Election in the air

The WA State election is not worth getting excited about, not because we don’t appreciate democracy, but because there is nothing to vote for.  There is however a lot to vote against. 

I think this election will be very close, due to three factors; the arrogance and incompetence of the incumbent; the fact that State Parliaments tend to swing against the party who holds Federal Government, and that election was called with more than one sixth of the current term still to run.  Sadly, the only thing that is on par with the quality of the current Government administration is the opposition.

I should add that blind Freddy could run the current economy which is flushed with royalities from the resources boom.  Yet lots of ugly issues that may arise in the near future have yet to impart their full impact on the State.  These include the allegations currently under investigation by the CCC, the pending lawsuit over the Mandurah rail dispute, the crumbling of the public service, particularly in the key areas of health and education.  We are over-taxed, over regulated, and there is no incentive to take personal risk on business ventures.  Especially when basic services such as power, telecommunications, and an open trading environment cannot be extended to those who wish to try their hand at creating wealth and economic growth.

Saddest of all is that Bob Kucera will retire and not stand as an independent.  I would like to ask for some advice on who to vote for.  I took the one issue that means a lot to me, which is the ability to shop in a deregulated environment at my local supermarket on Sunday.  The Labour party has flip-flopped, and will only increase the anomoly by adding to the inconsistency in the current market with their policy announcement.  Not to be outdone, the Liberal party has released a one page policy statement that sets the record for the most inept and non-commital policy in the history of politics.  They have acknowledged that opinion is divided on the matter, and taken a wait and see approach towards doing nothing.  Sorry Michael Sutherland, but you can’t expect me to vote for you when your party produces crap like that.  In the meantime, could the candidate that supports full deregulation for Sunday trading please advise me so that I can cast my vote in your favour?

Notice also that both Labour and Liberal have taken daylight savings out of the election as a campaign issue……  Where is the distinction?  We have two bad options to choose from.

Politics in WA is just like the scene in Israel.  We are devoid of leadership and highly competent candidates who we can trust with the business of Government.