I am fearful of what may result from the next election. I'm not overly concerned that the LNP will fail to win government. I believe we are in a very good position following recent changes, although it would be foolish to take things for granted. What I am fearful of, is what we will end up with in the senate given the number of one cause parties springing up. The agendas of some are frankly frightening.
Most of these 'chancers' are chasing senate seats because they see that is where the power lies. It’s the classic 'power of one' play. We've already witnessed the behaviour of egocentric power players within the existing senate. The likes of Jacqui Lambie, Glen Lazarus, David Leyonhjelm whose views at times are extreme relish in holding the elected government to ransom and threatening and in some cases blocking good policy because they can't get their own way.
I know many people do not read the Senate Hansard, but it gives you a fascinating insight into the thinking and the language. It often makes for alarming reading at times. Particularly when the headline chasing cause senator Lambie takes the floor.
Some of those throwing their hats into the ring for the next election should ring the alarm bells very loudly and very, very clearly. Now, I will preface this by saying I know many people are worried about the 'Muslim issue'. In some cases with good reason. Parties who are running on that agenda border on extremists themselves. Consider the likes of the United Patriots Front (UPF) who have said they plan to run for senate seats.
The UPF group formed as a result of a breakaway by the founders of Reclaim Australia after claiming that Reclaim had been invaded Neo Nazis. Yet, the current leader, of UPF, Blair Cottrell's a Jew hating, woman hating self-confessed Hilter devotee himself. Their main activity is protesting at anti Muslim rallies, fighting amongst themselves for power and finding inventive ways of scamming money from gullible followers it seems. That last comment relates to the recent stunt pulled by the 'delightful' Sherman Burgess and his well publicised resignation from the UPF. This lasted all of a day and included an equally opportunistic grab for money to help with his car payments and buy a birthday present for his kid. The disciples rattled the can for Poor Shermi who took the money, went on a holiday and announced his resurrection in rapid succession. I think Mr Sherman has learnt from the equally delightful exFootball thug and convicted criminal Tommy Robinson AKA, AKA, AKA on how to scam people.
We have the The Australian Alliance (ALA) affectionately labeled the Gert Wilders Party. This party resulted from the anti Muslim and all things Halal Q Society. If social media is any indication, this group are attracting some support from the exLibs groups. Dig deep and the motivation is very obvious.
There are many others, but I wanted to highlight the latest single cause activist to declare their hand. Enter Kim Vuga and the Love Australia or Leave Party. Actually, it hasn't got a lot to do with loving Australia, but it does have a lot to do with hating all things Muslim. Kim is very passionate about her loathing of Muslims and she does raise some important points about ISIS sympathisers and terrorists. But if Kim has her way we will be back to the days of the treatment handed out to the Tolpuddle Martyrs. Hilter and the KKK will be cheering from the sidelines. When you look at the following, the only thing missing is forcing Muslim’s to wear the equivalent of the Jewish Star and sending them to concentration camps.
No one has the right to demand of anyone that they declare their love for the country they live in and if they don't demand they leave. We do have the right to expect people obey our laws, live in harmony with us, do us no harm and contribute to the country. I certainly have the expectation that if people migrate here and don't do these things, then they should be helped on their way back to from whence they came. But to go down Kim’s path is supporting extremism every bit as extreme as though she protests about.
We need to deal with the radical Muslim issue. No argument from me but branding and labelling everyone because of their religion is totally unacceptable. Most of the new parties appear to be basing their foundation on the Muslim issue. It almost borders on ethnic hatred. That worries me a lot more than a 100 or so religious radicals. I'm confident the authorities will deal with them.
Back to what worries me about the election. There is a core of people, albeit based on various polls and comments on social media who have simply given up on the LNP since the change of leadership. That is their right and they make those decisions based on a number of factors, not the least being their hatred (many have said it so I'm simply quoting the example) of Malcolm Turnbull. There are others, who like me are comfortable with change, but still wary about the new leader. For me, as long as policies are consistent with conservative expectations I'll stick with the party and frankly I don't see a viable alternative.
The group that worries me the most are the 'we are going to teach the Liberals a lesson' lot. They will probably vote LNP in Reps. Many have said that, but they won't vote LNP in the senate. Many will vote for the new 'opportunists' anti-Muslim parties in the senate. Can you just image a senate full of more Lambie clones!!!!! God help us.
Malcolm has around year to prove himself and to present a set of policies that meet the expectations of the majority of Liberal Conservatives. Hopefully as a result we can also pull in some of the swinging voters. If he wins the election and then fails to meet those expectations we can vote him out in three years. But, if hardline opportunists are voted in to the senate we are stuck with them for SIX YEARS. Not three, six. All I ask is people think about that because your decisions impact on all of us, just not you.
We have already seen what a hostile senate can do. Let's not forget the existing senate played a major role in contributing to the downfall of Tony Abbott. I often wonder if Mr Abbott had been able to work with the cross benchers (regardless of how abhorrent a couple are) and therefore got reform policy through how different his fate might have been.
We have already seen what a hostile senate can do. Let's not forget the existing senate played a major role in contributing to the downfall of Tony Abbott. I often wonder if Mr Abbott had been able to work with the cross-benchers (regardless of how abhorrent a couple are) and therefore got reform policy through how different his fate might have been. All too frequently, lack of support had nothing to do with the merit of the policy it was based on personal dislike of Tony Abbott and personal agendas.
Suffice to say there is a lot of water to run under the bridge before the next election assuming Turnbull goes full term. Who knows what the mood of the electorate will be by then. There is certainly a lot riding on the outcomes in Paris. Many detractors are promoting the theory that Malcolm Turnbull will sell us out. I don’t know if he will or won't. I can only rely and what he has said and I pray he is telling the truth. The tax reform proposal is very important as are all their policies. Who knows, perhaps people will have finally released their anger and based on performance decide that get square is not advisable. That said, we can not rely on that happening. The only real fail safe is for Nick Xenophon to be successful in achieving support for changes to senate elections, which will hopefully stop micro parties gaining seats, and therefore we can eliminate some of the far-right radicals. If we don’t and they are successful in getting rid of all the Muslims who will they come for next. It might be us.
