The Loss Progressives Needed
By Jay Coonan
In the fallout of the ALP’s devastating election loss many of its members will take to the various social media formats to begin pointing fingers and deciding who is to blame; the voters, the Greens, anybody but themselves. To be fair however, this attack isn’t solely targeted at the ALP, it is a broad criticism of progressivism in Australia and it’s failure, yet again, to leave the cities and lend an ear to those in the outer-suburbs and regional Australia.
The continued position of progressives is to promote prosperity through change, essentially they’re not even in the stage of the cart before the horse, as they haven’t even managed to fully develop the wheel. This is evident in the ALP’s wipeout in Queensland and Western Australia, two states dominated by mining and agriculture, states who would be hit hardest in the “transition” economy.
To write off the two largest states in the country as “backwards”, or “racist” as their support for minor and conservative parties is incredibly unfair. These areas have already been affected by the death of manufacture and industry, so the only natural thing for these areas is to hold onto the remaining industry that is keeping their communities alive, and that is mining. It is not “conservative” to hose the flames that are engulfing your home, so why in their eyes would it be antithetical to want to end coal mining, if the alternative is seeing their history annihilated by a seemingly empty alternative?
The devastation of climate inaction is real. The IPCC report released in late-2018 implores international action to reduce emissions to 45% by 2030, based on 2010 emissions, and then zero by 2050, in order to meet a 1.5 degree global increase that will still see 70-90% of coral reefs decimated, morbidities and mortalities increase due to a warming climate etc. We know the threat, it’s real and it’s right at our door. But how can we ever progress beyond the narrative or “transition” if we don’t give people something to ensure them that there is still a future for their families and their communities?
It should be of no surprise that the coalition claimed victory on 18 May, they have a list of projects up their sleeves; they support the opening of the Galilee Basin, they have given people the prospect of continuing their communities and are offering them jobs. The fact that automation and over inflated job numbers come along with these projects doesn’t matter to those on the ground, it’s just the fact that they’re proposed in the first place, that’s enough for people to want to vote for the continuation of polluting industries.
So what to do?
It’s pretty obvious what progressives need to do, they need to offer an actual vision for the future for these communities. What do you offer them? You offer them projects, you offer them new industry, in the form of sustainable carbon neutral alternatives, actual plans with names and dates and most importantly, jobs.
Jobs aren’t the only thing that needs to occur, progressives also need to go out there and listen, not talk, but listen to the concerns of people out there and hear what they have to say; what are their fears, their visions for the future, their ideas of progress. This doesn’t come in the form of mobilising a convey in Melbourne, and then heading to the Galilee area via MacKay to waggle a few fingers (full disclaimer, I’m a Greens member), this is not the idea of progression.
Progress is not a matter of the left or the right, progress is about overcoming obstacles, it’s about seeing an issue and working with everyone who is affected by the issue and developing a solution. One of the solutions worth looking into is an Australian version of the Green New Deal that is being discussed in progressive circles in the US. Afterall, progressives now have three more years to work out their plan, and it needs to be good. Because, we can’t wait six years to take action on the looming extinction crisis.
As Tony Abbott said, “'Where climate change is a moral issue,' he said, 'we Liberals do it tough. Where climate change is an economic issue, as tonight [May 18] shows, we do very, very well.'
And you know what, he’s right.