A vote for homesickness

Every so often events provoke an unexpected twinge of homesickness. During our first year away from Australia I rarely missed Down Under. I thought I’d somehow managed to avoid the emotional pain of relocation. However our second year has been a different story. I've often found myself thinking of Australia, resulting in a subtle, but growing, reticence about life in London. Today, those feelings welled up again with overnight news on the Australian Federal Election.

After 11.5 years the conservative Coalition parties have lost their bid for a fifth term in Government. Prime Minister, John Howard, has conceded defeat and appears likely to lose his own seat in Parliament. I wish I’d been in Australia to experience this watershed moment for myself. Since relocating to Australia more than 17 years ago I’ve only ever know three Australian Prime Ministers; Bob Hawke, Paul Keating and John Howard. I've always admired the first two, but never cared much for the third.

While Howard always made me cringe, I voted for the Coalition during its first two terms. I supported many of it promised tax reforms including a value-add tax (GST) and changes to marginal tax rates that often penalised middle-class Australia. However, I soon grew tired of an increasingly manipulative Government willing to use bigotry and FUD to maintain office. The "Children Overboard' scandal is a case in point. The Government's flagrant manipulation of this story to support oppressive immigration policies was an international embarrassment and did nothing to promote Australia’s global reputation for tolerance.

Equally shameful was it’s manipulation of the Republican debate. Howard's cynical approach to the 1998 constitutional convention ensured its eventual defeat despite a majority of Australian's favouring change. A decade later, it’s impossible to explain to people in London why Australians would endorse a constitution enshrining England's Queen as their head of state.

Howard's defeat has filled UK headlines today; every newspaper has led with this story online, as has the BCC and CNN. Howard's concession speech was a remarkable moment in Australian politics as he demonstrated a rare spirit of true statesmanship. I was impressed. If only he'd been bold enough to act this way in earlier times.

I’m happy to leave the last word to a woman in Brisbane who wrote to the BCC simply saying, “After too many years I can finally hold my head up and be proud to call myself Australian again.” Now, how do we get that Constitution sorted once and for all?