Voice for the Voiceless

1:43 PM, 11/3/2010 .. 0 comments .. Link

Yesterday, with great sadness, I heard about the untimely passing of Dr Paul Collier, lead candidate for the Dignity 4 Disabled party in the Legislative Assembly at the 2010 State Election. I had the pleasure of knowing Paul during the years of 2002-2005 (approximately), when we were both members of the ALP. Paul was an immensely intelligent individual, who through an unfortunate accident, was deprived of the use of his legs, and severely impaired use of his arms. I distinctly remember the difficulty Paul had in completing simple tasks, such as writing and drinking a drink. He never complained though. Nor did he allow his disability to prevent him from completing his doctorate at Oxford, or from being a passionate voice on disabled issues. Alas, after a short period of time, Paul realised that the ALP was no longer an effective vessel for achieving outcomes for the vulnerable. It must be asked, if the ALP doesn’t speak for people like Dr Collier anymore, who do they speak for?

Over my years of involvement in the ALP, I have witnessed the coming and going of many passionate, compassionate, intelligent people. They arrive bright eyed and optimistic, before being indoctrinated and then ultimately disillusioned. The speed of the cycle varies, depending upon the individual circumstances of the member. My cycle only came to an end mid last week, when I dropped my resignation off at party headquarters, after years of threatening to do that very act. Paul was much quicker to see through the lofty rhetoric of lights on hills and so on. I suppose he had much more tangible evidence of the failings of the ALP to make a difference to his life. Having strong beliefs in any particular area does not bode well for lasting in the ALP for the long term. It is only a matter of time before one is faced with the decision, compromise or quit. For this reason, the cohort of members that actually reach the promised land of Parliament generally tend to be the bottom dwellers, the yes men, the careerists. If they haven’t abandoned all they believe in before taking their Parliamentary oath, then they soon will. There are exceptions of course. I would cite Nick Champion and Amanda Rishworth as MPs who slipped through the net. Overall, however, the Parliamentary population is filled with people who prefer the pursuit of power over the fulfilment of an ideal.

Given that the majority of ALP members of Parliament (it is probably same with the Liberals) have compromised their beliefs to get to where they are, it is no surprise that they don’t hesitate in continuing such behaviour once they have gotten there. There are some restrictions on their behaviour, such as factional or union loyalties and the feeble toothless tiger that is ALP State Convention. Some might say that I am being overly harsh. To those naysayers, I would ask this; when was the last time you saw an ALP member put their own beliefs before their career? Look at the WorkCover debate in South Australian Parliament. For all the hurly burly and huffing and puffing, no one was willing to cross the floor, despite many MPs spending their entire lives before the vote campaigning against the changes they were voting on. One could argue that industrial relations are to the ALP what the Virgin Mary is to Catholicism. If you are not willing to crucify yourself for that, when will you? I am sure that many MPs felt extremely conflicted about their decision, but ultimately, not conflicted enough. One could argue that the Keating reforms of the 80s were the first nail in the coffin of the ALP’s traditional beliefs. Irrespective of when the ALP stopped being the voice for the voiceless, it cannot be disputed that there are growing numbers of traditional supporters that now feel disenfranchised. It could be argued that neither of the major parties really stand for anything, but are merely different teams playing the same sport. Personality of leaders is now the main consideration, along with the effectiveness of whatever policies each side cooks up from the ether based on statistical analysis of electorates and phone polling.

What we have seen in recent years is the emergence of the Greens as a major political force. I think there emergence is a result of a number of causes. Firstly, the ALP has abandoned much of its left leaning policy, in return for obtaining a slice of the Liberal voting pie. They have accepted this trade off because Green preferences return to the ALP anyway. In coming years, however, the Greens may garner such a big slice of ALP pie that they are no longer a minor party but rather a third force. Secondly, there is no disputing what the Greens stand for. Everyone knows they are the crazy environmental party, and they make no bones about it. As of yet they have not needed to compromise their beliefs one iota. They are unlikely to form government in the foreseeable future, and so it is unlikely they will have to compromise any time soon. The third reason for their popularity is the obvious increase in importance of environmental issues, and the perceived Government inaction on climate change policy. Over the next ten years, the two major parties are going to have to consider what they truly believe in, or risk being overtaken by coalitions of Independents and Greens seeking to make their voices heard. It is only a matter of time before the public asks; if the ALP and Liberals both stand for the same thing, why do we need both of them?