Two weeks into the campaign and I’m sorry but the information overload is killing me.
This is the case especially at the national level, even though there’s only two talking heads, the prime minister and the man who wants his job.
Unfortunately, wherever they go they promise stuff that only affects wherever they happen to be, WA one day, Victoria the next morning and Queensland in the afternoon.
At this point I confess I envy their staying powers, doing the above day in, day out for almost five weeks.
But while we will give Mr Albanese and Mr Dutton 10 out of 10 for effort, they both get less than five from 10 for clarity of purpose for those watching their announcements every night on TV.
There are some promises that cut across state lines such as more money to bulk up bulk billing from Labor and a fuel excise cut by the Liberals.
Other than those kinds of national policies, it’s really hard to keep up with whatever it is they promising to do in places other than the one we live in, the mighty New South Wales.
But that’s where the local candidates come in, giving us voters plenty of food for thought, if not the opportunity to engage with them in real time thanks to social media.
This certainly has been the case with the election coverage of the South West Voice so far, and it’s tremendous to see that plenty of locals in Macarthur, Werriwa, Hughes and Hume are keen to see what the parties have to offer them over the next three years.
So far there have been some interesting contributions from the majors, and so we have decided to highlight them in this edition of Top 5:
Number 1. Lots and lots of promises of money for sport clubs, from both sides.
Number 2. The Liberals’ promise in Macarthur of nearly $4 million for Campbelltown Stadium. I know you should not look the gift horse in the mouth, but a few more zeroes wouldn’t have hurt, Angus and Binod. Wests Tigers CEO Shane Richardson is looking for a $150 million redevelopment.
Number 3. Labor’s promise of $50,000 for an International Mother Language monument certainly captured the interest of local voters. We also liked that Dr Freelander jumped on our social media page to engage with those who expressed a negative opinion about the proposal. Democracy in action, I reckon, so more, please.
Number 4. The Labor commitment of almost $30 million for a Medicare mental health centre in Werriwa and the opening of a headspace in Edmondson Park.
Number 5. After our opinion piece about a Tweedledee and Tweedledum campaign last week this missive put a smile on our dial: “My name is Connie Harvey and I am the Libertarian candidate for Macarthur. I am not dee or dum and definitely offer the bold, credible and solid alternative to the uiniparty on offer.’’
