More commentary on the Liberal Party leadership

I don't like writing about petty political situations.  I always try to hold this blog to a higher standard then hearsay and rumours.  I try to focus on the real issues - the real issues because the budget deficit and the upcoming "murders" of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan in Indonesia  I try to write about employment and immigration policy.

That is not possible at the moment because the Australian mainstream media is not letting the Liberal Government led by Tony Abbott govern.  They don't seem to understand that state and Federal politics are not one in the same.  They fail to understand that when people go to the polls on election day they vote for a team to lead until the next election, not until the media decides they should be out.

The sad reality is that the majority of voters are uninformed and get their political information from the media.  If the media isn't treating voters as citizens and only treats politics as a boxing match how are people supposed to do what's right for the country?

I'm going to be fair and balanced, as much as I can in this blog, despite being a Tony Abbott supporter.  The mainstream media would argue that Abbott made the following mistakes:

1. The wink.  Hey guess what folks, men wink.  It's not a crime.
2. The planned $7 Medicare charge when you see a doctor.  The Liberals were not given the chance to explain that this would only affect those who can actually afford to pay the $7, the mainstream media didn't speak to people willing to pay the fee.  Let me tell you, I'm willing to pay $7.  I'm even willing to pay $10 if it means we don't have to increase an excessive fee, and can someone tell me why those who can pay shouldn't pay?
3. The ABC/SBS cuts.  Do we need objective reporting?  Absolutely.  I back the ABC but SBS could afford to be cut.  Should regional news be cut?  Definitely not.  However, journalism doesn't pay the bills.  I'm actually surprised that the mainstream private media spoke out against these cuts when it would actually be in their best interests.  SBS could be cut though, so I have to back the Prime Minister on this but we do need a public broadcaster.
4. The knighthood.  Who cares?  This doesn't affect us and took up way too much air space.

The issues the media is focusing on are actually non issues in my book.  What Aussies DO care about is national security and getting the budget back in the black.  That is why they were voted in, in the first place.  They were voted in to repair Labor's mess and that means making tough decisions.  People were used to being spoon fed under Labor and now that the Coalition wants to repair the mess the media won't let them.

I don't want the Liberals to change leader and the reason is two fold: one, the Liberals shouldn't lower themselves to Labor's poor standards, and furthermore when Labor voted out Julia Gillard I was just as disgruntled about that.  There is no reason to sack Tony Abbott from within the party.  The reality of the matter is, he did what neither Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, nor former Liberal leader Brendan Nelson did, he took the Liberals to a victory in 2013.  It's almost as if that's been forgotten.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott did make a mistake on paid parental leave but primarily because it wouldn't address the issue of childcare that parents face.  Treasurer Joe Hockey articulated this much better on Friday when discussing childcare on Joe Hockey.  He wants women to be in the workforce and wants to enable that.  I genuinely believe the Liberals are committed to building a stronger Australia, an Australia that would be destroyed under Labor's rule should they gain power once again.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott, like any Prime Minister will face periods in their tenure when they are unpopular.  You can only please some of the electorate some of the time, but Abbott has done, and will hopefully be given the chance to continue, doing a brilliant job.

You see, it's not about what we want.  It's about what is best for the nation.  As the Liberals have said, if you have a household budget issue, you must cut spending or increase your income.  Raising taxes goes against the Liberal ideology so that means cutting spending. 

I think people in Australia have forgotten how lucky we are to live here and that in order to maintain our standard of living some tough budget measures must be introduced.  People need to stop being self centred and start thinking about the greater good.  The greater good is not a free ride for people who can pay.  Why shouldn't people pay for a service they use?

Most importantly, people need to get behind Tony Abbott and support him.  He rightfully earned the Prime Ministership, nobody else did, and I cannot stress this enough, it's not a position to be taken lightly or treated like an after school job. 

We cannot keep on going through Prime Ministers.  That's not democracy.  We can't keep on electing parties and then having things change when the going gets tough.  It makes a mockery of the entire system and demeans people's votes. 

I sincerely hope the Liberals start thinking about the country and stop being self centred like Luke Simpkins and other disgruntled backbenchers (who, when you think about it now, they're lowly backbenchers for a reason) because if they don't, they're giving a free pass to Labor to win in 2016, and that would be devastating for the country.  What's to say a new leader wouldn't be attacked by the media?  I'm willing to put money on them being just as harsh because they can't handle that the Labor Party and their mates lost in 2013.

Some would say that the Federal Liberal Party is hurting state Liberals but state and federal politics are not the same.  There are different issues, different people.  It's like council isn't the same as state politics.

I wish people in Australia would take politics more seriously.  This isn't some sports match we're talking about.  We're talking about a nation's entire future here.