KCP - Catholic Diocese of Broome

Many of us are no doubt breathing a sigh of relief that the election campaign is now over, the results are known and we can now have our newspapers and television screens back, free from the frequent appearance of one candidate or another attempting to convince us to vote one way or another. If there is one thing that this election campaign will be remembered for, it must surely be the unprecedented spending spree from both major parties.
Promises were made amounting to billions of dollars of expenditure over the last month of the campaign. We are left wondering why it has taken the parties in the previous Government so long to disburse these apparently surplus funds to the people whom they now recognise as needing them most. Voters can be forgiven for asking why the then Opposition can suddenly find new policies at the 'eleventh hour' with which to attempt to buy our votes. It seems that the bidding war was deliberate and shameless. It was aimed at the so called 'hip pocket nerve' of the general voter. Surely this is an insult to the majority of Australians who think of themselves as thinking voters, concerned with broader issues than just personal financial security, important as this might be to many?
There was a singular lack of leadership from both major parties on some of the other social issues of our time. There seemed to be little or no mention of reconciliation, the elimination of racism, the war in Iraq, the refugees still locked up in our detention centres, a plan for ensuring security in our region by increasing foreign aid, the freeing of the poorest nations from crippling debt (some of it owed to Australia), the ratification of the Kyoto agreement, the just treatment of the East Timorese in relation to the resources of the Timor Gap, the growing gap between rich and poor in Australia, the decline of the rural sector or a plan to decrease unemployment.
The Catholic Bishops' Social Justice statement was released in the middle of the election campaign, and in his speech at the launch, Bishop Saunders quoted Pope John Paul II's very apt words:
"there is an unbreakable bond between the work of peace and respect for truth. Honesty in the supply of information, equity in legal systems, openness in democratic procedures give citizens a sense of security, a readiness to settle controversies by peaceful means, and a desire for genuine and constructive dialogue, all of which constitute the true premise of a lasting peace."
Responsible citizenship does not end at the ballot box. Now that the election is over, it is time to keep the politicians to their promises and ensure their 'respect for truth'. More than that, we need to ensure that those left out during the pre-election spending spree are not forgotten during the next term of Government.