For whom the bell tolls

The Campaign

Before commenting on who might win, I want to say a few words about four crucial issues that the major parties have ignored in the most shallow campaign of my life, convincing me that politicians and voters are not living on the same planet.

An Ageing Tsunami is about to hit Australia (and every other nation). Wayne Swan established a Treasury Panel that I chair, whose task it is to plan how Australia will meet the huge costs of Ageing, and what steps can be taken to turn Ageing into a social and economic asset. We had made considerable progress until Swan lost his job as Treasurer. Now, this potentially catastrophic issue has been neglected in the election campaign because Rudd does not want to highlight any good work done by Gillard or Swan, and it just doesn't seem to be an item of importance on the Abbott agenda. This is an extraordinary lapse by both of them and is a tragedy for Australia, as the Ageing Tsunami will hit us much harder than the GFC, particularly as our major trading partner, China, has a massive ageing problem that will severely retard its progress. Their one-child policy means that there are millions of families where ageing parents are living far longer than expected and they have produced only one child to replace them in the workforce. Japan will be hit hard, too, because they practice longevity better than any nation on earth. In our case, we are not likely to have a budget surplus again until 2040, such will be the impact of neglecting the impending crisis just to demean the long-term planning that Wayne Swan undertook with considerable wisdom.

Housing is in a lamentable state nationwide. There is a significant shortage of age-friendly housing, low cost rental housing and communal housing for people who are otherwise alone or are part of the growing list of homeless. The Property Industry is neglecting this very profitable business opportunity, while continuing to build traditional accommodation which is in oversupply and, therefore, largely unsold or not rented. The situation will be helped if the ALP and LNP pledge to stop negative gearing and use the tax savings to partner with developers in providing the real housing needs that I have outlined rather than the trendy housing that they build now.

The movement of freight all around our continent is appallingly inefficient and hugely overpriced, causing us to be highly uncompetitive. Yet, neither side of politics has a national freight policy or a plan to appoint a Minister of Freight to co-ordinate all forms of freight transport, create freight hubs and links, and fill the gaping holes in the system. Cost of living is a huge issue in this election, and it can be reduced significantly through wise and visionary investment in freight logistics.

Water is the Cinderella of all of Australia's resources, yet it has passed under the radar in this election, even though the nation badly needs drought and flood proofing as well as irrigation channels for new food bowls. Politicians reckon it is too hard an environmental task, too financially costly and not a vote winner. One day, a political party will see the light and plan to harness our water resources to make us the largest producer and exporter of food in the world. The candidates in this election are not those leaders, but we should remember that Andrew Robb has drawn-up a splendid water plan that Tony Abbott has ignored. I was proud to be a volunteer working with Andrew on this crucial challenge.

The Result

So, the winner is an uncertain future. But, then, there is no such thing as certainty in life, and we need tough times here and there to bring out the best in us. Those times are upon us now, but we do not have an Angela Merkel to put fire into our souls and lead us out of the wilderness.

The image I have of the Abbott campaign is that it seeks to take us back to the glory days of the past that we all know will never return. I don't have the feeling that the Coalition in its current form will launch us out into a brave new world and become leaders of change.

But, then, the image of the Rudd campaign is one of high drama, much rhetoric and little substance, with no clear goals that the voters can believe will happen, and much emphasis on covering-up the sordid facts behind the assassination of Julia Gillard. We really don't need emotional politics in our lives at this time. The call is for innovative management of the nation that is implemented with wisdom.

So, I will do what we all should do. Accept the winner, whoever it is, and give my full support for a full term, then make a highly critical judgment when I vote again. If we have been led nowhere, we must dispatch them to the darkest places.

In the meantime, the safest comment I can make is that if Tony Abbott doesn't win, he should be swabbed by the stewards. The election is his to lose.

I will take 'The Mad Monk' on trust and hope that he will lead us to 'the light on the hill' that Ben Chifley told us about 70 years ago. If he takes positive steps in that direction, the ALP should give him bipartisan support from the Opposition benches.