Australia (politics and more)

Written while flying to Singapore 8/12/11

As a young boy growing up in Tooting,South london I had two young friends who I used to play with, they lived across the road. It must have been about 1959 when my parents told me that they were moving to Australia. I'm not sure I had much of a clue as to where that was. However back then it was still very much a one-way ticket, only later did I discover what was meant by the term "ten bob pom"

As I gre up Australia became a place of interest, and in fact deep interest every couple of years when the Ashes took centre stage in my life. I still remember the summer of 1961 when my father took me to the Oval to see England led by Peter May take on Australia led by Ritchie Benaud. My first test match, but that's another story. The chance to visit Australia in fact never materialised until I was 50.

The decision of my mother in law and step father in law to emigrate to the outskirts of Sydney has made frequent visits necessary as they have become older. This was our sixth visit, on the first visit I felt like a tourist wanting to see everything that Sydney has to offer, however with every subsequent visit I have reacquainted myself with modern Australia. As an avid newspaper reader I soon brought myself up to speed with the current political debates and developments.

Perhaps not surprisingly some of the discussions mirrored those taking place in the UK ( pension age/contributions and retirement age). Australia has so far however evaded the worst of the financial crisis, nevertheless the economic boom that centres largely on Queensland and Western Australia has shallow foundations and is built on the back of mining and mineral extraction. This boom has been export led and has forced up the value of the Australian dollar making other export industries uncompetitive and of course makes Australia increasingly expensive for visitors from the Uk.

The current labor government won the narrowest of victories in 2010. It seems widely accepted that victory was taken for granted , this view is now regarded as truth by the party elite. Meanwhile the opposition coalition of Liberals/Nationalists have adopted the "oppose everything" strategy.

In recent months the ALP government have introduced a carbon tax and my arrival coincided with a vote to introduce a tax on the profits of the mining corporations. These policies fundamental in tackling both climate change and the imbalance in the economy and presented as U turns by Australian prime minister Julia Gilliard.

In December the ALP held its conference in Sydney, while the government wanted the main focus to be on economic affairs and particularly "jobs", it was the motion to accept same sex marriage that attracted the most media attention, with street demonstrations supporting and opposing any change.

In addition the conference also discussed selling uranium to India, again controversial as Australia is committed to nuclear non proliferation. So why the discussion of same sex marriage and the introduction of a carbon tax. One view being put forward is that Labor is losing its grip on its old inner city heartlands. The once strong trade union movement is in decline, and many young Australians have turned against the illiberal march of the ALP.

The only party to consistently support same sex marriage is the Greens, and although they nationally still poll in single figures, they are gaining in strength in cosmopolitan inner city areas. Having won a seat in Melbourne in 2010 they are poised for further breakthroughs in what could be deemed "post-Labour" communities.

The parallels with the UK are only too stark, the real issue in the next couple of years in both Australia and the UK is one of electoral credibility. In both countries Labo(u)r is floundering , its lack of opposition in the UK is breathtaking, while in Australia its policy initiatives on the environment are welcome but clearly have not been sols to a wide enough cross section of the population.