Not so great; not such a debate

A so called debate last night showed how lacking in leadership this country is currently and how badly served we are by our journalists. Last night not only was there enough spin from Julia and Tony that one felt giddy but the questions the journos put were pat and twee and could not have possibly elicited any other responses than those we got. Why oh why did they simply want to rehash the so called issues of the first week of the campaign. Why wasn't there an effort to pursue the vision the leaders were going to give us, take them beyond the things they were obviously so well practised in, push them to have to address what they were going to give this country if they were elected. Such a shame, such a lost opportunity and no wonder apathy is so strong in Australia when it comes to politics.

So what would I like to see? I yearn for a progressive vision, I yearn for something a bit deeper, a bit beyond the gloss and the slogans. We have to move beyond this bunker mentality we have nurtured over the recent past. We need to believe we do live in a country that can lead and make a difference in and to the world, especially on the environment. If something can affect us then we can and must be a part of the solution and we have to accept we can lead on that. This is the country that invented the black box recorder, the cochlear implant and the pacemaker, we can be role models for the rest of the world, we do matter and we must get on with it.

Here's a few other thoughts for starters:

• I want to know what sort of country we want to be, today, tomorrow and in twenty years and I want to know how our leaders are going to get us there. What are the decisions that are being made today that will shape us and the next generations?
• It has to become a given that no one should wait more than two weeks for an operation, elective or otherwise. Our hospital system has to work on a basis of providing care immediately rather than bed availability, number of doctors or the dollars available
• Every child must have all the tools they need to get the most advantage out of the education system and not have to consider whether they can pay for that. The only blocker should be their capacity intellectually or by choice
• Every teenager should be confident they will get any job they are qualified for
• No Australian should fear what is going to happen to the climate or what kind of environment we are passing on to future generations
• Australia should become the conflict solver rather than contribute to their proliferation
• The only cost associated with national security should be dollars and not human rights
• We must re frame our view of refugees from demonising human beings who risk their lives to make them better to one of welcoming them, saluting their choices and working to manage how someone finds themselves at the start of that journey in the first place...how do we have a world where refugees are not needed? What might happen in the world if we simply said 'In 2011 we will take 140,000 refugees'???
• We must seek to stop making pensioners second class citizens. How can it be that at 64 someone is a first class, valued and vibrant member of the community to suddenly on retirement becoming practically invisible, unimportant and minimised in almost every way? How can we do that and call ourselves a 'civilised' and caring country?

More anon

Cardiff

I had a lovely few days in Cardiff in February and it turned out to be a real revelation. Not a huge city but a serviceable one with a full complement of history along with a very modern development down by the old Tiger Bay area, now called Cardiff Bay. As a 'Torchwood' fan it was a buzz to walk around the Entertainment Centre the site for Torchwood's Hub. The buzz continued when I went inside the entertainment centre where a choir was giving a lunchtime concert - not just any choir but the Welsh National Choir - beautiful.

I had an adventure going out to the Cathedral one afternoon. I took a bus part of the way and walked through the sportsgrounds for the rest, even passing a group in AFL jumpers playing what looked like a streamlined Aussie Rules game, particularly because one of them wore a Carlton jumper.

The people are very friendly and it's a city which is very easy to get around and for the shoppers there are some terrific shopping centres. My bed and breakfast was a fifteen minute walk from the centre of town...the walk could be along Cathedral road or along the riverfront to near the Castle. A bus stop was literally out the front.

I loved my short stay in Cardiff and hope to return one day.

Game On!

Our new Prime Minister has called an electon for August 21st. Well good for her. While i would have preferrred she'd waited until October but that might have run it a bit close to the Victorian election for November. I think this is one of the hardest elections to call in a long time. Just a few months ago there would have been no doubt that Kevin Rudd would have romped it in. Then things started to go awry and Abbott started to look like he was in with a chance. personally I think Rudd would have creamed Abbott in any debates but the Labor apparatchiks had their shortsighted vision on winning an election and could not see past the polls and the internal dislike for the man who had swept them to power.

I think Julia will run a great election and Abbott will probably come unstuck under pressure but that might not necessarily be what will sway the voters. Theat's why I think it will be hard to know who is likely to win until pretty close to the day. I'd be surprised if most people even know who they will be voting for yet.

Over the last few years one of the saddest things that has happened in Australian politics is the primary motivation for our pollies, certainly for the parties has been staying in power, or winning elections rather than policies. We no longer get a sense of what sort of Australia they want over the next decade and what the policies are that will get us there. It always seems to be about how they improve their opinion poll results or how they will win the next election. The leadership lotteries are a prime example of that, not who might be the best leader for the country but who will win the election. How does this progress us as a nation I wonder.

There are visions I look forward to hearing about and there are some I want to talk about.

That's to come...stay tuned.