THERE’S a little under three weeks until election day and the promises are coming thick and fast.
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Promises of cash at the end of the rainbow – a pot of gold, if you will.
Some pretty large infrastructure projects are coming in for attention, and you could at least say it’s recognition at the highest level of the need for a big budget build to support a growing regional economy.
Where state and local governments have struggled to come up with the cash, the federal government can come in over the top and just get things done.
Or can they, when so many of these promises rely on co-operation (and in some cases money) from all levels of government to reach fruition.
So, how much of what we’re being promised in the lead up to this election is real money?
You know, money you can bank on at the end of the day to actually deliver something tangible for the electorate.
As voters, we need to be a little discerning and ask the right questions of our political candidates.
What is funded? What is not?
What is a core commitment, what is not?
As voters, we want to see these projects delivered.
Now, from a government perspective (and it’s across the board) there’s levels of “deliverability” – yes, no, maybe and, “it’s not our fault they can’t find the final piece of the puzzle, we did our bit”.
So again, our candidates need to be accountable.
We’ve seen it all before, from governments of all persuasions.
It’s about playing politics and winning votes.
Wouldn’t it be nice if it was more about need?
That is, what communities need, what families need, what rural and regional Australians need, instead of political gain.
How about we have a system of government that just gets things done, that doesn’t wait for an election to have a great idea?
A system of government that doesn’t pander to marginal electorates, over electorates actually in need of services and infrastructure.
Hang on, for a second there we were living in a parallel universe full of unicorns and – oh wait, there it is – that pot of gold!
So it’s back to reality for voters, but remember, on election day, we’re the ones who hold the balance of power.
