The rise of ‘marginal seat’ pork barrelling reduces our care for ALL Australians (let alone refugees and international aid recipients).
The electorate in which I live has become a marginal seat and an anticipated benefit is that Hobart can expect greater attention from politicians in the form of ‘sweeteners’. This is actually about buying the goodwill of the voter in marginal seats and so gaining a favourable election outcome. But pork barrelling advantages small sections of Australia at the expense of the national interest. This corrupts the allocation of our scarce national resources.
Of course we express this in polite terms: (eg. from Denison shock looms)
Mr Wilkie said he had sensed many voters felt Denison was being overlooked because it was not a marginal seat.
This is reflected in the Prime Minister’s recent interview when questioned about Labour’s ‘pork barrelling’ of marginal seats, (from Gillard rejects pork barrell suggestion)
“I think the word `corrupt or corruption’ figures in (the Auditor General’s report on a Howard Govt program) somewhere.”
But when asked another question about pork barrelling of marginal seats, Ms Gillard could not resist spruiking a $160 million federal government commitment to build a Townsville ring road in the marginal Queensland electorate of Herbert.
“You may think some of these promises for local communities aren’t important, well excuse me for differing,” she said.
“You couldn’t get a more important piece of economic infrastructure for our mining industry so to take a broad brush view and to say anything that’s been promised locally is just somehow political trickery, I beg to differ.”
Corruption distorts decision making and sacrifices the well being of the many for the well being of the few. In this case ‘the few’ are those living in a marginal seat.
Is this Christian? Not likely! Try the tradition of the prophets. Can we identify ourselves in the mirror held up to us by Isaiah 1;23 (Amplified Bible),
23Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves; everyone loves bribes and runs after compensation and rewards. They judge not for the fatherless nor defend them, neither does the cause of the widow come to them [for they delay or turn a deaf ear].
Jesus saw through a lawyer’s attempt to escape the obligations of love of neighbour. The lawyer challenged Jesus with a self-interested question, “Who is my neighbour?”. Jesus responded with the towering challenge of the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) and the scorching, “Go and do likewise.” ie, Go and show mercy to ALL; even those who are not your own people; even those who are not in your own electorate!
A discerning comment on self-interest from former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam:
The punters know that the horse named Morality rarely gets past the post, whereas the nag named Self-Interest always runs a good race.
Jesus said (Mark 10:45),
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Now, there’s the challenge for ALL Australians: to care for the underdog, to love our neighbour, to give rather than to gain. It’s the spirit of ANZAC, it’s the spirit of Christ.
