at this stage i will be voting alp

pretty much always voted Liberal and the current government is deeply flawed, but if the election were held tomorrow I'd vote ALP.....why?

(1) the NBN will be for long term good, it's big picture and long term thinking, an investment lacking for the past couple of decades from other governments both state and Federal. Yes I'd like more transparency but the infrastructure should benefit the nation for many years to come, and Quigley is the right man for the roll out. Tony Abbott says he'd scrap it....what a negative, luddite wrecker he is. I do not believe wireless has the capacity, we need a fibre backbone linking up the nation. Turnbull knows this too but has no choice but to try and demolish the NBN by spreading misconceptions to people who don't understand technology.

(2) resource tax: unfortunately the policy was badly flawed but its intent was spot on: extract a larger take of revenue for the depletion of a finite resource. The tax should have been structured for true "superprofit" to reflect the risks miners face, nevertheless the fundamental idea was sound. BHP and RIO will make tens of billions from their iron ore operations over the next decade (with little risk), a resource they prevented other companies accessing through their rail network (built on Crown land). In defiance of ACCC and court directives. Nevertheless, the extra tax they will be paying now (as a result of the compromise) is a lot better than nothing (which was the Tony Abbott alternative).

(3) boat people and foreign aid: both parties are severely lacking. At least ALP has not (quite) sunk to the same depths as the Coalition in this regard. There is no flood of boat people! There does, however, need to be a rational discussion about immigration intake in general. Do we want a big Australia or not? Both parties seem hellbent on expanding our population, presumably because industry demands it.

The amount we spend in foreign aid is a VERY small fraction of our national wealth. The debate in the Liberal party to scrap aid to Indonesia is short sighted, mean spirited thinking...just from a security perspective (let alone a moral perspective) it's in our national interest to have an educated, not impoverished, non radical neighbour on our doorstep. John Howard was spot on to generously give after the Tsunami.

(4) carbon (dioxide) tax: time for some people to pull their heads out of the sand! a tax is inevitable, best we start to make the transition before it is imposed on us via other means (eg a punitive duty on all imports from Australia)....even Howard knew this and took an ETS type scheme to the 2007 election. People need to stop just voting with their hip pocket and think about the future. Is the current proposal ideal? Of course not, but it's a start. The government needs to get specific now, get an intelligent Treasurer and sell sell sell this idea to the electorate because it's vital to our future that we are not blindsided later. What exactly is Abbott's plan to reduce CO2 emissions? he did have a policy last year, has he chosen to walk away from it for expendiency? anything for a few extra votes hey Mr Abbott.



Unfortunately, Tony Abbott stands for nothing other than opposing. No vision. No scruples (okay, you could say the same about Gillard but kudos to her for attempting something politically unpopular). No reform agenda.

He did well last year in the election. Credit to him for being strong opposition. But as an alternative PM? No thanks, I prefer the current tripe. At least they have some vision, albeit poorly implemented.

The quality of Aussie politics is shocking. Where are the capable performers of the past? John Button, Peter Walsh, Keating, Costello. The current lot are a disgrace, that includes both sides of politics.

Take out Turnbull and Stephen Smith and there's barely a capable and decent one amongst the lot of them. Hopefully both parties have some young talent waiting on the backbench because this mob is underwhelming.

Unfortunately the 3 year electoral cycle and the lack of interest in politics has contributed to the tripe we now see. No one is interested in long term nation building, it's all "what's in it for me now?!". The dividend we reap as a nation will be we have very little to show for this resources boom. We dig up dirt, export it, then import it value added. We still live beyond our means even during the greatest commodity boom in history! Too much of our wealth is tied up in property that does not improve our long term standard of living. It's going to be a rude shock should the resource party ever end.

Time we started to invest in a big way in science and education, because that is what gives a country a true long term edge. Too bad no one looks beyond the next election. At least the ALP has still retained some of its convictions and has tried to take a few risks for what I believe it sees as the national interest. Populist, lowest common denominator policies will see us on a fast track to mediocrity.

I pray things improve before the next election.