En Passant

Week one (or should that be weak one?) of good government in Australia has gone well hasn’t it? After his near death experience in the party room meeting last Monday when 39 of his own colleagues out of 100 voted for none of the above in a leadership ballot – ah OK, it was a spill motion to declare Abbott’s position as Prime Minister vacant – it has been all up, up and away for the good government that Abbott then promised. And what a choice at the next election: Tzetze Tony or Belly-laugh Bill. Both are neoliberal necrophiliacs. Our task remains to build an alternative to these conjoined neoliberal twins.

Here is a Prime Minister who has lied to one of his own about a $20 bn Government submarine contract to help keep himself in power. That no doubt is what good government is all about.

If he lies to his own party backbenchers, imagine what he does to us?

Me? Instead of wasting $20 bn on submarines, I’d use the money to fix public hospitals, public schools and the health system. Throw in the $24 bn on fighter jets and we could end homelessness too, improve public transport and move towards 24 hour child care facilities. With that sort of money we could easily make higher education free as well. We could even begin addressing a very real threat, climate change. I guess however good government is about priorities.