It’s time for change. And I’m not talking about John Howard’s dress sense. The guy just doesn’t get it. While the rest of us realise the world’s moved on and that we actually have to deal with the realities of now, he looks back to the 1950’s with great admiration. While there are plenty of reasons to vote John Howard out – there’s at least four crucial issues in this year’s federal election where he’s failed to meet the test.
1) Climate Change
Excuse the poor pun but you just know that with Johnnie, there’s just plenty of gas when he talks about climate change. He’s never believed it’s been a problem – in fact his government even ridiculed the merits of Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth. Now Labor has promised to ratify Kyoto – and cut Australia’s greenhouse emissions by 60% by 2050 – and he’s over the issue like a rash. After 11 years, John Howard has had plenty of time to tackle climate change – and hasn’t done it. For this reason alone, it’s time to boot him out.
2) Broadband
Want fast broadband? Well I suggest you pack your bags and hope on a plane to get fast internet access. As widely reported in the press, we are lagging behind the rest of the world. Again, poor Johnnie has been on the back foot on this one. It was Labor which first walked the walk – committing up to $4.7 billion to establish a new world class network, giving 98% of Australians access to high speed broadband internet services. Howard’s now just on board but promising a weaker, less reliable network. Labor 2, Liberals 0.
3) Education and Training
It’s a little stunning to think that under Johnnie, higher education funding has plummeted (until he reached this year’s pre-election budget). This is kind of funny, when you think the best way to invest in our country’s future, is actually in our people. Under the Liberals, education fees for students have sky rocketed, with universities now more reliant than ever on the pockets of students for their funding. Labor wants an education revolution in this country – from kindergarten to university – so we actually can meet the needs of a growing economy.
4) Industrial Relations
You have to give Johnnie credit – he knows when he is in trouble and tries to switch to a winner. Ditch your old IR spokesperson and pull out that former funny Sunrise regular Joe Hockey. Look like your responding to worker’s concern, by introducing a “fairness testâ€Â. But despite the nice windrow dressing, it just won’t work on us. Many Australians are losing under individual work place agreements – basic conditions like penalties have been stripped away – and if you don’t like, well you can lump it or piss off. Sorry, did I miss the referendum when we became the 51st State of America?
