Do you agree with all of Labor's policies? How about all of the Liberal's policies?
No?
Interesting, because roughly nine times out of ten people have voted for one of those two parties, despite not believing in every policy they have.
I bring this up because it’s the biggest reason I’m given not to vote Green. “I could never vote Green – I don’t agree with their policy on free tooth extraction of rotten molars in the under 50s*…” you know, that sort of thing. People are hung up on some small time policy that they’ve been scaremongered into believing will cause the downfall of all society as we know it.
The thing is that I doubt anyone believes in all the policies of any one party. I’m pretty sure Penny Wong isn’t completely down with Labor’s stance on same-sex marriage, and I sure as hell know Malcolm Turnbull isn’t down with the Liberal’s lack of “real action” on climate change. If even the party faithful aren’t true believers, then it’s going to be pretty rare for the average punter to find a party with a 100% policy match. That is of course, if you could figure out exactly what each party’s policies actually are – and if you could find points of difference between the Lib-Labs.
I repeat what I’ve said before – I saw more policy on The Age’s “vote-a-matic” than in any other piece of campaign paraphernalia. The Age didn’t oversimplify, and it let us play “three party preferred” games. Instead of giving a red or blue answer, it showed us a breakdown of how our ideals matched those of the three major parties.
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| 81.3% - on most tests that would be an "A." |
This was a little revolutionary – choosing a party based on policies! I had friends emailing me to reveal their results and their resulting confusion. People who’d always voted Labor who now found they were actually in more agreement with the Libs. Liberals who were actually Green at heart. People who were split in perfect thirds. Just like politics, voters are complicated.
All relationships, even those between voters and political parties, come with deal breakers. Dr Phil and Oprah would be proud of me for internalising this. You have to decide what your deal breakers are first, and if your party isn’t giving you what you need, you have to “kick them to the kerb.” Maybe you don’t agree 100% with the exact boundaries of the Green’s marine parks, but as a lesbian fisherwoman in Bob Katter’s electorate, can you really vote for the man who doesn’t believe there are any homosexuals in North Queensland? Maybe you’re a unionised teacher from inner Sydney who doesn’t agree with the Greens acceptance of refugees who come by boat, but did you really agree with Labor’s myschool website? Maybe you’re a selfish merchant banker who’s rich uncle is about to die, and the Green’s death duty tax might shave a bit off your preposterously large inheritance, but you’re making your own fortune trading renewable energy and carbon offsetting shares… so do you really want to keep voting for the Liberal’s lack of action?
Find your dealbreakers. Analyse the policies. Kick someone to the kerb. I thought I was a Labor voter, but it turned out 80% of me wanted the Greens – how red or blue were you?
*As far as I’m aware, not an actual or specific Green policy. But it does sound like a good idea to me.
