After politely nodding through one of my recent anti-Abbott rants, my brother mused that it was interesting that I was still a Labor party faithful. Faithful? I spluttered. I’m not bloody faithful!
So the late nineties were a crazy, crazy time. People were buying Savage Garden CDs, men were popping Viagra for the first time and those creepy Furbys had just hit toy store shelves. I was in my late teens, and yes, I worked for The Party. Indeed, it was a very long time ago but, cards on the table, I did indeed earn a little cash from the ALP: (to steal a favoured histrionic lament from my grandmother): mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.
By 20 however, my interest in politics became exclusively academic. Analysing, commenting, mainly mocking. Not an indictment on the Party necessarily: I feel the same now about my feminism. Less marching, less boycotts, more sarcasm, more scorn, I say! And yet, while my one ALP membership has well and truly lapsed, yes, I’ll absolutely vote for Cath Bowtell tomorrow. None of this about faith, however. It’s not about any deep beliefs. It’s not about dyed-in-the-wool fervour and it's not about deluded optimism. Labor gets my vote because they're our best alternative.
News Limited's Vote-a-Matic suggests I vote Greens. An automated system would say this, of course: a passion for gay rights, women’s rights, workers rights: sure, Bob and Co make sense. Except for that one little detail overlooked by Vote-a-Matic: my hostility towards the environment. I'll be honest here: words like the sustainability make me want to hunt down some fossil fuels just to burn them. I glaze over when climate change is discussed. I hate sun on my skin - so much so in fact, a boyfriend once believed I was Gothic - and sometimes, hell, I even drink bottled water. And boy do I love a good long-haul flight! On the flipside, I don’t eat meat and I don’t drive a car: truth be told, I really think I've done enough.
In a two party system, I’m going to vote for the party that supports a feminist leader. The party that puts an Asian-born lesbian on the front bench. Yes, I’ve been ridiculously disappointed with the PM’s campaign and no, Labor is certainly not progressive enough for me. However, tomorrow my vote matters more than it ever has and tomorrow is not the time for petty polling day protests.
I’ll vote Labor and I’ll desperately hope they win. And when they win I'll spend the next few years voraciously complaining that they’re not progressive enough. As is my democratic right! But that delightful word enough will get me through. Not progressive enough is a vastly different thing from not progressive at all.
Dr Lauren Rosewarne
20 August 2010