Mood:
sharpTopic: aust govt
The 7.30 Report politics package last night was dense with content including Peter Garrett stating ex Lib leader Mal Turnbull in his blog has belled the cat or tolled the bell or something (re climate policy ructions).
However the big Green Party by election vote surge especially in Higgins probably exposes the fused Lib-Lab position on climate change more than anything. As Bernard Keane on Crikey.com.au notes yesterday -10 years ago the Green vote would have been 5% even in a one major party contest. Either the Australian Democrats or a worthy independent would have taken the running, and the public funding - at a profit.
ABC psephologist Antony Green says in effect Green Party rhetoric is stupid, and hyperbolic, because the ALP vote simply transfered to the Greens in the by-elections, nothing to see here, all move on. We say Annoying Ant misses the point entirely - the faithful transfer of the ALP and no doubt other voters to the Green Party in tens of thousands is the big deal. It confirms The Greens as the real third party force and increasingly competitive to win a lower house seat. It also suggests they are a viable main Opposition in the future.
Meanwhile the big media obsess on ex Lib leader Mal Turnbull's blog, and that he will cross the floor in the lower house where his vote is entirely irrelevant on the strict numbers there. True there is big symbolism in Turnbull voting against his own party which might influence senators where the numbers do matter in Feb 2010 parliamentary return.
But the subtle inconsistency of the Big Media is clear: The symbolism of a huge primary vote for 'minor party' The Greens is 'hyperbole'. But the symbolism of Turnbull doing a blog is hard news? Fact is the ABC like the big media generally are rusted on to the two party system to the great disservice of democracy in Australia.
