Voting Day 101!

Most people do not like voting. Most people do not see the point in voting (my vote will not make a difference). Most people dread even the thought of going near a polling booth. During the US Presidential Campaign, a YouTube video of a young girl crying at the thought of another few weeks of campaigning went viral and I am sure many people can relate to her pain - even if she was a mere 4 or 5!

Now there must be reasons for this right? I mean it is not like when you go into the polling booth you have to have an injection / cut off your hand / stick a needle in your eye... do you? Nor do you get laughed at / shot at / looked down on depending on which way you swing, so what is the big deal? I guess people who are voting for the first time in a couple of weeks could be a tad nervous or apprehensive at the thought - God knows what is going to happen when it is just you, a pencil and two pieces of paper in that tiny little booth.  But rest assured you still have plenty of time before September 7 to get ready, and here is my list of things to do before you go and get your name crossed off and cast your vote.

1. Learn who the major parties and minor parties are. This is really really important for those first time voters as not all parties will endorse or put up candidates in every electorate.

2. Find out which electorate you are in, especially if you live on an electoral boundary it may have changed! 

3. Look up your local candidates either on your local stobie poll or political leaflets that will no doubt flood your letterbox. That or you can go to the AEC website for full details on candidates and voting places, among other things of course!

4. It is also vital to have at least a basic understanding of the different voting systems in play at the Federal level. In the Lower or Green House Preferential voting is used to elect the 150 members. This type of voting requires voters to place a number in the box next to the preferred candidate and subsequent numbers corresponding to the level of preference for all other candidates. In the Upper or Red House voters need to decide whether or not they want to vote above the line (1 number only) and let parties decide preferences or below the line and number  EVERY!!!! box.

5. Read all the leaflets that get sent to you, some of them may even be important! Most, if not all political parties, groups and Independents will want to secure your vote and this means nagging you until you give in. Phone calls, text messages, emails and sometimes even personal visits are just some of the ways they will try and make contact. And it won't stop, it will never stop .... well maybe on September 8th but the road is long before you get there!!

6. The Debates. The Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition have so far encountered each other twice in a debate ... of sorts. The second one was dubbed to have covered more ground and was probably more exciting than the first but that does not mean they weren't important. Debates, however unexciting, gives candidates more of an opportunity to cement their every changing views in the public arena. Despite flip-flops, backflips and policy turnarounds, these two people and their subsequent parties are trying their hardest to sway voters to vote for them. Promises, 'core' promises and political sweeteners are all part of the game, the game to win office. 

7. Have Fun! I have said it before and I will say it again, we in Australia are part of a privileged group of people who have the choice about who our representatives are and ultimately who will form the Government. Barry Cassidy on the ABC says that this parliament was a 'mixed bag' which got a lot done but was very politicized throughout its three year term. Whether or not that was a result of the people inside parliament or those outside fueling the fire remains to be seen but one thing is certain, it was a hectic time and political speculation was always at an all time high. Vote Liberal, Labor, National, Green, Katter, Palmer, Democrat, Sex Party, One Nation or Independent I don't care, all I care is that you vote and vote properly, no donkey vote, no invalid vote and no writing on the side of your ballot. You have no right to complain about the work the government is doing, if you could not be bothered or you intentionally messed up your vote! Your vote is sacred and use it well!    

Hey You!

When I tell people I want to grow up and be a psephologist and that my favourite thing to do is look at political and voting systems and just politics in general, 99.95% of the time I am met with a look of disdain and total horror; but also skepticism at what I could possibly see in the policy makers and representatives who line the walls of Parliament Houses around the country and world. The first 1000 times I laughed and said, well some people have to love it, in the same way some people have to love solving crimes, fixing people, collecting and storing money and run around fields in the name of national sport. But now I am kinda getting annoyed. Why? I mean, yes I may take my obsession a little too seriously (studying politics on holidays and requesting political books/plane tickets to Canberra for my birthday) but nonetheless the institution of Government and electing our Government is a fundamental part of a democratic society, and as such should be celebrated not given eye rolls and put to the back of peoples minds. 

There is a Federal Election Campaign going on in Australia at the moment (no way! I hear you say!), and for most people, the thought of turning their television sets on at the moment, is met with a sense of dread and is a vastly unpopular past time until about the 10th of September. If you are unlucky enough to have momentary lapses in judgement and do turn the television on, you will be met with vision of baby kissing, hard hat and high-vis wearing pollies and pollie-wannabes sucking up and smooth-talking potential voters in anticipation for the next three-ish years. Nothing we did not already know.  Right? Also what we have been told is that young people have turned off, not interested and unavailable for comment, when it comes to voting/elections/politics/policy ... you get my drift. And a year or two a go I might have said, yeah I am in the minority, 6 in my politics class, 20 in my politics lecture, party signup on the decrease blah blah blah. But something strange is going on. . . Young folk are getting converted. Not in plague proportions or anything, so no need to call the police, but I can see something happening.  People who are studying Biochemical Engineering, Animal Science,  Speech Pathology, Radiology and English have started caring who says what, and why and when. They will post a little rant on Facebook, ask a policy question, YouTube a Politicians' most recent speech or borrow a political textbook to find out an answer. Boom! And suddenly my quota of politically literate friends has gone from about -5 to 30. 

Obviously I am not so naive to think that this has no correlation to the fact in less than 3 weeks they will find themselves walking into a polling booth for probably the first time, nor the fact they have been bombarded with political paraphernalia in their newsfeed and letterboxes since halfway through May. When newly re-elected PM KRudd was sworn in, in late June he called on young people to 'come back' stating that he could see why they had turned away but stressed the importance of government in their lives. Well Mr Prime Minister I think they are coming back. Not necessarily in the form of ALP loving, center-left voters that you were hoping for, but they are joining in the national conversation anyway.   My friends vary from right-wing Fascist's to economically conservative but socially progressive to left wing ecological Greenies campaigning for Senator Sarah Hanson-Young. They come from low socio-economic areas and Upper class affluent suburbs and are wanting to contribute. I also have the closet interested political friends, who you would never know could even list the last 3 Prime Ministers much less hold a substantive conversation with, but they are out there.  Watching and absorbing. Ready and waiting for their day to shine. September 7. 

I am not saying that every young person could accurately describe and quote the latest Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Outlook but what I am saying is you probably should not write-off their vote. Most young people will vote above the line in the Senate, vote in accordance with their parents and quite frankly not care 'until the next election' (because that is when I will need a 'real' job and care [no lie!]) but not all. And in the end even 100 votes will not change the outcome of this election but it is a start. Rome was not built in one day, and this election, despite everyone wanting to take the 'moral high ground' will be about slogging the opponent, there are a band of newly educated young people out there who will use the world as their oyster, and September 7 is just the starting place ....    

The week that was not...

Writing a blog is very similar to writing is a diary. The writer, writes (or types) their dreams, aspirations for the future, what happened to them that day and countless other random thoughts that the think might be interesting to look back on one day. Some people are dedicated diary writers, some only write in diaries when they are on holiday or some, like me only write when something happens that is worth sharing or savouring. I mean what is the point in writing something down, when countless other people have said the same thing over and over AND OVER AND OVER!!! The only difference between blogs and diaries that I can think of, is to do with theme and consistency. Most blogs have a theme, cooking, politics, trains, weight loss etcetera and diary entries are more like opening your brain and spilling the content onto a notebook at random invervals.

Everybody, well unless you live under a rock and in which case you probably would not be reading this, would know about this little thing called the Federal Election which is happening on the 7th of September. It is a magical thing really, I mean who knew that we, the people of sorts, all get to go to a similar place and to the EXACT SAME THING is just a few weeks time. Vote. YAY. Since our Prime Minister, Kevin Michael Rudd called the election all hell has broken lose on the streets. Random peoples faces (I mean our local Federal Candidates) are plastered all over stobie poles enticing us to remember to vote for them in a few weeks time. The more posters the better the chances of election or re-election, or so the theory goes. Furthermore our omnipresent Federal Representatives have taken to personally phoning us and coming to our houses to try and persuade us to vote for them. AND don't even think of mentioning television advertisements sponsored by either of the major parties, who by the way claim to be above 'dirty' politics but engage in it at every opportunity. 

So lets have the highlights from the last week or so. The media have been telling us for months (make that since the 2010 election) that the ALP have stood no chance at gaining office again this year and that the leadership tension and message problems were making voters tune out and ignore the hard facts and realities of life. Not anymore hopes Kevin-im-just-here-to-help-Rudd, who is trying to bring relevance back into Australian Politics. Oh, and not to mention that the Opposition Leader would 'stop the boats' at any cost- a favoured saying by my dad currently but really do people really care? Should we take The Greens approach of onshore processing? Maybe, Maybe not. 

One thing people do care about (according to Facebook, Twitter and posters all around university) is Marriage Equality. Tony Abbott this week came out and called the push for Marriage Equality the 'fashion of the moment' and it probably is, but what does that matter? If it has public support and people want it why not say something like 'yeah ok people, I don't agree with it, but what do I care what people do in their own time?" If it is not hurting anyone (which I can NOT see how it would be) and no one will die because of it, just sign a document and move on. Personally I do care either way, but I do believe, that, the way in which Ellen DeGeneres described gay marriage when she wrote a letter to the US Supreme Court says it all "Portia and I have been married for 4 years and they have been the happiest of my life. And in those 4 years, I don't think we hurt anyone else's marriage. I asked all of my neighbors and they say they're fine." Drug abuse rates would not drastically increase nor would the world end due to homosexuals being able to marry. Lets just do it and move on and as Tony Abbott says "get on to more important things."

THE DEBATE! Last weekend the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader engaged in what most describe as a hour in which both leaders gave heavily rehearsed answers to some questions asked by senior political journalists. My favourite part was after the main festivities, when analysts and political journalists and commentators got to discuss every tiny detail and  Channels 7, 9 and 10 all declared someone else the winner. Abbott, Rudd and a draw. The debate did not really see any new information released nor did it really allow for a combative debate between the leaders, and if anyone really thought that their opinions of the leaders would change after watching the debate, they were surely mistaken. 

And on side notes, big speculation has been aroused as to whether or not the Coalition will increase the GST after their tax review comes back, should they win government, is the 'honeymoon' period over for Rudd, should words like 'sex appeal' come out the mouth of the alternative PM and what the heck is going with the Liberals candidate in the seat of Greenway. All perfectly good questions and all of which, I'm sure will be answered very soon but until then folks... 

Where to begin?!?!

Oh God! What a day! Where does one even start? Obviously all the events of today have lead to the de-throning of the first female prime minister Ms Julia Gillard, to the former prime minister Kevin Rudd, but it was a long and treacherous ride to get to this point. 

The day started with Independents Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott announcing that they would not contest the next election in the seats of New England and Lyne respectively.  Now on an ordinary day, in an ordinary parliament this would not make more than be few hours worth of news, but most people know the last three (some say five) years have been anything other than easy or straightforward! 

One of the other key Independents Bob Katter, then came out and said that he would support  his BFF Kevin in a Rudd lead ALP government, because in his words 'no one was driving the bus' anymore. At that point, I had Simon Crean flashbacks, of him eventually being the sacrificial lamb that was put up as a catalyst offering, in the hopes of sparking a Labor leadership vote, when in actual fact he lost his cabinet position and there was no leadership vote. 

Going into Question Time there was a rumour a flying around that a petition was making the rounds, to Labor MPs to force a caucus meeting to determine the leadership. It spread like wildfire, but no one could say, with absolute certain, that this was true.  When the Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott, rose to ask the first question of the day, people waited with bated breath as to how soon Abbott would call to suspend standing orders and seek to initiate a vote of non confidence. Very surprisingly, it was towards the end of questions today that the theme of leadership was brought up.  But alas the vote is not gain a majority, let alone an absolute majority. 

Adding to speculation also, was Foreign Minister Bob Carr making a personal executive decree that states that Foreign Ministers will not talk about domestic matters. How horrendous for a person hand picked by the then prime minister, to suddenly stop worrying about domestic affairs.... 

Julia Gillard then came out and proactively sought a caucus meeting for later in the day to decide/silence/fix/change the ALP leadership one final time before the election - presumably still on September 14. Kevin Rudd came out shortly after,  and agreed to put his name forward - a step up from last time. The condition both sides agreed to was, whomever loses the leadership battle, would bow out of Federal Politics and not contest the next election, and at this point it s still anyone's game! 

The battle lines were drawn, ALP members held 'secret' meeting with each other and Bill Shorten held a doorstop meeting with journalists ... The result, Shorten flip flopped to join forces with ex prime minister Kevin Rudd. It was a sombre affair, but the vibe I got, was that it needed to happen. After months of denying there was a real polling problem within the ALP, Labor MP's  had decided that if they wanted to be in a job come the election (according to the polls) they needed a change. 

One thing that stood out tonight was, at no point today did any Labor politician look happy about what was transpiring. Julia Gillard I can understand, but the other members, it was like they were doing something just because it was part of the bigger picture. Like when someone needs to get a vaccination to travel to some parts of the world, the needles aren't fun but the places you will go are. Only in our scenario the place is Canberra in a post-election Parliament. 

It emerged after nearly an hour of voting and deliberating, that in fact Kevin Rudd had made is long awaited return to the top job, ousting the one, who ousted him! 45- 57, by no means a landslide but a win is a win right? The tables have finally turned, and after years (we can say that right?!) of leaks and politicking, apparently Federal Labor is back on track. With the man who brought us Kevin07! Probably he will need to re-label to something more current Kevin13?  It doesn't have quite the same ring to it, but I am sure it will look just as good on a T-shirt and a poster and a stubby holder and a cap and as a Facebook picture and a ... Well you get the picture. Anthony 'Albo' Albanese was elected Deputy Prime Minister and a range of quasi cabinet appointments i am sure will follow. I say quasi appointments because in the not to distant future there will be an election (sooner if Abbott had anything to do with it) and who knows what will happen now! 

Julia Gillard has copped a lot of flack since she assumed the prime ministership in 2010 some justified and some seriously quite petty. One this is certain, she will go into the history books for a range of reasons. 

Looking back over the day, there is one thing I am not too sure about, and that is the reasoning behind Bob Katter coming out to the media,and professing his unwavering support for his BFF Kevin Rudd. We all know that Rudd and Katter are friends, but I don't recall any Members of Parliament (other than from the Coalition) ever coming out forcefully supporting an alternative Labor member (not the PM) for the leadership.  The language he used, of " no one is driving the ALP bus" and that "Julia Gillard can not control the party any longer'' was almost like he was hoping a spill would going to happen for the sake of his friend. The only difference between Katter and Crean, is that Katter would not (or could not) be dealt any punishment by the party as he is an Independent. A friend helping a friend, and not even making the ultimate political sacrifice in the process. Yes Katter did say was going against his party in doing so, but when you create a party, who is to say you can't go against yourself?

All I can say with certain is two things. 1) the word BREAKING: is now no longer relevant when discussing Australian Politics - especially after a day like today, and 2) That tomorrow will be just as crazy, given the Lower House in parliament has one more day of sitting. 

Baaa Baaa, but I am NOT a sheep.

I haven't written in over a month! Golly Wolly!! Why, you may ask? Suddenly have I lost the ability to type on my little iPad keyboard? Lost the will to live? (Almost, but no), No I have been dreading my next blog post because I do not want to become a sheep. Baa Baa. 

In the week after budget week, political commentators, journalists and nerds were talking about the governments need to administer an aggressive legislative agenda, as there were only 4 more parliamentary sitting weeks before the Federal Election in September. Important debates on policy were promised, and, like a misguided fool, I believed them. Wonderful I thought four glorious weeks in which the media, the journalists I look up to, and the public will be captivated by the magnitude of political debates on offer. But no, the next week Kevin07 came out in favor of Gay Marriage, and that in itself triggered another round of leadership speculation. When would the Prime Minister be out of a job? Would it be hours, days, or a week? Shock horror, she, after another month, is still in her job.  

Honestly, the Abbott Coalition must be sleeping easier, knowing the biggest threat to the government, and the prime minister come from within the party. I am currently re-reading Mungo MacCallum's How to be a megalomaniac (or, advice to a young politician),  and a quote about enemies, frighteningly resembles the ALP and the position Julia Gillard is currently in. "A newcomer took his place in the House and looked across the chamber. 'There they are,' he breathed. 'The enemy.'  An old hand sitting nearby smiled sardonically: 'No son, that's the opposition. The enemy are the ones sitting all around you.' The sad part about the current situation, is that, one only needs to think, let alone say the words 'leadership spill' and it becomes the mainstream media's front page news for the next week. That being said however, at the moment, Kevin Rudd just needs to leave his house in the morning, for him to be apparently 'contesting the prime ministership'. 

My, my how far have we fallen. One of the sad parts about watching the ABC's documentary on Gough Whitlam, is that I can see how much as changed in the way of political discourse. No longer, do we have question times, where the questions aren't rehearsed or predictable. Already, we know the Coalition will ask questions on: The carbon Tax, the budget 'black hole'  and either try to get a no confidence motion passed, or play with standing orders until Speaker Burke tells everyone to shut it or get lost.  

I do not want to be a sheep when it comes to political matters, but the way I see it, at the moment you are either a sheep (being disgruntled with the stupidity of federal politics) or an emu with its head in the sand. You are either shaking you head at the lack of any substance in the political sphere, or don't give a dam and plan to donkey vote, come Election Day. Neither of which, are options I like.  So instead, I am re reading the 2013-14 federal and state budget papers - a fun alternative really. 

I am mad, at the fact I can not turn on my tv / open a newspaper (or my iPad for online news) and find that, since the last time I looked, the government have come to a real, working compromise with the <insert: Greens, Coalition or Independents> on <insert issue here>. I am mad that it feels like every blog post I now read, is about one of three things, 1) Leadership speculation 2) Someones disdain with mainstream media and the way in which they report 3) Kim Kardashian's pregnancy (and apparent baby girl). Why are they my three options. 

From all reports, the 2010 Federal Election was one of the worst elections ever, and produced what the Leader of the Opposition claims is the worst government in the history of governments, but what about the 2013 election? If the last two and then some years have been anything to go on, the coming election may be even worse! Perhaps not in terms of a government at the end (polls show am almost landslide for the Coalition), but in terms of an election campaign, this one looks set to be as crappy as they come. The more ridiculous the better.  

And so, with so little time remaining before the election, (I have already received my first round of election propaganda!!) I beg people to stop engaging in the crap (cough, I mean leadership speculation/ politician bickering) that is engulfing our news, and care about making a difference in someone's life. A favored quote of mine is, "courage is not the absence of fear, but rather, the judgment that something else is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever, the the cautious do not live at all." Let us all be brave and have the courage take a stand against what is right. Life is short and we all are too busy to care as to whether or not Kevin07 will run again for the ALP leadership. If he does yay. If not, who cares. Focus on the tangible and with a bit of luck the 'scratchy feel' politics has, according to Annabel Crabb, will dissipate.  

The 2013/2014 Budget

I have never woken up the morning after a big night hangover (or even a bad headache), but waking this morning I wondered if last night really happened. Admittedly I did only have 4 hours sleep, watching all the Budget commentary, analysis and interviews before and after Treasurer Wayne Swan's budget speech. It was all fun and games, as Journalists, Economists and political commentators were let out of Lockdown, we knew things were about to get worse. Budget leaks just prior to the speech hinted at the abolishment of the Baby Bonus and all indications were that the cuts would not stop there. Last May the narrative coming from the Labor Government went along the lines of 'spreading the benefits of the [mining] boom' and 'a fair go for all Australians', this May it seemed like it was more a Budget of legacy with hints of regret, sadness and pain.

It is official, not only were there no real election 'sweeteners' in the 2013/2014 Budget, the tone and mood surrounding the documents are at best gloomy and more accurately one of sadness and inevitable doom. Last night many commentators compared the new Budget to that of a funeral, sad and 'sombre' Jessica Irvine said, and almost everybody seemed to be fixated on what was being cut, altered and changed rather than the limited high points the Government wished. It seems that the forward estimates in the 2012/2013 Budget were highly optimistic, and given the continued concerns over the Global Economy for the next Financial Year, the Government have chosen to focus on School Education, NDIS which will now be called DisabilityCare and Roads and Rail rather than the 'S' word (surplus). 

Even last year, the large majority of Economists were saying the need for a budget surplus was more a political state of mind rather than an imperative part of the immediate future in Australia. It should not be high on the lists of priorities, they said, Politicians only see a budget surplus as a way of gaining votes in the upcoming election year they said, and last night it seems the Government finally agreed. Given all indications in the Opinion Polls suggest the Government will lose out considerably in the September 14 election, the Budget was one that would assist people in the future and set the groundwork for the Labor legacy in the future. In his speech Wayne Swan said that they (the Labor Government) made the 'choice to keep our economy strong and to invest in the future' and the Governments choice of programs to spend money, reflect that. Investment in Cancer care, the NDIS and increases in Health Funding by 40% since they gained office, show the Gillard Governments priorities quite clearly. Schools, DisabilityCare and infrastructure. 

Politically the general consensus in Australia, is the Federal Government have lied, failed to deliver and gone back on their promises. Budget Surplus, Laptops in schools, Budget Surplus, Carbon Tax, Budget Surplus, Mineral Tax, Carbon Tax did I mention Budget Surplus?? I could go on. Despite the sound of doom ringing in my ears as I listened to the Budget Speech, one thing was clear, Wayne Swan had a message and he got that across. A valued friend of mine once said, that if you can not capture the essence of your speech in the first 5 minutes you will have lost your audience anyway, and no one will care what you say. Last night the Treasurer did just that, in the first 5 minutes he said, Schools, DisabilityCare and infrastructure. The Australian people may not recognise what the Labor legacy is until it is too late, but there it is folks Education, DisabilityCare and Road and Rail Infrastructure. That will be how the Gillard Government is remembered.

Early this morning Prime Minister Julia Gillard introduced the DisabilityCare legislation into the House of Representatives. One of the beautiful things about our political system is bipartisan support.  All political parties may not fundamentally agree on everything - hell if they did life would be boring - but, sometimes an issue arises and it just has to be fixed. Regardless of your political ideology, Disability will have affected the lives of someone in your family, one of your friends or someone in your social group. Disability does not discriminate it can affect us all in some way or another.  In her speech the Prime Minister said, 'In March, we gave it a place in our nation's laws. Today we inscribe it in our nation's finances. DisabilityCare Australia starts in seven weeks - and there will be no turning back.'  No turning back, pretty big sentiments for a Government facing inevitable doom right? No one knows what the future holds, everyone wishes their future was bright and full of joy, and for those living with a disability that light just got even brighter. 

Tomorrow we will see the Leader of the Opposition give the Budget Speech in Reply, a chance for the nearly voting public to see the alternative Government in action. Does anybody care? Will anybody watch? If you do, can you bring the popcorn? 

The budget is approaching!

Since my last blog post so much has happened in the wonderful world of Australian Politics. It is hard to know when to start, the NDIS legislation has been in the news quite a bit as some States have signed on, including Tasmania. Also Tony Abbott released his Industrial Relations policy yesterday and Prime Minister Gillard went on the ABC's Q&A program on Monday night. However, given we have just entered into the month of May there are bigger fish to fry, and so, let me begin by telling you a little story. 

Wednesday just gone, was the May 8th. A year ago on May 8th saw Wayne Swan give his Budget Speech for 2012. The highlights we saw include; spending on Dental Care, the Tax free threshold increasing from $6000 to $18000 and the introduction of the School Kids Bonus $410 and $820 for primary and secondary students respectively. However we also saw cuts in Defence and Foreign Aid spending, decreases to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and further deferment on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG's). I remember that day like it was Yesterday.  

I had Australian and International Politics that fateful Tuesday, they sang Happy Budget day to me as it was my 17th Birthday and we had a Budget day cake. I remember being so very excited something major was happening on my birthday. But I also remember way too much from the budget papers as well. The next day I wrote that the narrative the Labor Party was trying to portray a 'fair go for all Australians' budget, and that it would be 'spreading the benefits of the [mining] boom around'. It was aimed at taking money from the people who had higher incomes and redistributing it to those who were not so fortunate.  The sticking themes within the Budget, were still to get it into surplus by 2013, and that the Clean Energy Futures legislation was not going to end the world. What I guess I am trying to say is, overall the Budget breakdown seemed quite optimistic given the uncertain economic times that laid ahead. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but my notes from the rest of the Budget week show even in May last year the Treasurer was concerned about a number of external factors. The high Australian dollar (which has still not fallen even after the RBA cut the Targeted Cash Rate again to 2.75% on Tuesday) was a issue, as was the Global Economic Outlook given the problems within some European Economies and the overall Global Slowdown on trade and exports. Therefore, it is with hesitant excitement I wait for next Tuesday night. 

Given the economic conditions have not really improved since last years Outlook,  all indications suggest that treasurer wayne swan has his work cut out for him. come tuesday night, he will try and convince the Australian public that the labor party is still the best option for government come september 14. furthermore as last years treasury predictions were highly optimistic many critics of the labor party will see tuesday nights budget as the nail in the coffin for an already dismal government. however that being said, advocates for the labor party hold their breath at what next wednesday will bring when the opposition leader tony abbott delivers his Budget Speech in reply. The 2012 Budget reply speech was more a speech on the labor party's downfalls rather than a position of alternative government. However, given all pols suggest a coalition wipeout come the election it will be interesting to see the differences in mr Abbott's speech from last year given the alternative government will more than likely be in power by the end of the year.

In the last few weeks, the Treasurer and the Labor Party have been on a path of trying to win support for their Budget. All indications suggest that it will be brutal and will begin to reflect the economic turmoil the rest of the world has seen since the GFC in 2008-09. While Australia for the most part came out unscathed from the GFC, our dealings with the rest of the world and poorer than expected economic figures really do fall in line with how most of the rest of the world have been feeling since going into recession. Polls show politically the fall out of not delivering a surplus will be huge for Labor, but will a Coalition Government be able to bring the Budget back to Surplus ASAP, while still repealing the 'Carbon Tax' and the MRRT? Unless they get a majority in both the Upper and Lower House the answer is probably not. But Nevertheless they will try. 

It is now only 4 sleeps to go until Parliament resumes and the Budget is introduced to the Lower House. So people get excited and HAPPY BUDGET DAY for Tuesday.