Rudd's smiling now, but for how long?
Is Australia’s Labour Party suffering the same unpopularity vote as the UK Labour Party? Recent polls have discovered that Rudd is fast falling out of favour with Australians.
In the UK general elections Labour gained a dismal 258 seats after Gordon Brown’s party lost the trust of the British people over the recession, immigration, public spending and tax cuts. Australia’s Labour party have been battered by controversial plans to shelve an emissions trading scheme, on his equally controversial “big Australia” plan which have led to heated debates on Australian immigration and the doomed plans to build 260 childcare centres.
Australia’s elections are due before November and from what the polls suggest, Labour could well lose. If the Liberal Party gain momentum, Abbott’s tough stance on immigration could see the already tight immigration program shut its doors to many migrants looking to work in Australia.
However the Labour party is struggling to remind people of how Prime Minister Rudd guided them during the global recession so successfully that not only did they escape the recessional grip that caught so many developed nations, but actually saw some growth during that period. One of the main reasons for Australia’s global success is her strong trading relations with India and China. Many big businesses at the heart of those trading relations rely on skilled migrants to cover skill shortages and those businesses have been critical of the DIAC’s tough visa legislation changes in the past. As a country built from immigration it would do well for the government to remember how important migration has been for the success of the economy.
In the meantime the UK could well be looking towards Australia right now for guidance as to how best to work with a two-party system. Until 2007 Australia was led by a Liberal/National coalition, similar to a Liberal Democrat/Conservation coalition if there is one. However Labour won the majority of seats in the 2007 election, however the Senate is governed by minor parties, which means that an existing government needs to seek the support of the minor parties in the Senate in order to pass through any new legislation. This works well because of the tight internal party discipline.
Australia’s migration points system is also being scrutinised by officials over in the UK and is largely thought of by developed nations to be one of the best immigration systems. The points system is currently under review and changes are expected later on this year.
Will any of this be enough to save Labour at the next elections? They must be glancing towards the UK with worried expressions right now at what is happening with our hung parliament. Ultimately they must convince the voters that they can take Australia to bigger and better things and with immigration being so hotly discussed, let’s hope Rudd always remembers to turn his microphone off!
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