A Topic I discovered recently, is the topic of Broadband and Telecommunications (and the future of it) becoming a voting issue.
The possibilities at this point in time are endless, both sides are fighting for your vote, and both will promise (and not necessarily deliver) on anything they can to get that vote you have.
The more they can keep happy and get the vote of, the likely they are to be elected.
However, the media plays an interesting ‘tool’ to the debates, as they discover anything about any party that might change someones vote, and sure enough, they’ll chew at it until they find something else to chew on.
Let’s think about Kevin Rudd’s stripper incident, now Me, my partner and my little one really don’t look favourably on that sort of stuff, but consider it history given it occurred years ago, and he hasn’t been caught in a strip joint by his wife again yet (or the media, whichever finds him first).
However, Me, My Partner and My Little One would favour someone who is proposing to enhance the education in schools and train teachers, so when its time for him to enter school, we can be sure he will receive a quality education and won’t have to do better ourselves (not that we would dump the full education of our child on the public education system, by no means).
We would also value better roads to drive on, going for a cruise today on the Central Coast NSW, and no doubt about it, you do feel the rough road (compared to the golden paved roads in QLD).
Also, I value any campaign that forces CTP rates down in the age group, because at the moment you can be 30 and get cheaper rates than a 21 year old – not that its the 30 year old or the insurance companies fault there are dickheads allowed on the roads.
I would further value any campaign that enhances technological innovation in our country, that is, in all areas, we are a great country to experiment and grow technology from.
And also, I value any medical campaigns, to keep people healthier, and reduce the obesity levels in Australia so that we don’t squish China or cause the earth to become unfairly balanced.
Add to that list my very, very, very keen interest in the telecommunications arena, and sure enough it rates pretty high on my list of a government policy promise that might sway my vote. No, its not the be all and end all.
Just also, the noise about IR Laws I am ignoring. Why?
Because it is all just that, noise.
No employer is out to force employees out of their jobs, they are valued because they produce the profits for the company along with the customers they serve.
I am all for fair go, and I am sure most Australian employers are too.
The noise surrounding the IR Laws is absolutely misleading, from what I gather, most of the important stuff is protected, so no employer is going to be able to force you to do something.. overly unreasonable.
Actually, I think the agreements more serve as a bargaining point for employers and employees.
If you got the skills, you’ll be able to name your price and deliver what the employer wants, on the other hand, if the employer is strapped for cash, you might accept a mutually agreed rate of wage, or, well, better luck at another job.
Obviously the latter is not likely. Why?
Good staff are hard to find. Ask any employer. They can go through 40 staff and find mostly duds who wouldn’t know the basis of productivity, on the other hand, they can get 10 in and all 10 be great workers, and increase company profits for an overall pay rise in return.
I’ve worked in several businesses. The first, a very remote business, whilst my duties there were very simple at the age of 14, good staff were hard to find because, it was a remote area. I left that position due to family issues.
The next, was a Window Factory in Brisbane. I got my job there after making arrangements with the employer about starting times because I was not able to get there any earlier than 8am, so it was so. We agreed on 8am starts instead of 7am.
He was also chasing more staff, but could never get staff in. They were chasing more employees for a year after I started with minimal success, it wasn’t the interviews, no one got interviewed, it was just no one was willing..
The next, an IT Job at a excellent company in Brisbane, and the employer there is a top man. I still keep regular contact with him and do a bit for him, he paid fairly and was always very thankful for the work I put into his business.
He was a very reasonable person.
I’ve had a few short jobs in the middle as well, and neither of those had wankers of employers.
So, I think the hype is very misleading. Employers aren’t out to attack you, they are there to get the job done.
Anyway, back to the topic. IR Laws being a non issue in my honest opinion, because I am sure most are reasonable, and will pay based on performance (pay rise for those of you who do well, pay cut / training for those who have no idea).
I actually think our teachers should also be paid based on performance also. This way if they under perform (benchmark on a nationalised test), they will end up missing out on higher pay. Incentives for them to encourage learning.
Telecommunications (more specifically, innovation and competition) rate very highly on my list, but not as high as education, hospitals and proposed usage of taxpayer funds, and as such I think I will almost certainly be maintaining the current government for their excellent method of getting themselves out of a disaster they created with Telstra (in relation to telecommunications), but I am still as such undecided on several other factors, so I can’t say for sure they will get my vote, it really will come down to who is best with money I think.
Enjoy!