WRITE DIRECTION: Prediction for our political future

I HAVE just finished watching my favourite Sunday morning TV program, the ABC’s Insiders, hosted by David Speers.

It was the 25-year celebration show featuring its original instigators, especially its first host Barry Cassidy.

Conceived while they were working as overseas media correspondents, it was my choice as the “must-watch” show for its impressive lineup of commentators and guests.

It provides highly informed information and predictions from non-aligned journalistic perspectives.

While I will be commentating on the view of others, their background views are highly accurate, so they hold considerable value for me when I try to work out what is really going on within our nation.

So, what are these insiders predicting for our future and where are we presently at in the political and economic structure of our country?

For the last 60 years, Australia has been positioned in the centre of the left or right divide.

But, now our centre has been greatly hollowed out due to the fact that the majority political views are now held at the very edges of the left and right.

The socialist left and the conservative right now make up close to 80 per cent of our views.

However, the ALP and Green alliance is seen as the stable, reliable, but unpopular force, while the conservative right of Liberals and Nationals has offended its followers to the point where they are deserting it in favour of the ultra-right One Nation, with its 20 per cent following.

As we are now being governed to favour the edges, it is becoming more difficult to get the necessary support to deliver acceptable outcomes, which is leaving the voting population turned off, frustrated and completely disenfranchised when it comes to solving the cost of living, housing availability, inflation and interest rate issues.

The result is a continual decline of our standard of living, which each side of the political divide seems unable to correct.

The consensus of the view from the panellists sounds like more of the same after the next federal election.

Which suggests to me that we need to consider the real prospect of an economic downturn for the share market, real estate values and our standard of living due to this indecision.

By John BLACKBOURN