Most of the mainstream media reported the election as if the contest between Labor and the Coalition actually represented different sides on the important issues of the day. However, most of the issues and ‘crises’ that were reported were entirely created for the purpose of distracting the public from the real crises we are facing.
Despite what the Coalition and much of the media kept telling us, there was no debt and deficit emergency – fact checks and the Coalition’s failure to have policies or to act in an emergency like fashion confirm this was a total beat up.
There was and is no border protection crisis never lone a national emergency – there is no real threat from the relatively small numbers of refugees that arrive here by boat.
As scientists have repeatedly pointed out, the real crises we face are dangerous climate change, biodiversity loss and other aspects of the global sustainability crisis.
The reality is that even though Labor had slightly better policies in terms of helping to protect our kids and grandkids from these crises neither the Coalition nor Labor had policies that would even come close to seeing Australia doing its fair share.
Neither the Coalition nor Labor was seriously committed to protecting the health and wellbeing of the children of today and tomorrow from these threats.
The Coalition was more committed to protecting the vested business and corporate interests in the coal, oil and gas sectors whose business plan involves the destruction of the planet as we know it.
Labor was more committed to protecting jobs in the mining and fossil fuel industries.
Thus the major parties were on the same page in effect when it came to protecting the coal, oil and gas sectors to the detriment of our kids and grandkids.
The only significant political party that was seriously committed to taking on the fossil fuel industry and protecting the children of today and tomorrow was the Greens and they were largely ignored by most of the media during the election campaign. Thus we were denied any real debate about the real crises our society faces from dangerous climate change, biodiversity loss and other aspects of the global sustainability crisis. Just as we were denied any real debate about the relative merits of the relevant policies.
Given the size and power of the fossil fuel industry’s advertising dollar it is not hard to see how all three major players in the election (the media, the Coalition, and Labor) were beholden to vested interests rather than being seriously committed to fulfilling their ethical duties to protect the children of today and tomorrow from preventable harm.
For how long will it remain acceptable to the Australian public that the media and the major political parties are beholden to vested interests that are directly counter to the best interests of our kids and grandkids?