Time for a real alternative
"Australians are sick to death of being conned by politicians", opposition leader Alexander Downer told the faithful at the September 5 launch of The Things That Matter. He's right. And the Liberals' broad policy direction statement is an attempt to do just that. This 104-page report is padded with motherhood statements and ambiguities on a range of social policy issues.
"We stand for more freedom in Australian life and for a more genuine sense of fairness for all Australians ... mass unemployment remains the single greatest issue confronting Australian society; and the social tragedy and economic cost it continues to cause are the greatest and most obvious failure of Labor's policies", said Downer. Most would agree with that, but what will the Liberals do to cut unemployment? Pretty much what Labor is doing: handouts to business and prayers for "recovery".
While mention is made of Australia's "unique" ancient history and the "unique" cultural traditions of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, two Liberal state governments, WA and SA, are currently challenging the federal government's already much watered-down Native Title Act in the High Court. The Liberals correctly note that real wages have fallen for the bottom 10% of income earners since Labor came into office, and yet their pro-business, anti-worker economic policies will do everything to continue to widen this gap.
The Things That Matter is an attempt to arrest the Liberals' dwindling support by pretending that they are more tuned in to what ordinary people want. It is a cynical exercise in conning people into believing that the Liberals really are an alternative to the Labor Party.
Downer has carefully avoided spelling out any detailed policies, although he promises to release full policy statements before the next election. But some economists are bluntly advising him that economic policies should only be revealed after an election. Having lost the "unlosable" 1993 federal election, the Liberals are aware of the risk of articulating their economic policy. The public reacted negatively to promises of more economic "rationalism". Because Labor had already stolen much of their economic policy — including privatisation, cuts to the public sector and tax breaks for the rich — the Liberals were forced to pitch even further right just to distinguish themselves from Labor.
Given that the two major parties have such similar economic policies, the next federal election could be fought around social issues such as gay law reform, protection of the environment, the republic and women's rights, where Labor believes it can distinguish itself from the Coalition — as long as the Coalition parties continue to be stuck with their socially conservative image. The Things That Matter is a crude attempt by the Liberals to change their image on the social policy front.
But the politics of charade can go only so far. We need a real political alternative to the two-party con game. People are sick of the lies, the rhetoric, the posturing and the platitudes from both major parties. It is impossible to bring in progressive social policies without progressive economic policies to back them up. This is why Labor's stand on native title, gay law reform and equal opportunity for women, to mention just a few important issues, falls far short of the mark.
Left and progressive forces, including greens, socialists and all democratically minded people, should be seeking ways to unite to fill the vacuum to the left of Labor — as did the progressive forces united in the New Zealand Alliance. The growing popularity of the Alliance, which eclipsed the Labour Party in the recent Selwyn by-election, demonstrates the popularity of policies that are socially just and reject privatisation and austerity. That kind of alternative would be popular in Australia as well.