election | organised castle

There is only one topic tonight – the election of Donald Trump as 45th president of the United States. Like many others, I am draped in a cloak of disbelief. How could this happen?

2016-11-9-01

I am not a great fan of Hilary Clinton but even a shred of decency should have been enough to drive people away from Trump in droves.

However, the decision has been made and unfortunately we are all going to have to live with it. The ramifications of a Trump presidency have the potential to be far-reaching and affect people far beyond the boundaries of the United States.

So, what does this mean for Australia? According to early media speculation, an increasingly isolationist America would almost certainly impact on trade, defence and foreign policy. Strategic alliances with Indonesia, our populous Muslim neighbour, relations with China and the problems in the South China Sea and of course trade agreements are all at risk.

Closer to home, this election victory has given Mr Trump’s Australian surrogates such as Liberal senator Cory Bernardi, One Nation senator Pauline Hanson and the LNP’s George Christensen, the opportunity to claim an endorsement of their own views on topics as diverse as immigration, refugees and climate change.

I am fearful of what this means for our future but I am also hopeful that commonsense and decency will prevail.

My last post and your responses shone a light on those things in our lives for which we are grateful. Health, happiness, family, financial security, a home and a safe place to live all figured prominently.

Are we so greedy and mean-spirited as to not consider sharing any of this with people less fortunate than ourselves?

Next month we will be presented with a choice that is no choice between the policies of the two major political parties in this country on the treatment of asylum seekers .

Mr Abbott has been telling us for months that he is going to turn the boats around and now Mr Rudd has announced, and I quote: “If you come by boat, you will never permanently live in Australia”. You can see the whole policy announcement here.

Even more worrying is the fact that almost two-thirds of Australians support this harsh approach. I am bitterly disappointed that most of our current and would-be politicians have plumbed these callous attitudes in a merciless vote-buying exercise.