Editorial comment

On the weekend of March 15-16, Australians will listen to the call out and join in the streets to voice “no confidence,” in the policies of the Turnbull Coalition government.

In the aftermath of last year’s election, The Pen suggested that the government was illegitimate for several reasons. It failed to present key policies to the public, failed to get most voters and only hung on because of a gerrymander and undemocratic second preference deals. The Coalition also managed to scrape home because Australians were angry at the Labor Party, perceived as being part of the problem of politicians who do not listen.

Poll after poll has shown that most Australians did not support Coalition polices. They do not support them now. The Pen suggested after the election that the Turnbull Coalition government did not have a mandate. The case is even stronger today.

It is therefore just that Australians should show their collective opposition and demand policies that are based on caring about people, not policies that sacrifice humanity for the bottom line of the rich and privileged.

Australians do not want polices that leave them and their loved ones worse off, have prospects wiped out and marginalises the most vulnerable to continue. Instead, people have been calling for a turn to fairness, inclusiveness, community building and working together for our common benefit. It means respect for others, including defending jobs and working conditions, ensuring those out of work have freedom from poverty and bullying, that the rights of the First Australians are met, that different ethnic groups and faiths and refugees are treated, in the way we all expect to be treated, that everyone has the right to marriage. It means that the ongoing erosion of our rights must be reversed and that policies driven by neoliberal thought be put to an end.

Australians want an end to pandering to fossil fuel interests and a positive action to eliminate harmful emissions that contribute to global warming. Many want action on building a new sustainable economy, which will propel Australia out of backwardness and into the future.

Together we can build momentum for change.

 

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Video from March Australia