I was hoping during the election campaign that the result would be close. That way the major parties could not so easily afford to ignore public opinion on key issues.
My wish came true but with unexpected results. Neither party achieved a majority, so Abbott and Gillard were forced to negotiate with the independents. Unfortunately only one of the independents, Bob Katter, is in any sense conservative.
It wasn't fun observing the rural independents using their immense bargaining power to push politics leftward. Someone described one of these independents, Rob Oakeshott, in a comment at this site as a "closet lefty". I disagree. He is openly left-wing.
At his website he describes his achievements as follows:
Along with a Labor MP (Graham Perrett MP) and a Greens MP (Senator Sarah Hanson-Young) I have helped re-establish the Parliamentarians Amnesty International Group ... I am also currently serving as the Australian Parliamentary Representative on the all-male ... Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Group of the United Nations Development Program that is working on strategies to minimise violence against women and girls within the region - from a male perspective. This has come about due to my involvement as a White Ribbon Ambassador within Australia ... and a belief that it is men who have to “man up” on matters in relation to domestic violence
(For the political bias of the White Ribbon campaign see here and here).
His comment on population policy is not entirely discouraging, as he believes that there are population pressures in parts of his electorate which need to be addressed. But he's coming at this issue from the left:
And specifically on immigration policy, I know there are many people who worry about issues in relation to asylum seekers, refugees, ‘illegal’ immigrants, ‘boat people’, or whatever descriptor you might currently be using. Being a recipient of most emails on this topic, and listening closely to ‘street-talk’, I am aware of a lot of incorrect information that is making its way into people’s ‘in-boxes’ on their computers, or is being sold as fact in the local pub.
I genuinely ask anyone who wants to get to the bottom of this challenging policy area, to contact our office ... for detailed information that might help with personal views. We have a number of factual resources that can help clarify a lot of the language used in this policy area (there really is no such thing as an ‘illegal immigrant’, or a ‘boat person’, for example), the true statistics, and the options that all policy-makers from all political persuasions are wrestling with.
He knows that his electorate is concerned about the illegal immigration issue but responds with the claim that he has "factual resources" which show that there "really is no such thing as an "illegal immigrant," or a "boat person."
It strikes me that although he might be independent in the sense of not belonging to a party, he is anything but independent when it comes to politics. He is very much embedded into the political class and its orthodox beliefs.
Nor is it at all surprising that he's installed Julia Gillard and the ALP into power. Isn't it predictable that someone from the left of politics would opt for the ALP?