It's a no-holds-barred race to the bottom with Scott Morrison receiving praise for "doing things" while Shorten is attacked for being Shorten; Clive Palmer has paid his way back into political relevance without ever having to pay his workers; and Pauline Hanson's One Nation is competing with the Liberal party for the highly coveted title Most Trash Candidates Nominated in a Single Election.
There is a deeply concerning perception problem in Australian politics, and this has been the case for some time. Many seem to think that the Labor and Liberal parties are essentially the same. In policy; personnel; propensity to knife a sitting Prime Minister; thousands, if not millions, of Australians believe that they could not be more similar. Only, they're not.
The commercialisation of Anzac Day goes far beyond whichever advertising executive will shit the bed on April 25 with a tone-deaf attempt to cash in on the "ANZAC Spirit". This is a day which has become a battleground for right-wing culture warriors desperate to exploit the boozed-up bogans eager to defend 'Straya in the trenches of focused and persistent online abuse.
Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is expected to hand down the first surplus in a decade on Tuesday, and according to the Coalition, this is a key sign of a flourishing economy. Despite this, Blacktown Hospital is so critically underfunded that entire wards are remaining closed due to the lack of staff, and staff across the state have claimed that it’s not the only hospital facing such a desperate shortage.
After any electoral defeat, there is always a brief period of analysis where blame is attributed to anyone foolish enough to be involved in politics, with major parties and candidates turning their focus outward because of course it's the fault of everyone but themselves.
Blacktown Hospital is so critically underfunded that entire wards are being closed due to the lack of staff, and it's not the only NSW hospital facing such a desperate shortage. Very few NSW voters would be shocked to hear that the staffing levels in hospitals are inadequate, but the reality of the situation suggests that NSW Health is on the brink of collapse.
Anyone who has spent more than five minutes in politics is very aware of "dirt units", and how the major parties deploy lies, gossip, and spin against opponents and smaller parties that are posing a threat. Furthermore, all claims of preference deals are false, voters make the choice as to where and how preferences flow and have done in NSW since 2003.
The debate around drug use in NSW has gone beyond a joke. We've hit a point where the Premier and her government would rather see young people die than consider sensible policy.
Last year, I tried to offer a white, male perspective on the issue of January 26, because I saw that there was clearly a market for Caucasian mediocrity in the "sensible Centre". Let's try this again.
On a scale of one to ten, Australian politics in 2018 has been a steaming pile of shit. And that's putting it mildly. We've seen yet another LibSpill; Senators openly pining for the policies of the Nazi Party; the government supporting white supremacy; and Bill Shorten still hasn't found a way to make people like him.
