The Day I Met Tony Abbott

Have you ever met a Prime Minister?

I want to tell you my story of the day I met Tony Abbott, and what I said to him.

Though first, I remember the former Australian Government, and the time I shook the hand of the then Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in the large foyer of Parliament House in Darwin. It was like getting a photo with Santa: A long line, lots of anticipation, a quick wry smile from Kevin '07, and then a slight drooping of the shoulders from my wife and I, as we realised, this was just a handshake and we were not going to be gifted with new toys or given an additional baby bonus. You could sense the body language of the Prime Minister: 'How long is this line, and how long am I going to have to stand here and shake the hands of people I don't even know?!' and 'How humid is it in Darwin?!'

I did also shake the hand of the Liberal Treasurer, Peter Costello, some years back. Again, it was a quick handshake, a smile and one sentence that made me feel good about myself.  I'm not sure what I have gained in life by such handshakes, but I digress.

The day I met Tony Abbott.

Well, what would you have said? Now, be nice. We have a growing dissatisfaction with politicians today (atleast in Australian culture, though I suggest it is not much different in other Western world contexts). The problem is we not only hold them to account, but we trample over their self-esteem and we yell at them like they're a piece of rubbish. Irrespective of your ideology, politicians should be treated with respect. That being said, what would you say?

If I had my chance again I would've asked him, how he would feel if he was fleeing violence from his country of origin, and was locked up in a jail in Nauru. Maybe I would've asked him to suggest that Christopher Pyne smile a little more. I could've asked him whether he was a little harsh on Julia Gillard during her time in office.

Though, the day I met Tony Abbott, this is what happened. Prime Minister Abbott asked if I had any thoughts on how to develop leaders.We spoke about leadership development for some time. I spoke about the importance of Emotional Intelligence and developing the capacity to deal with all sorts of criticism. I suggested the need to empower people, to develop just economic policies and tips on how to clearly articulate any future governmental policy decisions.

The problem was... This was a dream I had last night. We did in fact speak of such things, but only in the imagination of my pre-frontal cortext or whatever area my dreamy brain was using.

I do wonder though, if I did have a chance to meet another Australian Prime Minister, whether I would just shake a hand, and stand, curious and in awe of the office of the Prime Minister, or whether I would have the guts to ask something of significance that would be for the betterment of Australian culture.

God willing, one day I will have the chance.

What wing are you? Left? Right?

Someone is labelled a left-wing liberal. Someone is ridiculed for being a right-wing fundamentalist. Is there anybody who is simply, in the middle?

When it comes to faith, I want to be in the middle. In the middle of what God wants me to do. In the middle of a proper outlook on life. In the middle of my understanding of the Scriptures.

I don't want to be left-wing or right-wing. I just want to be in the middle.

Though, who is ever in the middle? No one is ever labelled as being, 'in the middle'. Maybe the middle is too hard to handle, like a slippery eel. A place that is reserved for no one. A place too difficult to navigate towards.

Reading through the political reflections of Bob Hawke in his autobiography, 'The Hawke Memoirs' (1994), he speaks of keeping the radical left-wingers of his own party united, and keeping the right-wingers at bay. Creating unity within the seemingly volatile political landscape was no easy feat. Bob Hawke had to lead a country with right-wing opposition and left-wing political maneuvering to remove him from office.

I don't intend to be right-wing or left-wing, politically or religiously. I intend to do my best, even if you call it naive, to be in the middle of God's plans and purposes.

The challenge? Define the middle ground.  

The Great Political Nothing

Australian eyes have been on federal politics of late, as we consider the votes we have made, the local candidates we have made MPs and the influence this may or may not have on our country. So what have we created? What has our democratic right given us? Well, following all the party politics, scare mongering and unenthusiastic political debates, we have ended up with a hung parliament. What a great democratic process; that spends millions of dollars to encourage and resource the average Australian to 'make their vote count', and yet cannot decide who should lead our country.

What's with the statement that says we need to give independents time to consider what political party they will align with? What's with that? I mean, they knew a federal election was coming and they should already have clearly thought about their stance on particular policies and whether they would lean towards Labor or Liberal. While Australia waits in limbo for a minority Australian Government to be formed, the independents and Greens candidate Adam Brandt are sipping coffees, and enjoying the new 'power' they have in federal politics. Get on with it, I say, and finish your 'talks' and show Australia who will be our next Prime Minister.

Is this a sign of how long the decisions will take under a minority Government? Everytime a particular policy is put forward, the independents will think, sip coffee, think again, have another sip, and one day make a decision on where they stand. What have we done Australia? We've created a slow, apathetic decision making Government, that will now have to weight all their policies against the political agendas of 4 or 5 politicians.       

What caused this? Was it the fact that many Australians remained undecided on who they really wanted to vote for? How many people said, 'Ahh, its really about voting in the best of the worst'? Or was it Mark Latham's pathetic cry to the public to make a donkey vote, which created the record 6% informal vote at this years election? How many simply voted Greens or Independents just because they couldn't decide whether it was Labor or Liberal's right to govern. Whatever the case may be, we are left hanging to dry, wondering if anyone will get the clothes off the line, and put the clothes back in the drawer and move on. Not for now. We're left hanging and left questioning the democratic process, and whether our vote actually made a difference. This is the Great Political Nothing.

God help us.

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