InDaily editorial: How to vote
One of the anachronistic quirks of the newspaper business is that editors still believe people care about their opinion on election candidates.
At each federal election, every newspaper in Australia pens a pompous editorial about which party gets their support.
Indeed, most have done it today, with the notable exception of those who got in early. On day one of the campaign, Rupert Murdoch’s Sydney paper, The Daily Telegraph, set the tone for its coverage, rather than summing up proceedings at the end.
It’s exhortation to “KICK THIS MOB OUT” was either welcomed or rejected, depending on the reader’s predilections. Today, The Advertiser also endorses Tony Abbott’s Liberals, with some high-flown rhetoric about setting Australia on a new path.
Does this sort of thing sway any votes? Probably not many.
Because it amounts to this: one of the least trusted professions in Australia – newspaper journalism – making pious recommendation about one of the other most hated professions in Australia – politics.
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InDaily would not presume to tell its readers which party to vote for – we know you too well.
You’re a feisty, keen-eyed and critical (in a good way) lot. You want news and informed analysis from your independent newspaper – not a push in a particular ideological direction.
However, I have given thought to some issues that you may wish to take with you into the ballot box.
My inspiration has come from a book published in Adelaide in 1985 – and one that has sat on my bookshelf these past nearly 30 years.
As a young journalist, this book, News Sense, was a grandfatherly guide for me. It is an instructional book for new reporters written by Bob Jervis, who was a long-time cadet counselor at The Advertiser and part of a generation of reporters who valued, above all, integrity, accuracy and a punchy lead paragraph. If he were alive today, I’m sure Jervis would be aghast at the “comment” that has been masquerading as news during this campaign.
In his chapter on this very issue (entitled ‘Comment? Not for new chums’), Jervis quotes, favourably, the leading article in the London Daily Mirror or July 4, 1945 – its last message to voters before the British general election:
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‘Tomorrow the future of Britain and yourselves is at stake – your hearths, and homes, your families, your jobs, your dreams. Vote for them! For five long years the lusty youth of this great land has bled and died. Vote for them. You women must think of your men. For five years you have depended on them. Tomorrow they depend on you. The choice is plain; to march forward to a better and happier Britain or turn back to the dangers that led us to the brink of disaster. You know which way your men would march. Vote for them.”
In that spirit, I offer the following thoughts about how to vote tomorrow. Do with them what you will.
Vote because you can: Tomorrow, every Australian citizen over the age of 18 has the opportunity to vote in free and fair elections – this is a privilege not shared by enough people in the world. If for no other reason, vote because you can.
Vote below the line in the Senate: Democracy is precious – don’t waste a drop, and don’t let the backroom deal-makers have their way.
Vote for a positive reason – not just because you hate the other guy: For all our handwringing about incompetent governments and negative oppositions, Australian politicians – of all stripes – have shown themselves to be among the most capable in the world over the past century. Whatever happens, the sky won’t fall in on Sunday.
Vote for stability – and for change: Without swinging voters, Australian governments would never change. On the other hand, rusted-on voters ensure the electoral pendulum swings slowly, not wildly. Both kinds of voters are important.
Vote for our generosity, and our scruples: Australia has shown itself to be a country that is happy to give people a leg-up when they need it. Sometimes we’re too generous; other times too stingy. We also get it right more often than most other nations.
Vote with perspective: The next Prime Minister will be faced with difficult, intractable problems both overseas and at home. The gaffes, missteps and slogans of the campaign will mean little as the next PM navigates his way. Whatever happens, the sum of human misery in the world will remain enormous and largely distant from Australians, citizens of one of the most fortunate nations on earth.
David Washington is Editor of InDaily.
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