A letter to Bill Shorten, Richard Di Natale, Independents, Senate Cross-benchers (and recalcitrant Backbenchers)

You did NOT win the election. The Liberal National Coalition did. Granted, it was by the slimmest of margins but, it doesn’t  change the fact, you lost, they won. 

As for the recalcitrant Backbenchers, whilst you were on the winning side take a hint, this applies to you as well. Stop acting like the opposition. 

Now to put it into simple words. That means the majority of  Australian voters, voted for key initiatives to be actioned. 

We voted for the Sex Marriage plebiscite. If the decision is yes, then the Government is duty bound to   action. 

We voted for Superannuation reform as per the policy presented. That isn’t to say all of us are thrilled by some Of the proposed changes. But, those of us with an ounce of intelligence understand we have a problem and we all need to contribute to fixing it. 

We voted for Budget repairs as per the policies presented. 

We voted for the reintroduction of the ABCC. 

If the electorate truly believes they got it wrong then it's up to the electorate to change it at the next election. It is not up to you. It's our decision. You are OUR servants we elect you we pay you we fire you. Now it's your responsibility to make sure  the will of the majority of people is acted upon. Just DO IT. 

Stop the politics, stop the argy bargy and get on with supporting the decisions and getting this country moving again. I am sick and tired of the posturing, the grandstanding, the ego trips the power plays and, the “this is what I want utterances.” Being a politician does not grant you cart-blanch to force your will upon the majority. I would “bet London to a brick” I’m not the only who thinks as I do. 

As for the voters who ad nauseam bleat on about the Government is this, the Government that. The Government is composed of people other people elected. If you aren’t happy with the collective mix blame the people who put them there. Stop the whinging. 

The bottomline is this. Politicians work for us, start doing your job. That means implementing the decisions of the majority. If that requires minor adjustments fine, but blocking this, blocking that to flex your muscles is most certainly NOT. Senators, you sit in  a house of review. You are not the Government. It's your role to ensure the Government delivers what they promised.  By all means argue for your pet initiatives but holding an elected Government to ransom to get your way is not on.  

Voters if we as a collective have delivered the wrong result; Government and policy mix  that's our fault. We better lift our game, educate ourselves and do a better job next time. But when I see an Essential Poll which highlights even now on key issue after key issue 40% don’t have an opinion, that tells me a lot of people need remedial instruction and urgently. 

Rant over. 

Can We Afford To Gamble With The Election

Now that Malcolm Turnbull has signalled the Double Dissolution and a July 2nd election date, it's a good time to reflect on where we are politically.  It's important for two reasons; 

1. To try to understand what led us to this point

2. And, to make sure we don’t make the same mistakes  

The Liberal National coalition sweep into power in 2013 after the six year nightmare under the Rudd/Gillard/Rudd Governments. Tony Abbott was riding high as the elected PM and swiftly went about delivering on promised key objectives. We have talked about those ad nauseam.

The honeymoon ended with the 2014 budget and we were on a steady slide for months. In August 2015 I penned a blog to ex Prime Minister, Tony Abbott. It was titled Dear Prime Minister Abbott. What I wrote, wasn’t only about how I felt. A lot of us felt the same way. I know that from personal conversations and chatting with people on several forums. It was supported by the overwhelming response I received on posting this piece on Twitter. 

Things sadly didn’t change so the party changed leader. In came Malcolm riding high on the crest of a wave. But things turned sour fairly quickly and now we are plunging rapidly back to where we started. Cue Turnbull’s big play. It took guts to do what he did calling for a DD. I believe the intentions are sound but the risk of it turning pear shaped are high. That said, I believe courage deserves support. 

Perhaps if Mr Abbott had listened and made the called for changes things may have been different for him and us. But we won’t know, so we have to deal with the cards we’ve been dealt. Malcolm Turnbull will lead us to the election. I don’t mind admitting I’m not overly enthusiastic about that.

But it is, what it is. 

I accept and understand why many conservatives are unhappy. But that isn’t new. There were many unhappy conservatives when Abbott was leader. This unrest steadily increased throughout 2015. But most of the moderates were not comfortable sharing how they felt. They were slammed when they did. Now we have the DelCon movement. The major difference between the DelCon's and previously unhappy Liberals  is, many of the DelCon's are hell bent on payback. As a result, we risk being in a worse position than we find ourselves in now. The consequences of that are alarming. 

If we were in a solid position financially and the global market was buoyant, we could run the risk of experimenting. That is, send the Liberals a very strong message. But, we aren’t financially solid and the global market is particularly volatile. Due to Labor’s recklessness we are swimming in debt. Our mining boom has fizzed and we need time to build new industries. The warning bells are ringing on another market crash. We have NO cookies in the jar to buffer us (thanks to Labor). The odds for taking a gamble are not in our favour. 

Given the above I’ll be helping the LNP win government. I wasn’t over the moon with the change. But I’m just as angry with Tony Abbott as anything else. He could have done something he didn’t. So he gets no sympathy from me. I’m no different to many others I’m a Liberal and through gritted teeth I’ll vote for Turnbull’s team and work my butt off to help keep him honest.  The only thing which will change my position is a shocker of a budget. That coupled with a plan that lurches far too far to the left. If that happens there's no hope for any of us. I may as well pack up and move permanently to my UK home. 

I’ve said before Tony Abbott achieved a significant majority in the lower house but people didn’t trust him in the senate. His senate result was the worst ever. So claims he achieved a landslide are overstated. Unless the electorate delivers you a senate that works it's no victory as we’ve discovered.We can blame the ‘vote whisperer’ & I have. BUT if people had given Abbott the vote to enable him to govern we wouldn’t be in the position we are in now. It's that simple. 

The scary thing is, the micros and independents are still re-contesting. In addition, there will be many new ones running; all untried and untested. So the question for me is? Can I trust the new ones to do what they say they will? No. Do I trust the current backbenchers? Hell no. For me, it a matter of can I afford to gamble. I seriously don’t think I can. 

In the absence of an alternative to the Liberals a number of unhappy conservatives have stated they will donkey vote in the lower house. Their right of course but if enough people do it, they will effectively hand the seat over to Labor. One donkey might not seem much but if 100, 200 plus people do the same, it's a huge risk. Remember, Clive Palmer won by 53 votes against a Liberal candidate who scored 41.3%  first preferences against Clive’s 26.5%. Look how that experiment worked out. 

Adam Bandt said yesterday if we end up with a hung parliament the Greens will hold the balance of power in both houses. Just think about what that means. They want to increase the asylum seeker intake to 50,000 per year. They want to bring back a carbon tax (but so will Labor). The list goes on and on. If through our actions we give Labor a ‘leg-up’ the risk of a hung parliament is real. Queue left, in walks the Greens. 

All elections are important but this one more so. This one is about reforming (cleaning out the senate) stability and prudence. I’m not convinced it's the time to protest or to gamble with our future. Whilst I am but one vote hopefully I can convince a few unhappy conservatives to rethink sending a protest vote. To ask them to give the government an even chance of getting back with a workable parliament in both houses. To ask themselves the question; can we afford PM Shorten and his union controllers? Can we afford the Greens controlling both houses? Can we afford another unworkable senate? Can we afford taking a risk on single issue micros and independents? That includes the Australian Liberty Alliance.

I’m keen to see what's in the budget and the plan for the next three years. Government is about compromise. No government can satisfy everyone's demands. It's a matter of weighing up what's important to us as individuals. That said, it’s equally important to acknowledge what's best for the country as a whole. I didn’t agree with all of Abbott’s policies. I won’t agree with all of Turnbull’s either. The lead up has been messy but I’m not going to hang the government for that. It's the substance that counts not the theatre. 

If Malcolm Turnbull does anything stupid then by all means we should demand they kick him out. As with Tony Abbott, Malcolm is the leader he needs to prove he deserves our trust. If he fails, don’t let him get away with what Tony got away with, blaming everyone else but himself. It's the leaders bums on the chair. Perform or get kicked. I'm counting on Turnbull performing.

What Is Our Vision, Where Are We Heading?

Oliver Cromwell said “no one rises so high as he who knows not whither he is going.” Then adding the Peter Principle “Every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.” We appear to have a combo of both as this relates to Canberra. 

This describes the last four Prime Ministers from Rudd to now. Turnbull is yet to be tested, but current indications are he is in the same camp. I am praying like mad Turnbull can pull a rabbit out of a hat and set a clear path to secure our future. It will be a bleak few years ahead if he can't. 

Yes, I am including Tony Abbott. He stopped the boats (with the help of an excellent Immigration Minister and Services support). He removed the carbon tax. He signed Trade Agreements (once again driven by the Minister responsible). But, then he lost his way and I for one had no idea where we were heading. After reading some of Tony's recent ramblings I can’t help thinking he suffers from an inflated opinion of his achievements.  This is particularly true when it comes to fiscal management. Add Tony to the delusional list. 

People voted for loopy Clive Palmer. In a media release on February 15 Clive claimed the credit for saving the country from austerity. He has also claimed he kept the North Queensland economy going. I'm sure the 200 plus who just lost their jobs wouldn't agree. Clive also stated "There has been little discussion or attack at any policies of our party.” Clive also mentioned there were no attacks what he’d achieved in Parliament. Correct and there are reasons for that. He doesn’t have any policies only grandiose plans and mission statements. None of which could ever be delivered. As for the positive achievement side, he hasn’t any. Based on recent reports Clive is trying to do deal with crossbenchers to form another party. Are we that stupid to vote for this again? Clive is another one for delusional list. 

I can’t muster the will to start on Labor, Greens and the rest other than to refer back to Cromwell’s quote. It describes just about every one of the useless lot we have in Canberra. There are  a couple of exceptions, but that is all. I'm fast forming the view we need to turf the whole lot out and start again. But then, I guess there is no guarantee we'll end up with anything better. After all, we the people voted them in. Senate wheeling and dealing being the exception. 

I could go on and on but to be frank, I am making myself more depressed thinking about the state of the nation. I wouldn’t mind betting I’ve depressed you as well. That said, we do deserve better than we are getting. 

We need a strong government as well as a strong opposition. Less of the personal power plays. Less of the fractional wreckers. Less of the negative media. More of the what, when, why and how. More things being delivered. Less of the politics for politics sake. We certainly need a whole lot less of the blackmail driven self interest. There has to be some acceptance that not everyone will get everything they want. Above all we need a clear vision of what we are doing, when we are doing it, why, how and very clear indicators that we are on track. At the risk of depressing myself even further,  I just don’t feel confident we have the people in place to do it. I hope to hell I’m wrong. 

LIBERAL PARTY, LABOR PARTY: NO COMPARISON

Day two under the leadership of Malcolm Turnbull and the social media trial continues. The witch-hunt for the ‘turncoats’ is in full swing, ably supported by the shock-jocks. The opposing Liberal camps are ripping into each other. I have a personal view that some of the comments would probably be best left unsaid, but expression is good and we do believe in free speech. 

What is really interesting, is the tactics now being used by our Labor chums. They are doing their level best to compare the Labor years to what happened on Monday. For them to suggest there is any comparison between Rudd-Gillard-Rudd and Turnbull-Abbott is ludicrous. But, it’s a deliberate tactic to brand Liberals as no better than Labor. We must not let them get away with it. Mr Abbott’s situation is very different. 

In February, Mr Abbott survived, as one journalist described as a ‘near death experience’ when MP’s called for a change of leader. This challenge came after months of the government's inability to gain support for key budget measures and to explain their vision to the electorate. People were also becoming frustrated with what they perceived were broken promises. Whilst I understood the reasons for actions taken, it would be fair to say the government did a very poor job of selling the reasons to the electorate. The electorate was very angry including many staunch Liberal supporters.  

I remember having discussions with some LNP social media activists. We were trying to defend broken promises, but we were losing the battle. The communications from HQ was almost non existent. Polls were declining and our elected members of parliament were trying to deal with the disenchantment in their electorates. Months of this finally led to the demand for a leadership spill as referenced. Mr Abbott survived, but he had received the most public and direct warning possible from the party room that he had to change. Mr Abbott was given six months.  

Over the ensuing months little improvement has been made. Mr Abbott has received multiple warnings of the potential consequences of failure. Elders of the party, i.e. Former Prime Minister John Howard (who by the way was an advocate of carbon pricing, but who had a change of heart), Peter Reith and Peter Costello also pleaded him to change and to make changes. Mr Abbott refused. 

I am well aware of some of the substantial help and advice that was offered to help bring the two warring camps together. Likewise, advice was given to change the line-up so that some of the performance gaps could be closed. That was also ignored. 

Mr Abbott’s stubbornness got in the way of good judgement. The merciless media attacks on him continued and the white-anting from within, grew in intensity and frequency as anxiety levels increased because nothing was changing.. Now, I am not supporting white-anting, but I do understand the frustration felt by many. 

Mr Abbott could have made necessary changes, but he didn’t. Not because he couldn’t but because he chose not to. I’ve read all sorts of comments related to the swiftness of the spill, but once again it was Mr Abbott, who called the vote for Monday evening, a few hours after Mr Turnbull made his announcement. Mr Abbott could have delayed the spill motion to give his supporters more time, but he didn’t. Unlike the first spill that Mr Abbott won, he was unfortunately not victorious a second time. 

Now we have an active campaign by some Liberals to paint Mr Abbott as a victim. He wasn't and isn't a victim. I'm sure he wouldn't want to be remembered as a victim either. And we have Labor and their ‘pointing the finger’ campaign; “see, see your party is no better.”

I’m sure Mr Abbott was deeply hurt by what happened on Monday. No one likes rejection. But as we would expect from him, he was gracious in his departure. And, he would NEVER do anything to wreck his party. We should respect that. We owe him that.

And, the next time someone from the Labor side tries to tell you the Liberal Party is as bad as Labor, put them straight. There is NO comparison, not even close. Assassinating someone behind closed doors is very, very different to extending the courtesy of giving someone six months to fix the problem, knowing full well what the consequences of failure are. 

As for the view, that the only the public should have the right to decide the fate of a Prime Minister, that simply isn’t how the process works. The Prime Minister isn’t The President. The Prime Minister's electorate vote him in, we vote for our own candidates, their party policies and local issues. The party room appoints the Prime Minister. If people vote for a party based solely on the leader, that probably explains more about them and their lack of understanding of the Westminster system than anything else. And it clearly explains how we ended up with the Rudd Labor government. We know how that worked out. 

One last comment. I happened to pick up 2GBS Alan Jones comments about both Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten last night. I was frankly disgusted. That sanctimonious so call 'King of Radio' branded the  The Prime Minister hypocrite over what he said about Mr Abbott when addressing the parliament. It might pay Mr Jones to play back some of the things he himself has said about Mr Abbott. 

What really sickened me was Jones fawning over Bill Shorten!!!!! The same Bill Shorten who played a major role in knifing, not one but two Prime Ministers in a most sinister manner. Who himself has said some dreadful things about Mr Abbott. So if we are handing out Hypocrite Awards I think Mr Jones and Mr Shorten might be very worthy recipients.