Wowsers, what a week.
If voters were disillusioned in the
2010 election (as evidenced by an 11.75% vote for minor party The Greens and Labor
scraping through the election with a minority government) then 2013 looks set
for another free-for-all of Independents and minor parties sticking their feet
in the door for dem seats, seeing as the major parties seem to be all in a
kerfuffle. One such minor party that has consistently been in the public eye for
over a decade is One Nation; a group that promotes conservative nationalistic
ideals (with some surprising policy amendments recently.)
Image from the One Nation website.
W... wait, $10 doesn't equal free.
Already your fiscal policies seem suspect...
Although popularity for the party has dropped drastically
since 1998, from 8-9% of the House of Reps and Senate vote down to a meagre
0.2-0.6% in the last Federal Election, interest will inevitably peak in coming
2013 polls now that Pauline Hanson has rejoined the ranks.
Image from the One Nation website.
Ever the investigative reporter, I thought I would delve
into the One Nation political platform and review a few of the policies Australia
would be seeing implemented should One Nation gain significant headway in the Federal
Election later this year. (Note: Take this analysis as a synecdoche of all
minor parties and Independents on offer this year for the Senate and the House
of Reps. I encourage viewers to spend some time researching and analysing other
political parties to foster constructive political debate leading up to the
coming election, of policies vs personalities. Elections only come around every
three years, make them count for your tax dollar and send the right people into
government to do the things that need doing properly.)
WHO ARE ONE
NATION?
One Nation was a party initially founded in 1998 to promote
Australian-owned business and protest government support of foreign workers and
the race-based welfare system available to Indigenous Australians. Their
policies focussed on insular nationalistic ideals in place of diversity and
growth through immigration and a globalised trade market.
Riding on the social zeitgeist of the time that
Asianisation of Australia was growing uncontrollably and that local jobs were
being lost to overseas workers and investors, One Nation managed to clock up
over 22% of the statewide Queensland vote.
Party Leader Pauline Hanson’s maiden speech to the House
of Representatives received wide media coverage and public discussion at the
time. She has since remained in the peripherals of the political scene, with several
failed election attempts over the years after branching out to form Pauline’s
United Australia Party, before her return to One Nation earlier this year.
YEAH, BUT LIKE,
REALLY… WHO ARE ONE NATION?
One Nation is a conglomerate of semiliterate Anglophonic Gen-X
Christians who rank workforce skills training over academic studies and avoid interacting
with communities of cultural difference, chirping “They took our jerbs!” at
anyone >12 on the Von Luschan chromatic scale of skintone. They wish to
construct a Rabbi-proof fence around Australian borders, equip our navy with a
fleet of armed sea-vessels and maintain a nationalistic society, free from the cultural
scourge of Muslim, Asian, African or any other lifestyle tainting.
Image from the One Nation website.
Startlingly, this broad description fits a large number of political parties in
Australia; so by further comparison we can define One Nation as having a
slightly less astute sense of super-egotistical campaigning shame than, say:
the Liberal, National, Liberal National, Australian Christian, Family First, Australian
Stable Population or
No Carbon Tax
Climate Sceptics parties. (I would still argue that One Nation is a far
more sensible option than the Australia First, Christian Democratic or Katter’s
Australian parties.)
One Nation’s ideology is a blatant mimicry of right-wing
American propaganda, much like an annoying younger toddler who tries to tag
along with their older sibling’s friends on outdoor ventures and ends up being
a constant burden of naïveté and incompetent ability along the way. Much like
the American Right Wing, One Nation repeatedly offers download links to the
Australian Constitution. No introduction or abridged party commentary on it,
just here… have a copy of the Australian Constitution, everybody. Free
download! Woo! Constitutionnnnn!
Image from the One Nation website.
http://sa.onenation.com.au/heather.htm
Just as Obama’s birth certificate was a constant point of question from
his detractors, One Nation questions the validity of Julia Gillard as Prime
Minister:
“A person holding citizenship or rights
of citizenship in a foreign country (including UK) is ineligible to be a member
of the Senate or House of Representatives… The question is: "Has Julia
Gillard renounced British citizenship in proper form and has the renunciation
been registered?"”
Yes. The answer to that question is yes. You should have been able to find
that answer rather quickly from a number of easily accessible sources.
Image from the One Nation website.
http://sa.onenation.com.au/austflag.htm
The name ‘One Nation’ derives from the lyric ‘One Nation
Under God’ from the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. Numerous images and gifs
of the Australian flag are plastered across the One Nation party websites,
along with paragraphs of in-depth flag-based history.
They also include an anonymous poem
written in the first person by the Australian flag as it recalls
patriotic experiences over the last century of Australian history.
Image from the One Nation website.
http://www.nsw.onenation.com.au/Slimdusty.flv
The NSW website includes a tribute music video to Slim
Dusty, full of European settlement imagery, diggers holding the Australian
flag, hot blonde chicks wrapped in the Australian flag, happy White Australian
families waving the Australian flag, slowly-undulating close-ups of the
Australian flag…
Image from the One Nation website.
You may also notice a prominent image of Abraham Lincoln,
with a quote beside it reading
“You cannot build character and courage
by taking away man’s initiative and independence.”
-Abraham Lincoln
A quick Google reveals that this quote is not actually
from Abraham Lincoln, rather from a pamphlet written by Presbyterian Minister
William Boetcker in 1916, which included Abraham Lincoln quotes on one side and
his own statements on the other.
“It matters not to
us in Australia that he was an American president, for what we are faced with
today is in essence not all that dissimilar to that (sic) Lincoln himself was
confronted with…”
Despite the fact that Lincoln never actually said the quote
at all, I believe that he led The American Union through a Civil War in the
1860s against Southern Confederate states, eventually abolishing slavery laws.
This is ENTIRELY dissimilar to an Australian political party campaigning for
tougher immigration laws and less foreign investment for a 2013 Commonwealth
nation.
“… and those that do not learn from
history are doomed to repeat it.”
Those that do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it? This coming from the
supporters of Pauline Hanson, who was an unsuccessful candidate in the 1998 QLD
state election, 2001 Federal election, 2003 NSW state election, 2004 Federal
election, 2007 Federal election and 2009 QLD state election.
Image from the One Nation website.
One Nation also quotes The Declaration Of Arbroath, a
Scottish letter to the Pope in 1320 confirming Scottish independence and
asserting themselves as their own kingdom against the reigning monarch. This
seems to clash with One Nation’s strong anti-Republic, pro-monarchist, pro-Union
Jack messages throughout their websites.
The party seems to be rather overloaded with vague patriotic rhetoric and contempt for current government laxness in areas of foreign policy and the Australian workforce.
“Our government
instead is intent on selling all of our assets in contemptuous disregard for
you and Australian sovereignty. Their policies sending (sic) a huge
portion of the population into poverty and despair.”
Um, Australia currently has the 5th highest per capita income in the
world, and has the 12th largest economy despite only taking up 0.1%
of the global population. We are ranked 2nd in the world on the
Human Development Index, a composite
statistic of life expectancy, education, and income. This is far from
poverty and despair. Why, it sounds like the complete opposite.
Image from the One Nation website.
SO WHY SHOULD I
VOTE FOR ONE NATION?
Just because a party is founded on a few crackpot issues
you don’t agree with, doesn’t mean every policy they espouse is going to go
against common sense, contradict your political beliefs or be a completely
outlandish and impractical idea of change to current systems in place. I’ll
save those ones for later. One Nation has a fairly substantial policy base
covering a wide area of issues affecting Australian society, outlined on their
South Australia website:
- Commonwealth
Parliament
- Communications,
Information Technology & Arts
- Defence &
Security
- Education,
Science & Training
- Employment &
Workplace Relations
- Energy &
Mining
- Environment
- Family &
Community Services
- Health
- Immigration
& Customs
- Industry,
Manufacturing, Business & Tourism
- Law &
Justice
- Primary
Industries
- Review of
Discriminative Policy
- Seniors in
retirement
- Superannuation
& Finance
- Taxation And
Finance
- Trade &
Treaties
- Transport
- Water*
* “One Nation
believes water so important that it should have its own portfolio”
I’ll start off by highlighting some of the One Nation policies
that I found surprisingly positive and constructive for Australian society: (You know, going from briefest to longest and all.)
GAY MARRIAGE
http://vic.onenation.com.au/review.htm
“Although One Nation neither supports nor
opposes same sex union, we believe that the decision to enter into a
relationship is not one the government should make.
POLICY: ONE NATION WILL REPEAL CURRENT DISCRIMINATIVE LEGISLATION
One Nation will
repeal all current discriminative legislation in order to protect the rights of
all Australians. We believe all Australians have the right to choose how they
live provided no harm comes to others.”
In case you weren’t aware, Kevin Rudd supported Philip Ruddock’s Marriage Amendment
Act 2004 which states:
“
Marriage
means the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others,
voluntarily entered into for life. Certain unions are not marriages. A union
solemnised in a foreign country between: (a) a man and another man; or (b) a
woman and another woman; must not be recognised as a marriage in Australia.”
In a 2007 press interview, Rudd is quoted as saying:
“I have a pretty basic view on this, as reflected in the
position adopted by our party, and that is, that marriage is between a man and
a woman.”
Subsequent Labor leader and Prime Minister Julia Gillard similarly re-asserted
the party’s policy against same sex marriage.
Mere months ago in September 2012, Rudd again failed to vote in support of the
Same-Sex Marriage bill put to parliament. Only in May 2013 did Rudd suddenly backflip
on his streak of not supporting gay marriage, right before backflipping again
on prior comments that he would not be challenging Labor leadership.
In a March 2013 radio interview with Kyle and Jackie O, Pauline Hanson proclaimed:
“The fact is I don't agree with gay marriages, or gays adopting
children or [having] in vitro fertilisation.” Months later in June, she
announced she was rejoining One Nation, a party that now has a policy in
support of repealing discriminatory marriage laws. Does Pauline Hanson not thus
display the qualities of our nation’s Labor leaders Rudd and Gillard,
justifying Pauline a shot at the top position too? Furthermore, is One Nation
not more progressive in their stance on gay marriage than every other major
party at this point in time?
FIREARM REGULATIONS
http://vic.onenation.com.au/defence.htm
“Controls on
importing assault weapons, a registry for gun owners with mandatory background
checks and serial numbers, flagging those with a criminal record and destroying
weapons used in a crime.”
Wow, I must have been wrong comparing One Nation to right-wing American political groups. That… that sounds like a completely sensible and viable gun ownership policy.
Image from the One Nation website.
DAMS AND CATCHMENTS
http://vic.onenation.com.au/water.htm
“Water is the only
resource that Australia lacks; therefore it is essential to conserve this
valuable commodity.”
POLICY: ONE NATION
WILL CONDUCT A SERIES OF FEASIBILITY STUDIES ON WATER CATCHMENT and STORAGE ON
THE FOLLOWING PROJECTS
One Nation goes on to list, like, two dozen different rivers, flood basins
and water sources around Australia. It’s a pretty decent review of plans for
each affected area.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND FITNESS
http://vic.onenation.com.au/education.htm
“A national sports
program will teach children the values of physical activity, the values of
teamship and provide children with the lifelong skills of healthy nutrition and
diets to invest in their long term health. As part of the healthy living
culture, the drug culture will not be condoned or tolerated in our schools or
colleges. Teachers will be trained to teach children the negative outcomes
associated with drugs.”
This seems like a positive way of combatting the ever-rising epidemic of
hyper-chemicalised foods, unhealthy eating habits and obesity levels in
children these days. (However, recent events would suggest that trying to teach
kids an Australian sporting culture whilst also trying to teach kids that drug
taking is not to be tolerated, kind of sends mixed messages…)
JUVENILE DELIQUENCY
“Juvenile justice,
for those who qualify, involves giving our youth who front the courts a last
chance before prison. Mixing black and white males and females together in a
skills training program on an isolated property near Tingha in NSW was a huge
success but the government pulled the funding when the program trainers found
that a mere $200,000 was not enough when it went over budget, only needing
$350,000 or so to work. Most of the training programs and equipment are
provided by local industries i.e. panel beaters, mechanics, retail stores,
light industry manufacturing and rural, etc. One Nation would get it going
again under a new program.”
For a party consistently referred to as racist as backward, they sure seem
to support a racial mix for troubled youths engaging in a rehabilitative skills
training program.
Image from the One Nation website.
lol, I'm not even kidding.
AUSTRALIAN HISTORY EDUCATION
http://vic.onenation.com.au/education.htm
“Aboriginals are
part of the Australian landscape and were settled on Australian soil before the
first white settlers. History would include all facets of past Australian
history including discovery, politics, inventions, sport, ANZACS and other
conflicts, the arts and further areas that have impacted Australia as we know
it today. The school system should seek to provide literacy and numeracy, and a
much more generalised knowledge and skills base, which would enable students to
graduate with the ability to accommodate a wide range of occupational futures.
Additional features should include life skills, including parenting, work
environments and social responsibilities. Attracting male teachers back into
the occupation, so that numbers equal those of female teachers. One Nation will
change the education system to encourage responsibility and self-discipline and
skills in line with employment opportunities.”
Okay, I honestly believe that opening line is
*attempting* to be as respectful as a One Nation party member can muster,
inadvertently failing to understand the offensiveness of using ‘Aboriginals’ as
a plural noun and the potentially dismissive undertone of the phrase ‘part of
the landscape’. The rest of this policy sounds like a genuinely proactive
ambition to train up future generations in pertinent life skills to equip them
for the Australian employment market, and provide
more positive male role models to boys during
their developmental stages.
Image from the One Nation website.
PHARMACEUTICALS
http://vic.onenation.com.au/health.htm
“One Nation
believes in the restoration of the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories, to enable
us to retain an alternative to the market exploitation of multinational drug
companies. This
would provide us with an indication of the real cost of drug production.”
I’ve watched enough Michael Moore to not trust those big pharmaceutical
corporations in their drug pricing. Stick it to the maaaaan, man!
URANIUM
http://vic.onenation.com.au/energy.htm
“One Nation opposes
the sale of uranium yellow cake and will process it into fuel rods, leasing
them for electricity generation with by products to be returned for
re-processing.”
One Nation is pro-uranium program and pro-nuclear energy. Considering that
Australia has 31% of global uranium stores, I think having a nuclear energy
policy in consideration is important for any party in Australia. I also
appreciate that One Nation aims to at least not help arm the Iranians, but
rather fuel an awesome submarine fleet. (Mentioned later.)
Image from the One Nation website.
HMM, SO I
SHOULD VOTE FOR ONE NATION?
Ha. Good, now that I’ve accomplished a minimum criterion
of balance in representing the party as a somewhat humanised and legitimate
political group, allow me to toss that all into the mincer and really sink my
teeth into the juicy flesh of hilarious ridiculousness that is the One Nation
party.
One Nation has several affiliated state websites
outlining their policies, core beliefs, political inspirations and aspirations.
These websites are an absolute eyesore, looking like something out of a 1998
online spam business; with flashing two-frame gifs, highlighted bold
capitalised text, corny clip art images and slowly-scrolling banners. (The
South Australian website boasts a terrifying 500,000+ hits. There are 1 million
South Australians enrolled in the state.)
Here are some basic typos to be found on the official party-endorsed
pages. (I lost count of all the improper use of capital letters.)
http://vic.onenation.com.au/Equality.htm
“NO FUEL EXISE” (excise)
“NO SUPERANUATION TAXES” (superannuation)
“WELCOME TO THE 21ST CENTUARY” (century)
“Initiatives that
rank highly on One Nation's list of priorities are… the reigning in of crime
and ferrel behaviour.” (reining in, feral behaviour).
http://sa.onenation.com.au/
“… there would be approximately
$20Million people who would love to come to Australia to be feathered down with
our social security system.”
- Ron Maclean
(Apparently dollar amounts are now a legitimate unit of
measurement for counting people.)
But the stupidity doesn't stop with a basic failure in spelling, grammar or making sense:
“Perhaps it is time
that the two Party preferred system was overturned and the minor Parties be
looked at. Many of these have policies that are put there for us, the
people of this Great Country. Maybe they aren't ready to Govern but they just
might do as Don Chipp used to say "Keep the bastards honest".”
Haha, yeah, that Democrat Don Chipp certainly seemed to know what he was
talking about.
Vote
#1:
Democrats! And just to make sure it’s clear, folks… One Nation is
NOT READY TO GOVERN. Let’s just keep taking cracks at those who do.
“The policies of
the Greens would destroy the fabric of Australian society, but are totally
irresponsible, and would take us back to the laws of the jungle and Tarzan.”
Hahahahaha. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Ahhh, you’re good. You are *good*.
PARTY LEADER JIM
SAVAGE
Now to current party leader, Jim Savage, the QLD
candidate for One Nation.
http://www.onenationqld.com.au/
Image from the One Nation website.
Jim is a businessman “who works primarily in the Resource
Industry currently engaged in exploration works in Papua New Guinea.” (Comments
on his webpage reveal that this is in oil mining.) As an example of his sterling
character, on June 25th 2013 he commented:
“I believe Islam is the biggest threat to
the civilised world. We let these 15th century barbarians in at our own risk.”
He also commented on April 24th 2013 that “We openly oppose gay marriage.”
This directly goes against the previously mentioned
policy that One Nation is neither for nor against gay marriage, but would
support a bill allowing it in Australia. Which one are we to believe?
Jim Savage has a bucket list for 2013, which includes
“closed borders”, “English only” language for Australia and a culture that is “our
country and the law of the land”.
My Bucket List 2013:
HERE IS ALL I WANT
Gillard: Gone!
Craig Thompson: Gone!
Three "Independents": Gone!
Put "GOD" back in Australia!
Borders: Closed!
Government: Obey its own laws NOW!
Language: English only
Schools to sing our National Anthem each day
Culture: Our Constitution, and the law of the Land!
Drug Free: Mandatory
Drug Screening before Welfare!
NO freebies to Non-Citizens!
We the people are coming!
One day after typing this out, Gillard was Gone! and two
out of three Independents were Gone! Boy, that Bucket List was ticking up
several successes already. Unfortunately, I am still unable to find ‘God’ in
‘Australia’ and have a feeling that ‘the law of the Land’ is very different to
the laws outlined in the Constitution.
Image from the One Nation website.
On a different note, can you imagine singing the National Anthem every day of
your school life? That’s 280 times a year, for 13 years… 3,640 times all up. We
were sick of Gangnam Style after the fifth playing. You’d have a national riot
on your hands if you made every schoolkid sing the national anthem every freaking
day, Jim.
Next topic along, our school curriculum currently has
Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, Classical Greek, Classical Hebrew, Croatian, Dutch,
Filipino, French, German, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese,
Khmer, Korean, Latin, Macedonian, Malay, Maltese, Modern Greek, Modern Hebrew,
Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish, Tamil,
Turkish, Ukrainian and Vietnamese available for the HSC. You seriously think these
34 different ethnic groups, representing about 1/6th of Australians
who speak a second language at home, are going to be fine with having their
language study option stripped from schools?
For comments such as this one, I am not even going to
*bother* addressing the socially ethical givens and basic impracticality of One
Nation’s xenophobic attitudes. I assume readers of this will relate and we can
move on with a deadpan dismissive eyeroll.
Oh, but before I move on, I believe it is worth mentioning that Jim Savage,
leader of the One Nation party espousing closed borders, English-only language
and all-Australian patriotism, has a wife and two children who appear to be
rather of South East Asian descent. Like, it makes this all seem to be an
elaborate ruse for Jim to not have to have the in-laws around for dinner.
Image from the One Nation website.
(Did NOT see that one coming, did you?)
ONE NATION POLICY STATEMENTS
Let us now have a brief review of the entire One Nation
package of ludicrous policies:
http://onenation.com.au/votingtrends.htm
http://nsw.onenation.com.au/policy.htm
http://vic.onenation.com.au/commonwealth.htm
http://vic.onenation.com.au/communications.htm
http://vic.onenation.com.au/custom.htm
http://vic.onenation.com.au/defence.htm
http://vic.onenation.com.au/education.htm
http://vic.onenation.com.au/energy.htm
http://vic.onenation.com.au/environment.htm
http://vic.onenation.com.au/family.htm
http://vic.onenation.com.au/health.htm
http://vic.onenation.com.au/law.htm
http://vic.onenation.com.au/primary.htm
http://vic.onenation.com.au/seniors.htm
http://vic.onenation.com.au/taxation.htm
http://vic.onenation.com.au/trade.htm
http://vic.onenation.com.au/transport.htm
http://vic.onenation.com.au/water.htm
TAXATION AND
FINANCE
“One Nation
proposes a finance, bank and tax review, replacing the GST with a complete
reform of the tax system… It will supply the necessary revenue for full
financial support of the Australian Government… There is only one collector,
the National Treasury and only one minuscule tax rate (1%) for all… the
Transaction Tax system is the most efficient tax system ever devised by man to
fund the National Treasury of any developed nation.”
Yes, I’m sure that’s why so many developed nations have adopted it so
eagerly.
“Previous Reserve
Bank of Australia figures indicated that Australians deposited & withdrew
monies that when multiplied by a 1% Transaction Tax realised around 480 billion
dollars of income.”
Actually, Reserve Bank of Australia figures May 2012- April
2013 indicate that our total cheque transactions, credit card and debit card
exchanges equalled $13.27 trillion.
http://www.rba.gov.au/statistics/tables/index.html
Add to this 12 months of ATM withdrawals equalling $148 billion and we
get $13.42 trillion in taxable Transactions. If you taxed this amount at 1%, the
government would only manage a Federal revenue of $134.2 billion.
Wayne Swan’s recent 2013 Federal Budget was for $398
billion. Your Tax would only finance 1/3
rd of what treasurer Swan proposed as a budget required
to fund the country properly. This may have something to do with why we
currently have a 10% Goods and Services Tax and other income and import taxes
in place. Because that system actually works. Also, did I mention that this 1%
tax scheme is precisely the same as an anti-Obama ‘Debt Free America’ tax
proposed by ‘
a single congressman’ from Pennsylvania, ‘
which has no support
from any other member of Congress’ and ‘
a 0% chance of being enacted’.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/taxes/debtfree.asp
COMMUNICATIONS, I.T. AND THE ARTS
ONE NATION WILL LEGISLATE NO FOREIGN
OWNERSHIP (more than 49%) OF THE COMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY BY 2018.
Since 2002, ‘foreign proposals involving portfolio shareholdings of 5% or
more must be submitted for examination’. For pay tv, two or more foreign
investors cannot own more than 35% in a company. For newspapers this is limited
to 30% and for free-to-air tv this is limited to 20%.
Telstra has a foreign ownership restriction of no more than 35% of non-government-owned
shares. Singaporean-owned Optus seems to be the only company that this policy seems
applicable to. We have 3 Optus satellites providing remote areas with coverage.
We have numerous Optus earth stations in major cities. We have 2 British
Inmarsat earth stations serving the Indian Ocean and Pacific Region. We have 10
UK/US owned Intelsat earth stations serving the Indian Ocean and Pacific
Region. But oh, let’s just monopolise the telecommunications industry with our
superior Australian services under Tony Abbott’s national broadband system.
DEFENCE AND SECURITY
“One Nation will
ensure security of our vast coastline and territorial waters, we will scrap the
Collins class submersible boats, and replace them with modern submarines with
stealth, endurance and lethality, capable of patrolling submerged and
undetected, providing pure offensive devastating fire power.”
Gee, wonder who you’ll be trialling those lethal submarine fleets out on…
“One Nation will
introduce a sound, competitive industrial manufacturing base as a key element
of the national defence effort. With defence equipment and supplies
manufactured in Australia preferable by Australian owned companies. Support
sea, land and air based weapon system and platform upgrades and supplements
that meet a national defence need. Support the implementation of credible
air-defences for all force elements and sites defined as vital and key assets.
Decentralise and duplicate defence needs manufacturing plants, vital stores and
defence assets. Reintegrate a continuous and rotational-based war stores and
stocks program.”
I’m sure your 1% universal taxation policy will fund all of this just fine,
along with the free Medicare, irrigation schemes, energy production, pharmaceutical
industry and other costly policies listed here.
“One Nation is resolute that women shall not be conscripted to engage in combat
on or near front lines. We are opposed to the conscription of women for
combat for a host of reasons; suffice to say here that those that do support it
are largely ignorant of the reality and brutality of war and inconsiderate of
our servicemen and women.”
Considering that the Australian Defence Force has had repeated scandals
regarding the ‘friendly fire’ treatment of women on home soil quarters, I doubt
that allowing women to engage in front line combat will make any difference
regarding that point. Denying women the opportunity to take on certain military
roles, if they have proven themselves capable of doing so, would be clear gender
discrimination.
EDUCATION, SCIENCE
AND TRAINING
“Time and funds will not be wasted on
politically correct subjects… Governments have taken the soft option on
science; we once led the world in science. The Australian Atomic Energy
Commission and the CSIRO were foremost in vital areas of research… One Nation
opposes pseudo-science with funds only being granted for politically correct
subjects.”
Evolution and climate change are apparently pseudo-science, people. Though being able to read a crystal ball is the party's idea of an education...
Image from the One Nation website.
“The ideal age for
apprenticeship is after third year at high school, at the age of 15-16 years, an
age receptive to discipline and learning. The majority are now forced to stay
another 2 years at school, at which time it is usually too late for them to successfully
enter a trade, most are not suitable for an academic career, so we have this
huge problem with youth unemployment. Nursing is a typical example, many girls
who would have made excellent nurses, have been lost due to the disbandment of
on the job apprenticeship training.”
Wow, Tony Abbott would be proud. Nowadays, those 15 year old girls are just
getting TOO MUCH education! Get those nurses back into their stereotypical gender role, people!
EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS
“Allowable matters as defined and listed in the Workplace Relation’s Act will
be reviewed. Cultural leave and other discriminatory forms of leave will be
withdrawn from ‘allowable matters’. Special allowances or preference based on
race will not be tolerated and will be excluded from all contracts and
agreements.”
Oh, I’m sorry, your cultural beliefs and practices have no currency here in
workplace leave.
Queen’s Birthday? Christmas? HOL-I-DAYYY BITCHESSSSS!
Images from the One Nation website.
ENERGY AND MINING
“One Nation believes all mineral and
energy resources belong to The Commonwealth of Australia (Australian people).
This includes profits from sale of these resources. Resource rental fees will
be levied on private developers, with forfeiture upon failure to develop them.
All mineral and energy resources will be the property of The Commonwealth of
Australia. Foreign investment in mining operations will be encouraged.”
You... you've just been ragging on the current government for giving away too much foreign investment in Australian industry. Now you're saying it will be encouraged.
“One Nation does not support wind turbines and would replace them with more
appropriate and less intrusive forms of power supplementation.”Like White Power? *bada-tch!*
"POLICY: ONE NATION
WILL FURTHER INVESTIGATE CLEAN ENERGY ALTERNATIVES INCLUDING NUCLEAR POWER
GENERATION"
News flash: Nuclear Power is NOT a clean energy alternative.
ENVIRONMENT
“One Nation opposes the discharge of
sewerage to bay and ocean outlets. We propose treatment and recycling of waste
water wherever possible, and piping it inland for irrigation and improving flow
of inland river systems. Further scientific research is required on this matter
to eventually catch, treat and distribute treated water to improve the
environment.”
One Nation doesn't even want our shit leaving our
borders.
“One Nation will withdraw from all treaties
that threaten our land usage and environment.”
Yes, because that pesky
Kyoto Protocol you wish to drop out of is such a threat to our environment.
Image from the One Nation website.
(PS. We don't have squirrels in Australia.
Who is your environment minister?)
“One
Nation will implement the Coastal Protection Act nationwide, with buffer zones
to protect the habitat and access to our beaches, coastline, bays and
waterways, bringing the numerous and mostly ineffective organizations under one
umbrella.”
As the second verse of the National Anthem
proclaims: “We’ve boundless plains to share”. Reaching these plains via boat,
however, is an entirely different story.
FAMILY
AND COMMUNITY SERVICES
“We recognise the very
significant distress suffered by families with children who have been
traumatised through divorce.”
Oh, but the trauma caused by the Stolen Generations being
forcefully removed from their families was ‘vastly exaggerated’, however…?
http://sa.onenation.com.au/
“Rudd's apology
over the vastly exaggerated "Stolen Generation" leaves Australians at
the mercy of compensation claims.”
“The rights of responsible organisations and clubs to exist for
recreational activities, e.g. Social, horse and 4WD.”
I think this fairly reflects the hobbies and interests of
the average One Nation supporter.
IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS
“One Nation
believes in balanced, zero net immigration… The justification for our policy of
not exceeding zero net immigration is that environmentally, Australia is near
her carrying capacity.”
Consider this: Australia’s population is 22 million with 7,692,024
km² of land area.
The Philippines has a population of 95 million people
living in 300,000 km². That is more than four times as many people living in an
area smaller than 1/25
th the size of our country. We are literally
100 times as ‘few’ in Australia as in the Philippines. WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU
MEAN AUSTRALIA IS NEAR HER CARRYING CAPACITY?!
Image from the One Nation website.
You know, the one that stands against dual citizenship.
This is the UK flag you realise, guys.
“POLICY: ALL IMMIGRANTS ENTERING AUSTRALIA SHALL NOT
HAVE AT THEIR DISPOSAL FREE OR SUBSIDISED LEGAL REPRESENTATION
One Nation
proposes that Immigration will become the Department of Customs and
Immigration; Responsible for the protection of our coastline from illegal
invaders, goods (Drugs) and terrorists with control and monitoring of entry and
leaving of people and goods, issue of passports, visas and other documentation.
No dual citizenship, Australian citizenship to be mandatory after 5 years
residency.”
I have my
own personal qualms with notions of citizenship. You have very different qualms,
and they are fucking stupid and demonstrative of a complete lack of passion for the majority of our international population, who live in vastly poorer, less educated and more hostile areas of the world.
“Foreign student migration is
abused to the extent that it precludes Australians from entry to educational
institutions. One Nation believes that due to most countries now having good
education facilities it is no longer necessary for them to come here to study.”
You either have a very skewed definition of what qualifies as ‘most
countries’ or ‘good education facilities’… or pretty much every other word in
that paragraph.
“POLICY: ONE
NATION'S NEWLY FORMED DEPARTMENT OF CUSTOMS AND IMMIGRATION WILL INSPECT ALL
GOODS ENTERING THROUGH CUSTOMS
… and would ensure
all drug, illegal firearms, terrorists and dangerous goods entering Australia
are detected and destroyed.”
Sorry, let
me just read that last line again… nope, thought I’d read wrong there for a
moment, but… nope. Ensure all terrorists entering Australia are detected and
destroyed. Right.
LAW & JUSTICE
“Preferential Voting. Why should a No. 2 vote have as much power as a No. 1 vote? I believe it
should have half the power, and political parties should not have the power to
allocate preferences for voters, as is the case with voting above the line in
the Senate. This is undemocratic Preferential voting and party politics is why
we have so many idiots as Politicians.”
- John Slackson-Smith, previous One Nation leaderhttp://www.onenation.com.au/votingtrends.htm
If you feel that
way, you are absolutely free to vote Below The Line and fill out your
preferences individually. Anyone is free to vote below the line to allocate
their own preferences if they do not agree with the parties’ preferential
votes. Problem solved.
Also, 2013 party leader Jim Savage just commented on his QLD website on June 29th
that supporters should “Vote 1 One Nation above the line on the senate
ticket”,
so we should assume that he
is another idiot politician?
I can't believe I actually just asked that question.
“LIVING STANDARDS
IN MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISONS TO BE REDUCED TO MATCH LIVING STANDARDS OF LOW
INCOME AUSTRALIANS
One Nation believes
that no prisoner detained in a maximum security facility has the right to
privileges over and above law abiding low income Australians.”
I assume you will apply this policy to IMPROVING security
facilities for asylum seekers to match living standards of low income
Australians?
"Police Officers to
have discretionary powers to remove unescorted, under aged children from the
streets and return them to their homes or other suitable establishments.”
Wow, you… really did NOT get the Stolen Generation memo, did you.
PRIMARY INDUSTRY
“Under the Transaction Tax system tobacco
and alcohol products would be extremely cheap with current excise taxes
removed. A levee needs to be put in place on the manufacturer to keep retail
prices up and thus make these products less attractive to young Australians.”
One Nation plans to remove an excise tax to implement
their 1% Transactions Tax, and then will reintroduce the excIse tax again for
tobacco and alcohol. Efficient legislating.
SENIORS AND
RETIREMENT
South Australia - “One
Nation proposes that all Australian's over 55 years of age are classed as
Senior Citizens, and not thrown into a demeaning political category of aged
etc., and covered under the ageing portfolio. Free Health and Medical care for
all seniors after retirement age as currently legislated.”
NSW – “One Nation proposes all
Australians over the age of 60 be classified as seniors.”
Uh, can you guys make sure your party policies are
consistent?
Also, your taxing scheme is NOT going to be able to fund
free health care for an Australian population where 25% will be of retirement
age, the ones most dependent on health care for day to day living, and the number
of people over retirement age will be on an ever-increasing trend upwards as
demonstrated in population pyramids over the past century.
Image from the One Nation website.
Shit... that's your legitimate retirement plan, isn't it.
SUPERANNUATION AND
FINANCE
“Currently
concessional contributions to superannuation are taxed at 15%. Under One Nation’s proposed Transaction Tax
of only 1%, contributions will be taxed at a lower rate. This will result in people having a greater
amount of superannuation savings in retirement.”
I have reread this proposal half a dozen times now, and my brain gets
stupider each time.
TRADE AND TREATIES
“One Nation opposes
‘Globalism’. It means Australians giving up their country for the profit
of a few.”
Really? I thought it meant an ideology that individuals, goods and information should be able to cross between national
borders without a fuss, allowing for a socio-economic system dedicated to free
trade and free access to markets. Seeing as Australia is 0.1% of the global
population, I fail to see how the 99.9% of people who aren’t Australian would
be a ‘few’ who would profit from this system.
Gif from the One Nation website.
TL:DNR?
In conclusion, research your minor party
and Independent politicians’ policy platforms. Question. Probe. Double-check.
Cross-reference. Hold the parties accountable. Politicians run our country and
we elect them in trust to do it in the best interests of our nation. Make your
vote count.
… also, bogans can be spectacularly stupid. Make fun of them so their ways and
attitudes die out.
*Disclaimer: I’ve
been Nib. This has been 6,000 words of hastily chopped, assorted and edited
commentary from a media dropout who has absolutely zero qualifications to back
up any of his comments or analyses. Ensure you make your own far more informed
decision this 2013 Federal Election when voting for your party of choice.
