This I Truly Believe

He noticed, now, in a way he had never noticed before, the passing of the seasons, the flow of time, the births, the deaths, the old men growing older, the proud young parents; reminding him, for no reason, of his own dark storm through a thousand bars and clubs and dark places; leading in the end to dissolution and despair, from the highest dancer to the lowest scum on the barroom floor.

Two old con artists were now masquerading in a sham democracy, fighting on an entirely manufactured, fake floor. Arguing about things that were of no relevance. Outdoing each other in squandering vast fortunes, billions of dollars of the public's taxes on whatever it was they thought, or their polling showed them, were touchstone issues which would help them get across the line at polling time.

"Who do you vote for?" an earnest school teacher asked him, looking him straight with salmon green eyes. "I don't like either of them. What do I tell my kids."

"Abandon all hope."

"Give up now."

It was a joke, and not a very good one; but it belied or echoed the deep irrationality that was now seizing the body politic.

For the two major parties in Australia had long ceased to serve the common man, serving instead only themselves and their vast bureaucracies, while the rest of us ran to stand still; and in a hush moment, time itself stood still. For it was here that the rubber hit the road. It was here that the utter irrationality of it all became evident.

"What do you think will happen?"

"I believe the central government will collapse in 2047; 25 years from now."

"That's very specific."

"I don't even know why I think that, but I do. If I'm in prophetic mode."

But it was true; this was where the country, now divided state by state with Premiers gifting themselves unparalleled powers, and the Federal government utterly failing to relate to normal voters, much less the bog Irish or the working population, who carried on about their lives as if an election had not been called, because this was a charade happening far away, and bore no relevance to their lives. 

The plundering of the public purse, the squandering of vast amounts of money, the misuse of public funds, the grandstanding, two old warhorses in a two horse race, the end result of preferential voting which left no need to truly represent the constituents, instead parading in a heftily manipulated media environment which, like the government they served, bore less and less resemblance to life as it is actually lived.

And therefore, to reach for an old cliché, sowed the seeds of their own destruction. 

And, unfortunately, the seeds for the destruction of the country, for a government that does not serve but in the end functions only for itself in a self-perpetuating cycle of harm and magnificent wastage, which has no heart and no soul and operates only on manufactured tenets, this is a government which in the end serves no purpose, and in the end will collapse. 

We soar across time, and can see this, even if you cannot; or wish not to see that which is everywhere apparent. 

Just as we come at the End of Empire, just as on a broader stage the American Empire is ending, so, too, in Australia, a parliamentary system which was once maintained as one of nation's crowning achievements now bordered on collapse. 

It would not happen today. It would not happen tomorrow. All the charades would be maintained for a season or two, before the inherent contradictions in what was meant to be a "representatative" democracy, would rip the place asunder, and people would return to the farms and the streets, tramp the roads in poverty and stare enviously at the rich; until a new form replaced the old, and a charismatic leader rose, and this pocket of prosperity would ward off the evil which had lapped across the land. 

And so it was, and so it will come to pass. 

MAINSTREAM NEWS

THE NEW DAILY  

The gap between Scott Morrison’s Coalition government and Anthony Albanese’s ALP has narrowed to 53-47 in the latest Newspoll.

Hours after the Prime Minister visited the Governor-General and declared a May 21 date for the federal election, the exclusive Newspoll of 1506 voters conducted between April 6 and 9 for The Australian revealed the tightest margin between the two major parties this year.

The 53-47 result revealed on Sunday night represents a 4.5 per cent swing against the ­government since the 2019 election.

If applied on a uniform basis across the 151 lower-house seats, the ­Coalition would be expected to lose 10 seats in the Parliament.

Labor’s primary vote fell to its lowest level since October, dropping a point to 37 per cent – the same level of support it had at the start of the 2019 election campaign.

But in a worrying sign for the Coalition, its primary vote was unchanged on 36 per cent. This means it must make significant gains in the next six weeks to be in a winning position.

Interestingly, support for minor parties and independents lifted to 27 per cent – almost two points above the 2019 election result – after a lift in support for Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party to 4 per cent.

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ABC

Australians will get to decide who leads the country for the next three years when they go to the polls in a federal election on May 21.

Key points:

• The election date sets up a six-week campaign which will pit Mr Morrison against Anthony Albanese

• Mr Morrison admitted his government was not "perfect" but that it was "up-front"

• Mr Albanese said Australia deserved better after almost nine years of the Coalition

Prime Minister Scott Morrison locked the date on Sunday after visiting the Governor-General in Canberra.

It sets up a six-week campaign that will pit Mr Morrison's Liberal-National Coalition against a Labor Party led by Anthony Albanese.

Mr Morrison said he did not think his government was "perfect" but that the public would judge it on what it had done over the last term.

"Our government is not perfect — we've never claimed to be, but we are up-front and you may see some flaws but you can also see what we have achieved for Australia in incredibly difficult times," he said.

"You can see our plan. Our plan will deliver more and better jobs and the lowest unemployment seen in some 50 years."

Catch up on all the news about the 2022 Australian federal election from in our blog

The Prime Minister was asked how he was feeling about the upcoming election, given the recent attacks on his personal character.

Mr Morrison has been accused of being a bully and a liar by members of his own party, including Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce — claims he has denied. 

"This election, others will seek to make it about me [but] it's about the people watching this right now," Mr Morrison said.

"It's about them. What we've demonstrated over these past three years is the ability to make those decisions that has ensured that Australia's recovery is leading the world."