Australian democracy is a world of constant change: competitive positions, streamlined communications, a dynamic politics with more and more responses to the day’s latest…
Wait a minute. That’s not democracy. That’s capitalism.
Don’t get me wrong. Democracy thrives when diversity is strong, people are well informed, and policies are tested in a robust marketplace of ideas. Capitalism, however, is interested entirely in the here and now. It cannibalises long-term vision, seducing us into doing the same: constant consumption, immediate gratification.
So what happens when we need to take immediate action to prevent future disaster? How can the diversity, dynamism and active citizenship that uphold democracy meet the complex challenges of the next political cycle, and the next, and the next?
Taking a long-term view doesn’t quite fit that model — unless you’re a submarine. After high-speed rail, submarines are Australia’s most frequent political announcement made without any outcome. This is possible only because of the unspoken understanding that military spending will always attract bipartisan support.
Which is why there was no need for the prime minister — nor indeed, any minister — to do any media on the day of the AUKUS announcement. It was coast-to-coast opposition MPs lining up on every live platform to throw unconditional support behind the government’s 40-year vision. Anthony Albanese couldn’t’ve scripted it better.
What would it take to see that kind of parliamentary solidarity on the climate crisis? Poverty? Energy? Education? Infrastructure? None of our most perilous challenges will be met with immediate action until we reconfigure our democracy to take a long-term view.
And one day, much sooner than we’d like to think, all those critical problems will have become immediate crises — unless we take that long-term view now.
Reconfiguring our democracy has already begun. Australians increasingly turn their backs on two-party politics. They are no longer ageing into conservatism. And while trust in democracy is in decline, appetite for substantial change is increasing.
More and more, we’re challenging what’s long been taken for granted as fundamental to how Australian democracy works. It’s now time for politicians to take a more active role, driving those reconfigurations from within. Small steps have been taken around question time reform and the disgraceful secret ministries, moving to strengthen integrity on a small scale. We need to make substantial moves — from the superficial to the systematic.
Let’s rethink portfolio silos adventurously. The national cultural policy, for example, embeds itself across Indigenous affairs, communications, workplace relations, foreign affairs and trade, as well as arts and culture. Let’s see a 40-year vision that couples cultural policy with infrastructure, health and mental health, that makes sure towns and suburbs of the future are places of deep cultural understanding with affordable homes, accessible transport and places to create our own culture.
Let’s treat the climate crisis with the urgency it demands. Let’s see a 40-year vision for climate targets and a just energy transition that’s embedded across environmental and education policy, making sure we’re able as a society to recognise the crisis we’re in — without panic, but with foresight and great care.
Let’s listen to First Nations voices with the greatest respect, embedding the perspective of long time into all Parliament’s work. How can considered, consensus decision-making rise above politicking? What’s a 40-year vision in the context of more than 60,000? What must caring for country come to mean for all of us?
Imagine an announcement in the hundreds of billions about how Australia is going to lead the world in securing renewable energy independence. Or permanently end the housing crisis. Or eradicate poverty. All of this is possible — and well within our means. What’s stopping us? Is the demand unclear? Is the message too hard to sell? Or is the political gaze set too far below the horizon?
It’s time to harness all the talent and goodwill in this uncharacteristically expert Parliament, and develop those 40-year visions before it’s too late. The prime minister’s commitment to implementing the Uluru Statement in full demands a long-term approach. How could it be otherwise?
You know what happens to any government which displeases the ruling class even a fraction of what you propose?
The CIA puts a stop to it. It’s happened here before.
Just like Frank Zappa said: “The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it’s profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater.”
There’s a reason politics is so broken – it’s hiding the fact that self-determination for a people is not attainable while the ruling class rule.
Know the problem you’re trying to solve.
When you make the only solution sound like a revolution. When they’re done with the power/persecution fantasy make sure to vote for the least worst party.
Fantasy? “Voting for the least worst party” is the answer? How good is the least worst party likely to be? “Voting for the least worst party” means sticking with their system as they get worse – which is exactly how we got here.
There is a defacto 40 year vision. Understanding it requires understanding how the economy and politics really work.
The starting point is understanding that the top 1% wealthiest folks own a lot more wealth than the bottom 50%. The wealthiest 1% provide the political donations which fuel the political parties. As a consequence, the top 1% get to determine what is acceptable to be included on the political agenda and more importantly what is not. The mainstream media is owned by members of the top 1% and is effective in propagandising on its behalf. Consequently the top 1% effectively own the political system.
As a result, instead of debate involving the more efficient / equitable distribution of wealth in society, we have the culture wars – essentially the left impotently bed wetting itself an endless range of irrelevant minority causes and the right fulminating over political correctness gone mad, gays and everyone else who ain’t like us.
The 40 year vision is to keep fuelling the culture wars to ensure there is no oxygen left for any debate about the redistribution of wealth in our society. In the meantime behind the scenes tax policy and regulation can be chiselled away to ensure the rich get richer faster.
That’s the real 40 year vision.
A very astute summary of where we find ourselves, Mr.P-G.
Redistribution of wealth you say? Why even worry about that when we can opt in for the daily, and very therapeutic, two minutes of hate on whatever culture war issue is dominating the day.
Sad state of affairs.
Nailed it
Like equality for LGBTQI+ people? Like not jumping into war without a thought? Like raising the unemployment benefits to stop people starving? To do something about our homeless problem?
The only urine I smell comes from the right of the chamber, not the left.
Well said on what we ought to be focussed on. And perhaps some within the old parties might change their spots. I’d be happy to be surprised, but I think the old parties are thoroughly captive to the US, coal, gambling, etc etc.
The solution is to vote the bastards out, not to keep begging them to change. The process has begun with the Libs. It can continue. Even in spite of the CIA, Murdoch, the captured ABC etc.
Yes we would get a very sharp reaction from the US, among others. Still, the power remains with us, so long as we stop giving it away – by voting the same old way, by hiding withing cynical fatalism, etc.
Sure would be nice to at least put it to the test, huh.
So, the solution is the vote both the ALP and LNP out. OK… how do we get the main stream media to at least provide a balanced election coverage?
The loss of free education, only private schools have significantly benefitted from policies, the loss of support for the environment, privatisation that made the cost of living go up, apprenticeships no longer supported by publicly owned entities the 9 day fortnight and 35 hour week retirement age from 65 to 67 unemployment support much more difficult to meet obligations and not manageable for most.
All these moves were only possible because media has pushed for these changes and not supported those that found it detrimental.
It is clear that ownership of media and it’s relationship between government and business has enabled siphoning of the commonwealth to private concerns.
With no significantly large information outlets supporting the general community on these fundamental issues it is impossible to a little delirious to expect change. It is true that the internet has made some inroads but to date it has nothing like the financial power or organisational skills of for instance lobby groups, only by not voting for the major parties can we expect any change but even so our political system has been captured by Neoliberalism and has been for 40 years.
Until Neoliberalism is dragged out and put on display can it reach the Australian vernacular, we are at its mercy.
And it’s Crikey readers and contributors that are in a position to affect that change.
We are a pathetically small cohort, given Crikey’s reputation.
The discrepancy there says much.
The problem is that we refuse to acknowledge the full force of corruption in politics. Until we acknowledge that, and maybe put a few of the offenders in gaol, we are just talking in circles. Politicians are only thinking of the short term demands of the people bribing them, not the right thing for the long term advantage of the electorate which is what they are nominally supposed to do.