Is it on?

I am writing in what might be the last few minutes before our Federal Election is called - if the media pundits are right. I hope they are because you may recall that last time John Howard kept us dangling through nearly 12 monthes of phoney election campaigning.

I must admit to being completely disillusioned with the two major parties.

I am old enough to remember a time when their policies were determined by a values-framework - capitalist vs socialist are the extreme versions of this framework differentiation but individualism vs collectivism would come a bit closer to what it looks like in a social-democratic context.

These days, however, driven by advisers and spin-doctors, both parties are trying to claim the middle ground - and whatever the middle ground believes will become party policy. The poll-driven approach to policy had been driving me mad for years, basically because it cares not about any of the injustice that such approaches creates.

I have been a follower of the GetUp machine for a while now and they have identified three policy areas that Australians want clear policy direction on from any aspiring government.

The first is Mental Health - could I dare to suggest that this has been a policy are of "all words and now action" for generations now? Kevin Rudd said all the right things when he came into office, but it is hard to see the evidence of any difference being made. Tony Abbott has offered his millions but what did he actually do when he was Healt Minister. They just don't get it.

The second is Climate Change - I think that this is an issue like The Republic. We all agree that it is a big issue but there are at least two major schools of thought pulling would-be policy-makiers in opposite directions. The maddening thing for me about this issue is that the Labour party was on what I thought was the right track, while the Liberals were headed elsewhere and at least that gave us a choice, but Labour has hopped on "the Train to Nowhere" on climate change in the hope that if there is no choice they will not lose voters.

As a side-light on this issue, I notice that the media paid no attention to the findings of the review into the leaking of emails from the climate research institute in England (you all remember that story) which concluded that while the institute should not have been so secretive, the fundamentals of its science was not in any way undermined by the evidence revealed in the leaks. It is really interesting since it was this event more than any other that fired up the climate-change skeptics resulting in the lack of a decision to do anything at Copenhagen. This event gave Tony Abbott the balls to challenge Malcolm Turnbull and his party now has a policy of "wait and see" or "She'll be right mate!"

The Third is Asylum Seekers - an issue which also polarizes the population into two camps of equally strong opinions. I have several rants below on this topic because it is dear to my heart, and neither of the major parties is getting anywhere near to satisfying me with their policies.

I think Chris Evans was right, if he said what he is reaported to have said, that he had failed to control the debate in this area and it was killing the party. Well, durrrrrrrr!!!!! (as I used to say in High school). The issue of asylum seekers is not about Border Control if it is only about Boat Arrivals;the issue of asylum seekers is not even about people smugglers or trafficking. These are side issues that have been brought to the fore in order to deflect attention from any awareness that our opposition to a humanitarian approach to asylum seekers that is based racism and zenophobia. We fear the over-run of our suburbs by people with different coloured faces than we have (mine's white) and we fear being over-run by people with other religions than Christian, especially Muslims, all of whom, close under the skin are "terrorists".

The so-called "bleeding heart brigade", to which I probably belong, has been out there trying to promulgate the myths about refugees that prop up the border-control and people-trafficker arguments, but it really needs the calm and sensible voice of policy that is driven by humanity and common sense, backed up by clearly observable facts.

When the Labour Party proposed a new off-shore processing option the other day I commented to a friend that if they are not careful I won't even give them my preferences.

How many other people feel disenfranchised on these issues like I do?