and now, a brief and unprecedented political post

Well there we go. Saturday was exactly as I'd planned it yesterday - I got a new stereo for the car and it is SO cool. I went to vote. Meg came over for dinner and we watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

The one thing that I didn't anticipate was feeling quite emotional about the election results. I have a very poor grasp of politics beyond the rudimentary, and I'm sad to say I probably know a bit more about how the American system works because of the West Wing than I know about Australian politics (though I know a bit about local government through the excellent series Grass Roots that used to be on the ABC (what an indictment on me and my generation)). I'm just lazy I guess, but also I get frustrated by mudslinging and propaganda so I just switch off entirely during election campaigns.

But even I can see how amazing tonight's result is and the huge Labor margin has won by.

I am excited that we have a change of government. I think Kevin Rudd is a gracious and worthy man for the job, and I am glad he professes to be a Christian. I am happy that we have a man as Prime Minister who I won't be ashamed of as Australia's representative on the world stage (at least I hope I won't be). I'm glad we have a woman as Deputy Prime Minister (hey, it's a step forward).

And I'm under no illusions - I know that in Australia, although the parties would say they are vastly different, it's not as vast a gulf as in other parts of the world. It's not like we lose our liberty through a change in government. It's not as though we've had a new government forced upon us. It's not as though the vote is dependent on how much money you can throw at a candidate, or how many people can be bothered turning up to vote. We are so fortunate to live in a place that has so much freedom, where we all have the chance to cast our vote, and where no matter what the result (and despite its many flaws) we will still live in an amazing country.

Almost enough to make me sound vaguely patriotic. Huh.

poor little rich people

i hate election time. there's a state election coming up on the 24th of March and so the ABC news is full of stories about what the leaders of each party are up to.

their second story tonight showed the opposition leader, peter debnam, who was today in western sydney 'highlighting the plight' of those struggling with high land taxes. they interviewed a woman who owns four properties in NSW and a fifth in QLD, who was complaining that she had to sell a property because the land taxes were just too high.

oh, my heart bleeds for you.

i'm sorry for the sarcasm, but honestly, how can that be considered a 'plight' when there are so many people who can't even afford one house, let alone five? are we supposed to feel sorry for property investors who are 'forced' to put rents up because they can't afford their mortgages? when those of us who are renting, and paying out huge proportions of our wages to do so, have no other option, and when so many people can't even afford to rent? how can people muck around with other peoples' homes, as though they are just renting for the hell of it?

i know my understanding of the market and economics is woeful at best, but surely housing is a basic human right. wouldn't it be great if our society was geared around the concept that everyone had to have one place to live that was theirs, before anyone else could have more than one property? (yeah, okay, you don't need to tell me why that wouldn't work or that i'm secretly a communist...i just think it would be fairer than wealthy people (who consider themselves hard done by) bitching about land tax for no good reason)

i'll stop ranting now. it makes me mad, but it also makes me grateful that i belong to a loving God who will always look after me. it doesn't mean he'll have me living in a 3 storey mansion, but i've never wanted for food or a roof over my head.