The task of blogging these days is onerous. The longer I leave it, the more onerous it becomes. But the change of government in Australia last weekend encouraged me to write today because hope has returned.
The king is dead. Long live the king. After 9 years of a mean-spirited right-wing neo-liberal government fronted by the most un-Christian Christian leader I have ever seen in this country, we have a new government. I have wondered whether the lightness I feel, and think I see when I go into town or watch the ABC, is just me, or if there truly is a sense of hope in this country.
For me that isn't just about the removal of the LNP with its punitive 'let the market decide' politics that punish the poor and reward the rich. I am genuinely relieved to rediscover that my fellow Australians are decent people. Having to live with the fact that the 'majority' voted for the LNP in the last 3 elections was unbearable. I had lost faith in my country. The impact of living under an awful government was exacerbated by the split caused by clashing ideologies about COVID and subsequent mandates. The last government fuelled that division because it ruled on a principle of divide and conquer. Morrison was Australia's Trump - not quite as crazy, but just as divisive and nasty - a shallow, sociopathic, lying, populist media-whore who would do and say anything to get and retain power.
I'm not naive. The new Labor government won't be able to fix much. They have inherited massive national debt and entrenched structural problems. Health, aged care and education are on the verge of collapse. The housing crisis is only worsening. World events are having a serious impact on a bubble-living and loving lucky country.
BUT THERE IS HOPE.
And that is probably more to do with the way Aussies treat each other than about money.
It is also about the new government's acceptance of climate change. Again, they won't be able to fix it - but at least they acknowledge the problem. Having a government that refuses to acknowledge there is a crisis is alienating. For the last 20+ years of the climate wars in Australia those of us who accepted the crisis from the beginning have been living in an alternative nightmarish reality.
There is no doubt in my mind that humanity is still hurtling towards the existential cliff, but perhaps the journey to the edge will be bearable if we are kind to each other. Governments still have a huge role to play. And - if our ability to cooperate overrides our base survival instincts to tear each other apart - there is hope that together we can still do something about this crisis.
My family and my blogging friends are positive about the new government but outside of that, I've only heard bitter people say negative things.
ReplyDeleteI think this was FINALLY the climate election. Too little, too late but I do have a smidgen of hope that we can turn things around.
Someone told me that people can't waste time thinking about climate policy when they are trying to put bread on the table. Problem is, there won't be any bread if we don't take care of the earth
That's disappointing Kylie. Maybe the people you mix with are LNP supporters. I have seen quite a few bitter comments online, but a lot more positive one - sites like news pages. I agree, this was the climate election. I always vote Green so it was very good to see them get some traction this time around.
DeleteI love the way you describe your new government and how wonderful it is that the old right-wing, conservative leader is gone. It sounds so much like our relief when Biden won and that insane money maniac Trump lost. But it's also completely true that humanity is still hurtling toward an existential cliff. Here in America the crazies have the guns and they kill children. Does it get any worse than that? Probably yes, but I hate to see what it would look like.
ReplyDeleteThank you for changing the comment platform. I can comment again. Yay!!
Yes, there are definite parallels with what happened in the US - from Trump to Joe Biden. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that the world breathed a sigh of relief when that happened!!
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