Thursday, July 06, 2006
Are the WA Liberals hypocrites?
The Liberal Party in Western Australia has abandoned traditional Liberal values in its grubby deal with Labor and the other parties to prop up terminally ill, dysfunctional and largely irrelevant organisations.
On their website, the WA Liberals state:
We are the party of initiative and enterprise.
We believe in the inalienable rights and freedoms of all peoples; and we work towards a lean government that minimises interference in our daily lives; and maximises individual and private sector initiative.
We believe in government that nurtures and encourages its citizens through incentive, rather than putting limits on people through the punishing disincentives of burdensome taxes and the stifling structures of Labor's corporate state and bureaucratic red tape.
We believe in those most basic freedoms of parliamentary democracy - the freedom of thought, worship, speech and association.
We believe in a just and humane society in which the importance of the family and the role of law and justice is maintained.
We believe in equal opportunity for all Australians; and the encouragement and facilitation of wealth so that all may enjoy the highest possible standards of living, health, education and social justice.
We believe that, wherever possible, government should not compete with an efficient private sector; and that businesses and individuals - not government - are the true creators of wealth and employment.
We believe in preserving Australia's natural beauty and the environment for future generations.
We believe that our nation has a constructive role to play in maintaining world peace and democracy through alliance with other free nations.
In short, we simply believe in individual freedom and free enterprise; and if you share this belief, then ours is the Party for you.
(http://www.waliberals.net/walibs/beliefs.aspx)
In short, the Liberal Party supports the idea that a free market economy is the most efficient means of allocating scarce resources.
If a business enterprise is not viable it fails. This is the natural order of things and market forces act to fill the void that results. The Libs would argue that there is no role for Government to prop up a failing organisation (e.g. Rothwells, PICL, et al) – indeed it is an anathema to supporters of traditional Liberal values.
This is one of the core values at the very heart of Liberal philosophy and it reverberates through almost every aspect of Liberal policy. It is apparent in their approach to industrial relations, tourism, the environment, law and order – the list is endless.
The Liberals have abandoned this core belief by choosing to support taxpayer-funded elections. It is apparent to everyone with even a passing interest in politics that the Liberal Party in WA is in serious trouble and one problem, but by no means the only problem nor the most serious, facing the party is financial. The Libs are living on credit. Their traditional support base among the business community has finally realised the party has nothing to offer in return for financial contributions.
The Libs botched handling of the one-vote-one-value issue means that they are unlikely to win government for many years. They have no influence whatever on Government policy and the business community knows this. As a result there is no logic in the continued support of business donors.
The Libs have looked into their crystal ball and have seen what the future holds. They need funds to survive and they have been all too ready to abandon core beliefs and align with Labor to get their hands on taxpayer dollars.
If the WA Libs were true to their fundamental beliefs, they would reject this obscene money grab. They would do what they expect other organisations to do in similar circumstances and that is to evolve and adapt to meet the demands of the market or fail and leave the market altogether.
The Liberal Party has an opportunity to adapt and evolve and to distinguish itself from Labor. If it chooses to accept that challenge it might emerge as a stronger, more vibrant and more attractive option for the voting public.
This path means overhauling the Party to remove the influence of factions and powerbrokers and, as such, It will never be embraced.
If the Party were to fail completely, the void would soon be filled by a new conservative political organisation. Traditional Liberal philosophy holds that this should be allowed to occur.
By getting into bed with Labor and abandoning core beliefs the Liberal Party destroys any credibility it may have remaining with voters.
More importantly, it labels itself as hypocritical – the ultimate political sin.
On their website, the WA Liberals state:
We are the party of initiative and enterprise.
We believe in the inalienable rights and freedoms of all peoples; and we work towards a lean government that minimises interference in our daily lives; and maximises individual and private sector initiative.
We believe in government that nurtures and encourages its citizens through incentive, rather than putting limits on people through the punishing disincentives of burdensome taxes and the stifling structures of Labor's corporate state and bureaucratic red tape.
We believe in those most basic freedoms of parliamentary democracy - the freedom of thought, worship, speech and association.
We believe in a just and humane society in which the importance of the family and the role of law and justice is maintained.
We believe in equal opportunity for all Australians; and the encouragement and facilitation of wealth so that all may enjoy the highest possible standards of living, health, education and social justice.
We believe that, wherever possible, government should not compete with an efficient private sector; and that businesses and individuals - not government - are the true creators of wealth and employment.
We believe in preserving Australia's natural beauty and the environment for future generations.
We believe that our nation has a constructive role to play in maintaining world peace and democracy through alliance with other free nations.
In short, we simply believe in individual freedom and free enterprise; and if you share this belief, then ours is the Party for you.
(http://www.waliberals.net/walibs/beliefs.aspx)
In short, the Liberal Party supports the idea that a free market economy is the most efficient means of allocating scarce resources.
If a business enterprise is not viable it fails. This is the natural order of things and market forces act to fill the void that results. The Libs would argue that there is no role for Government to prop up a failing organisation (e.g. Rothwells, PICL, et al) – indeed it is an anathema to supporters of traditional Liberal values.
This is one of the core values at the very heart of Liberal philosophy and it reverberates through almost every aspect of Liberal policy. It is apparent in their approach to industrial relations, tourism, the environment, law and order – the list is endless.
The Liberals have abandoned this core belief by choosing to support taxpayer-funded elections. It is apparent to everyone with even a passing interest in politics that the Liberal Party in WA is in serious trouble and one problem, but by no means the only problem nor the most serious, facing the party is financial. The Libs are living on credit. Their traditional support base among the business community has finally realised the party has nothing to offer in return for financial contributions.
The Libs botched handling of the one-vote-one-value issue means that they are unlikely to win government for many years. They have no influence whatever on Government policy and the business community knows this. As a result there is no logic in the continued support of business donors.
The Libs have looked into their crystal ball and have seen what the future holds. They need funds to survive and they have been all too ready to abandon core beliefs and align with Labor to get their hands on taxpayer dollars.
If the WA Libs were true to their fundamental beliefs, they would reject this obscene money grab. They would do what they expect other organisations to do in similar circumstances and that is to evolve and adapt to meet the demands of the market or fail and leave the market altogether.
The Liberal Party has an opportunity to adapt and evolve and to distinguish itself from Labor. If it chooses to accept that challenge it might emerge as a stronger, more vibrant and more attractive option for the voting public.
This path means overhauling the Party to remove the influence of factions and powerbrokers and, as such, It will never be embraced.
If the Party were to fail completely, the void would soon be filled by a new conservative political organisation. Traditional Liberal philosophy holds that this should be allowed to occur.
By getting into bed with Labor and abandoning core beliefs the Liberal Party destroys any credibility it may have remaining with voters.
More importantly, it labels itself as hypocritical – the ultimate political sin.
