Australia Votes

Well, it's here at last. 5:00 a.m. on election day in Australia. My house shrouded in smoke from nearby bushfires. The kids and my beautiful, pregnant wife still asleep in bed. My Dad just back home from hospital yesterday, starting his Chemotherapy... and I think to myself, what a wonderful world.

By now, the Australian media have all swung firmly into place behind Bush's Little Deputy, John W. Howard. Howard leads in the pre-vote polls by a healthy margin and everyone is predicting a Liberal victory. Group-think rules the airwaves.

Even the Sydney Morning Herald, who till now have waged a courageous battle for truth and accountability, have declined editorial support for Latham. No doubt their multi-millionaire owner, Kerry Packer, has been having a good think about what another three years of Howard could cost him if he gets too out of line. As one disgusted reader writes today:

There remains only two voices in opposition to the big government/big business/big media teams competing for the endorsement of ordinary Australians - the ABC/SBS and Fairfax media groups. Editorial independence? My dears, you are the opposition.

I threw a copy of Rupert Murdoch's "The Australian" newspaper in the bin two days ago, but I wish I'd kept it as evidence: it was a total character assassination of the opposition candidate Mark Latham. Story after story about how he was too much of an unknown character, how his Labour government would drive up interest rates, how he would be soft on terror... Fear, fear, fear. As in the USA, so in Australia. I could just as easily have been reading a Washington Times article on John Kerry.

Who do I think will win? Here's what I posted at the Road To Surfdom today:

I'm still hoping for a Labour landslide, hoping that the consciences of ordinary Australians will simply not allow them to vote Liberal after the appalling lies on Children Overboard, WMDs and so much more.

More than any election I can remember, this is one where Australians will get the government we deserve. The result will say a lot about who we are and where we are headed.

If Howard wins, the message to future governments will be: You Can Get Away With This. You can lie and deceive and never hold anybody accountable for anything. As long as you follow up with a fat bribe at election time, you can get away with it.

If Howard wins, it will be a victory for fear. His campaign has focussed on demonizing Mark Latham and the Greens. Without the active support of the Murdoch press - and the acquiescence of many other media outlets - it wouldn't have been possible.

If Howard wins, it's yet another victory for Rupert Murdoch. It's a victory for Big Business. It's a victory for George W. Bush. It's a victory for Globalized Corporate Fascism.

Be afraid, Australia.

This link at the Andrew Wilkie site says it all for me.