| OzProspect |
A New Political Mood
by Tim Watts and Hugh Martin
First appeared: Herald Sun, Opinion
Page, February 19, 2002
The ALP, the
Liberal Party and the Democrats are all in the
throes of
internal turmoil as the asylum seekers issue and recent
election results
hit home. People loyal to the parties, both on
the inside
and amongst the voting public, are taking a long hard
look at their
chosen tribe and many are abandoning ship.
In recent weeks
we have seen some very odd bedfellows emerge.
The old NSW
labor stalwart Laurie Ferguson has teamed up with
polished urban
moderate Phil Ruddock and New Labor brain Mark
Latham to
defend John Howard's Pacific Solution.
Equally strange
teamwork is being displayed by Howard's critics:
ex Liberal
minister Ian McPhee, ex liberal candidate, Greg Barns
and current
Labor Minister Carmen Lawrence have joined the in
fray, boots
and all.
The schism
that Paul Keating's multicultural vision exposed
between Old
Australia and New Australia has been ripped open
again.
The last time
Pauline Hanson emerged with her One Nation party
and captured
the imagination of Old Australia. We believe the
response this
time will be more sophisticated, fundamental and
longer lasting.
Technology and the media will play different
roles than
in the last round of culture wars. There is
no going back
to some imaginary Anglo-Celtic golden age.
The one group
comfortable with all this mess is Generations X and
Y. We've known
for years that the major parties no longer
represented
our interests and their Left vs Right, black and
white world
view was more reflexive nostalgia than a valuable way
of understanding
the core conflicts of our time.
We're comfortable
with rapid change and shifting paradigms. So
we're actively
expressing our views on these issues by engaging
in the spare
rooms for refugees campaign
(www.SpareRoomsForRefugees.com)
and the anti-Woomera protests.
We are organizing
ourselves politically, but we're certainly not
joining the
ALP or the Liberal Party.
How the parties
respond to this period of change may well
determine
their electoral fortunes in the next decade. We think
that the ALP,
the Coalition and the Democrats should consider a
position that
is very popular amongst Gen X and Y and that we
call the Radical
Centre.
A Radical Centre
party would be centrist on the economy -
fiscally conservative
but pro-innovation. Reduce taxes and other
government
costs on education, on fast growing businesses, and
make sure
capital gains tax is internationally competitive. A
Radical Centre
party would increase taxes on pollution and
increase public
investment in education, healthcare and
communications
infrastructure.
A Radical Centre
party would be radical on social policy - higher
immigration
especially for energetic young people, genuinely
sustainable
environmental resource management and would embrace
reconciliation
with Aboriginals.
A Radical Centre
approach would appeal to Gen X and Y and pick up
a good chunk
of the older traditional Labor and Coalition voters
who genuinely
believe in a fair go and who are so appalled by the
Minister for
Immigration's hardline stance on asylum seekers.
This positioning
is available for all of the major parties to
adopt.
It doesn't
mean the complete re-invention of the ALP, the Liberal
party of the
Democrats, but it requires real leadership. It
requires leaders
with vision who are inclusive not exclusive. It
could ensure
several terms for a future Prime Minister Peter
Costello.
It could bring Simon Crean out of the wilderness that
certain trade
union leaders have imposed on his party. But it
requires a
suppleness of thought, excellence in communication,
and a level
of charisma currently lacking.
Are we asking
too much?