Tuesday, October 30. 2007Politics And BroadbandJohn Linton I've never even remotely considered before this Fedreal election that the result of such a thing could have any bearing on how a small business like Exetel operates. I was not running a business when the "Whitlam Landslide" ended up ruining the whole Australian economy in less than three years with over 400,000 small businesses going broke between the time of his 'landslide win' and his 'reverse landslide' loss some three years later. Those old enough to remember will recall that Whitlam's Labour party ran on the election slogan "It's Time!" referring to the need to make a change from the coalition parties after they had been in Federal government for so long. Australia went from prosperous to penurious in less than three years and the negative effects of the "sweeping Whitlam reforms" took over a decade to recover from. Of course the 400,000 small business owners and their families, their suppliers and their customers never did recover from what 'sweeping change' did to them. People never learn it seems so after the country got back on its feet, albeit saddled with such an increase in employment cost it's taken 30 years to get back to full employment, the Australian people decided that "Labour has learned its lesson" and voted in the populist Robert ("call me Bob") Hawke and his doctrinaire running dog, er...mate, Paul ("despite what it may look like I can assure you those pig farms aren't under my beneficial control) Keating. The Bob and Paul dog and pony show kept getting elected because those dreadful coalition people"were going to introduce a GST which would increase the cost of living by over 25% if they got elected". So "call me Bob" Hawke and Paul ("this is the recession you have to have when you're a banana republic like Australia"), who were so expert in bankrupting countries that they ran up the Australian government's national debt to around $100 billion and were so convinced that recession was just fine for working Australians that home loan interest rates exceeded 18% ensuring that home repossessions and lost jobs both hit post World War II records - oh, and another 500,000 small businesses closed (and more than a few large businesses if you remember Australia's then second largest airline and even Westpac was almost sold off as it's share price plunged as a consequence of its disastrous home loan exposures). Labour had really learned - not. However all that's in the distant past - Australia and Australians have never been better off and the country now has zero debt, the highest level of home ownership and the lowest tax rates, with more tax cuts to come, than it has ever had. Maybe thats all the result of the "resources boom" and has nothing to do with fiscally responsible government? Could be - the contrast remains so black and white it's not likely though. All of that isn't enough though for small businesses in the communications industry and, of course, the customers of small businesses like Exetel. We now have the terrifying concept of the three amigo's who run Telstra (and will be gone from this country in a year or two and who have no interest whatsoever other than enriching themselves during their brief Australian stay to the maximum) playing extreme politics and attempting to use Telstra's huge free cashflow resources to influence a change of government for the sole purpose of benefitting themselves personally and to the detriment of all Australians everywhere, irrespective of what their political views are. Telstra are using tens of millions of dollars in attempts to get rid of the coalition government (take a look at their 'advice to shareholders packages' sent to their 1.2 million shareholders and then think about if thats what they are doing so brazenly/overtly what else are they doing that isn't so obvious?) on the understanding that a Labour federal government would be their lap dog in terms of reversing recent decisions made by the ACCC and restoring the old monopoly (which was justified because it was 100% owned by the Federal government who operated it in the interests of all Australians) to what is now a purely commercial organisation whose only interest is to get rid of whatever competition has so painfully been built up since 1991 so they can raise prices. A bit too simplistically overstated and alarmist? I don't get alarmed easily - and I understand that there are a great many unknowns. I'm one step down from becoming alarmed. I also understand that I have zero ability to influence any end result (like so many Australians I will vote in an electorate that has, since Federation, never elected any candidate from a different party). Hopefully there will be enough people who remember the results of doctrinaire Labour policy implementations by Whitlam and Hawke and also remember the horrendous pain that was caused to so many Australians while they fiddled with their "social engineering". They might also remember that NO-ONE benefitted at all from their crazy attempts to engineer Australia into what the remaining union apparatchiks believe should be the new workers paradise. Trackbacks
Trackback specific URI for this entry
No Trackbacks
Comments
Display comments as
(Linear | Threaded)
I always find it interesting, being a 'young person', reading and hearing the political thoughts of older Australians whom have any fiscal sensibility. I have been taught (before reaching voting age) about past Labour disasters and as such my support lays on the right side of the fence, but I do not share the 'fear' that seems to be constant in 'older Australians whom have any fiscal sensibility'. I am worried this time, but I don't fear the opposite to optimal outcome. Perhaps one has to live through a Labour disaster in order to fear it? Could it be a universal belief among my generation that 'I will get through it' if it happens?
Anyway, like you John, the only thing I can do is make my contribution to the inevitable positive outcome in my electorate. I only hope those voting towards swinging seats stop and think why our government is able to use 'scare tactics' in the first place. Comments (2)
Living in Australia’s Capital city with wall to wall Labor except for a token Liberal Senator, and not having a Liberal MP since the 60’s there seems little point in voting here as we all know that Labor will keep its stranglehold. However our local daily newspaper “The Canberra Times” is so far to the left in its views that I have now stopped buying it.
Every time you opened the newspaper since the election was called and for a good few months before it the letters to the editor and most feature articles have been whining about how much better it would be with Labor in office. Well I think Labor will win the election and I agree with today’s Blog that those of us who can remember, still remember what happened to the economy the last time they were in power. Unfortunately those who didn’t go through the high mortgage rates could soon find themselves seeing what it was like and whilst I am now retired and have paid off my home loan my memory is still good enough to remember the pain and sacrifices that had to be made to keep up the monthly payments. Comment (1)
Gosh that Whitlam bugger was devious: He didn't just manage to cause a recession in Australia, he managed to do it to the Americans as well! That Bolshevik bastard managed to start a war between Israel and Lebanon, a pipeline disaster in Afghanistan and tripled the world oil price! Can't trust those reds, they've got agents spread throughout the globe.
Comment (1)
And Paul Keating obviously had the entire world under his thumb when the worldwide recession of the early 90s hit Australia, as well as most of the developed countries of the world.
What many people fail to grasp, is that the cooldown after-effects of that recession, were responsible for the low interest rates that we have were enjoying during the initial encumbrance of the Howard government, and not the policies of the Howard government. However, it's the policies and actions of the Howard government since they won power, that have caused the increasing interest rates which we are currently experiencing today, and which are proving so devastating to so many people. The reality is that we are headed for another recession before too long, for pretty much the same reasons as the "recession we had to have" back in the early 90s. And it will happen whether Labour wins the election, or not. The only fifference is that if Labour wins, the Libs will jump up and down ad-infinitum about how the Labour party screwed-up all the good work that the Howard government did, and if the Libs retain power, they will come up with a raft of excuses about how it was all due to outside influences, and so, not their fault. For a non-biased look at how and why the recession of the early 90s occurred, plus it's extent and effects, have a look at this lecture by Ian Macfarlane, former Governor of the Reserve Bank... http://www.abc.net.au/rn/boyerlectures/stories/2006/1769927.htm Comments (2)
I'm neither.
I'm a small businessman, who lived through the periods mentioned in John's blog. I prefer to base my opinions on my own memories, experience, and observations, rather than those of the popular press and the sheep-like attitudes of so many voters. (please note that the above comment is not aimed at you, John, or anyone, specifically) Comments (2)
|
Calendar
QuicksearchArchivesCategoriesBlog AdministrationExternal PHP Application |