the coast, people smuggling seems a long way from home. That said, no child should be in prison and children need to be with their parents. That is a basic human need. Every child needs to be with their Mum and Dad. As a parent, I wouldn’t jump in a boat with my kids and head off across the seas but I was born in the lucky country. It is not a choice I’ve had to make. That said, I am currently researching my great great something grandmother who I believed came to Australia to escape the Irish Famine in the 1840s. However, on closer inspection, it turns out she arrived after the famine and only months after the discovery of gold in Bathurst was proclaimed in 1851. So what was she? Refugee or fortune seeker? I don’t know but the grass certainly wasn’t greener for her in Sydney’s Surry Hills, even if they did have a good supply of potatoes. She lost three of her nine children in infancy.

So here I am at home in my pyjamas.  Playschool is on in the background while I’m metamorphosing into some kind of political animal. Perhaps, it is all because of the book I’ve been reading about the Irish famine which shows that governments can make a difference but they can also turn a blind eye to even the most acute forms of human suffering.

I wonder if governments are only as good as the people who vote them in and sustain them.

That’s why my vote is actually important. I might not like “Canberra” but at least I’ve had my say.

As for anybody who reads this post and dares call me a “mummy blogger” commenting on the Federal Election, remember I’m a person. I just happen to be a woman who has kids and shouldn’t be judged by my parental status!

Do I get your vote?

Getting off the fence…soon.