After the election

13 May 2022

As the election campaign mercifully comes to an end, many of us have been musing on what the new Government should do when it comes into office. It is a difficult question to answer because both Parties have excluded any radical action to address the clear and pressing needs of Australians. Fires, floods and insurance costs highlight the need for immediate and shared action to address climate change. The simultaneous high cost of housing, the inadequate benefits available to the disadvantaged, and lack of accommodation for people in need testify to the need to address the growing inequality in Australian society. The almost weekly revelations of the sexual and financial misconduct of parliamentary representatives witness to an Integrity framework that impedes and exposes unethical practices. Relations with our neighbours and with large powers clearly need attention, as does the treatment of Indigenous Australians and of refugees. And finally the Government will need revenue to meet its responsibilities in these areas.

The Coalition, which has done almost nothing during its term in office, has promised more of the same with some grandiose building schemes that will exacerbate problems. The Opposition has effectively ruled out doing anything that might offend voters in key seats, Big Media, miners, investors and large corporations.

The contradiction between what needs to be done and the commitments not to do it is a recipe for paralysis. The priority of the new Government must then be to seek public support to break its promises. This will best be done by opening a broad enquiry, free from lawyers and interest groups. It should enquire into what kind of Australia we shall leave to our children, say by the totemic date of 2050. Its remit should be to show what we shall expect if we continue along the paths we now take, what needs to be done to shape a better future, and how to do it in an equitable way. That will give the Government a program for responsible rule.

If not this, what would you suggest?

Andrew Hamilton is consulting editor of Eureka Street, and writer at Jesuit Social Services. Main image: Scrutineers count postal votes at the Gordon counting centre. (Ryan Pierse / Getty Images)

AUSTRALIA

After the election

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