Sportingbet PM Watch Howard $1.40 (was $1.72) Costello $3.75 ( $2.10) Abbott $26.00 ($9.00) Turnbull $26.00 ( $13.00) Nelson $8.00 ($17.00) Any Others $51.00 ($26.00) (Odds on PM before next election) |
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The daily email The daily email is sent to subscribers free of charge every week day. To join the mailing list click HERE .or email |
Monday, 17 July 2006
CONTACT Richard Farmer PO Box 613 Tanunda SA 5352 Phone: 0422 083 285
The website The politicalowl.com website contains a broader range of material than is covered in the daily emails.
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Saved by Ecstasy The Australian Democrats just might be undergoing an ecstasy led revival and the Federal leader Lyn Allison seems to realise it. Far from joining in with the predictable response to the law-and-order brigade to castigate a colleague who had a friendly word to say about rave parties, Senator Allison is happy for her party to be taking part in a serious discussion about drugs. By doing so she is drawing the attention of a significant minority of young Australian men and women to the Democrats as a part of the political process that might even be relevant to their lives. When the Democrats were founded they portrayed themselves as a refreshing change from the increasingly bland two major parties. There would be broad principles to which they all adhered but members were to be people with the courage to speak their own mind unhindered by the restraints of party discipline. In the Democrats there was to be room for a maverick and libertarian streak for people of a broadly liberal persuasion. It was an appealing combination and success came quickly - especially in the South Australian upper house and the Federal Senate. Electoral popularity began to disappear when members, especially the Senators, started to regard themselves as part of the mainstream of political life rather than the occupiers of the fringes. Supporting the goods and services tax of the Coalition Government might have been for the good of the country but it was disastrous for the Democrat image. At the last Federal election the Democrats did not win a seat in any state. In the South Australian state election this year they failed again. The last rites were being read by commentators throughout the land. Then along came Sandra Kanck – the remaining Democrat in the South Australian Legislative Council. Ms Kanck displayed a little of the old maverick quality in the closing stages of the state campaign when she made the best of the photo opportunity provided by a Big Day Out concert - this year featuring Kamahl who appears to be becoming a cult figure for youth with a sense of humour - to say a few words about marihuana. While all around her politicians were striving to be tougher on drugs than everyone else, Ms Kanck took the more reasoned approach that big sticks are unlikely to achieve anything. Unfortunately for the Democrat campaign there was no major response to her common sense remarks apart from a brief coverage on the weekend TV news. She fared better when State Parliament resumed and she mentioned that there might be some elements contained in ecstasy tablets that, in a pure form, were not necessarily harmful. The local press and talk back radio went bananas while the many young drug takers perhaps nodded in agreement. Then the recent major outburst of criticism that followed Ms Kanck's attendance at a rave party where – shock, horror – some young people were actually found to be taking drugs. The comment of Ms Kanck that she would rather be at a rave party with happy people on ecstasy than in a pub full of angry drunks was too much for the holder of the joint positions of Federal and State President of the Democrats who promptly quit the party when Ms Kanck would not. Now that that relic of the “Democrats must be mainstream” view of political life is gone, Senator Allison can turn to the job of encouraging more of her colleagues to dare to be controversial. For the truth is that minor parties will only succeed when they remember that what makes their task different to that of Liberal and Labor is that they do not have to try and appeal to 50% of the voters. What the Democrats need is a minority of people who fell strongly about an issue. Young people who dabble in drugs and think that oldies like John Howard with his zero tolerance approach is an irrelevant old fossil are just such a minority. And appealing to them does not mean the Democrats have to advocate we all get happy on ecstasy. Advocating the voluntary testing of drugs at rave parties so that people actually know what they are taking would do for a start. And the more papers like The Advertiser rubbish Ms Kanck for such a suggestion the more votes the Democrats will attract.
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