Today I ordered my preferences for both the lower and upper houses in the Australian Federal Election. I was impressed with Below the Line as I diligently dragged the Senate candidates up and down after reading about the various political parties. The list of candidates for the House of Representitives for my seat was easy enough to handle manually.

But I am not sure I can be bothered to go and vote. It’s not the train fare, we were thinking of going to Copenhagen anyway. And it’s not that I am registered to vote in a seat so safe that Volvo is looking at using the technology in its next car. It’s that I am so disillusioned with politics – even if I cast the deciding vote I am not satisfied with the difference it will make.

Politics has become a career. There is no room for ideology as the political corporations seek market dominance. Political ideology is no longer a vision for the nation, it is about ensuring a sufficient number of votes market dominance in a sufficient number of electorates markets.

To facility change in Australian politics today, you need to be part of a focus group. You don’t need any qualification – from my observation it actually helps not to have them. No, this is more like a psychologists couch – you vent your fears and prejudices. Then the political corporations roll them into their product offerings. How else can someone explain to me why 2000 people coming by boat to seek refuge from unwarranted persecution can be blamed for trafic delays in Sydney?!

We need leadership. Leaders shape opinions and beliefs. They don’t just follow them.

I was pleased to see on the issue of adoption by same-sex partners that the Swedish politicians lead public opinion, rather than waited for it to catch up with their own beliefs. When introduced, adoption by same-sex partners was only supported by 17% of the nation, but eight years later it is supported by a majority of the Swedish nation. They did what they thought was right and took the nation forward with them.

I recommend you listen to the discussion on Late Night Live from 4 August 2010.