Marketing A Party – Political That Is!

My father once told me, “vote for the party, not the person”, and I get that. I understand that its not about the guy standing up and being the figurehead of the entire party, but about what the key values are of the party, its policies that they have put forward and how their sound decision making will affect an entire country.

I personally lost alot of respect for Labour when they handed out $900 to people in what they considered a low income bracket. I know that much of this money went into gambling, alcohol and pokies (or how else would you explain the rise in sales for these things over the same period) and for plasma screen TV’s that are not even made in Australia.

They seem hell-bent on giving out money, that is ultimately being taken overseas.

Their capital expenditure on schools and alike seems abit over the top and I wonder whether these tenders are given to Australian companies where the profits stay in Australia and are not taken offshore.

I cannot answer that because as I said, I am not overly political and I tend to on occasion read something written in The Australian or the Australian Financial Review. Even then, its mainly business that I subscribe to.

However, someone does need to answer these questions because they matter. I care that the money I pay in tax is going to Australian companies supporting Australian jobs.

Last Friday, I was invited to attend the Liberal Party Post-Budget breakfast. I was astounded by how many people flocked into the Crown Casino Ballroom to listen to Politicians and even more surprised by the ages of business people in the room. Other than a hundred or so students at the back who provided a real insight into what people think with a spot of humour, the attendees were predominantly over 50 years of age.

It made me think… are Political parties not engaging the youth of today? Sure Kevin Rudd has been on Rove and is trying really hard to be cool (note: he is not!), but are they doing enough. Who is listening to what they have to say and what they want?

The other issues relates to the fact that a majority of voters really don’t care about Political Parties. They vote how they always have or are heavily influenced by what is written in the papers. So are we really in effect just voting for who News Limited and Fairfax Media want us to? Are they really the ones who decide what the average Australian is going to vote for.

Should we all be putting one call into Mr Murdoch and asking who he wants us to vote for because at the end of the day, it appears according to what is written in his newspapers, the outcome is there for all to see.

I actually like Mr Murdoch. He inspires me as a world-leader in business and media, and someone who goes out there and gets the job done.

Maybe he should go for PM. I am sure there would only be good stories about him in all News Limited newspapers – a journalist wouldn’t dare not to write one.

I listened intently to Joe Hockey and Peter Costello at the breakfast. My interest being that I have watched John Howard and his Government get Australia out of debt and now all I hear is how Kevin Rudd is getting us into debt.

I am scared for the average punter who has a mortgage and at least for today, has a job. Tomorrow may be a different story.

According to Hockey, everytime Labour comes into power, they go into deficit, increase our foreign debt and ensure that there are over a million people unemployed.

Hard decisions have to be made, but shouldn’t it be about making sure people have jobs and can pay their bills?

There are over 2 million small businesses out there employing a majority of the workforce – what is Government doing to help us keep those employed by us, employed?

I can tell you personally, that I would welcome some help with GST and super contributions. Every quarter when they come around, I image what I could do with that money to grow my business and expand offshore, but instead it goes into a black hole.

Being an entrepreneur, the more jobs I create, the more I feel like I have achieved. What is Government doing to encourage people like me?

Rudd, think twice before you spend our money to the extent you are on schooling and please make sure it goes to Australian companies, using Australian products and employing Australian labour. Not Chinese products, Foreign companies and employing just a few Australians.

And please, I beg, don’t throw away the Governments support of Private Health Cover. I have been in Private Health cover my entire adult life (not sure what Mum and Dad did before then – could possibly be my whole life), and even though I don’t feel like I get value for money out of my contributions, I feel safe and secure having it.

My cousin who has 3 children under 12 years of age, cannot afford to pay Private Health Insurance and her very sick 10 year old who is in hospital at least for a month a year, has to wait until she is critically ill before they can fit her in for any type of treatment.

She is currently on a 12 month waiting list. If she had Private Health Cover – this would not be the case. Do you want this list to expand to 2 or 3 years – or until a child is on death bed before they get treated?

Don’t take it that I am not a fan of Labour. I am just not sure about putting the future of our country in the hands of people that have never run a successful business, or had a successful career outside of Politics. Malcolm Turnbull – you’re excluded from this comment and to be honest, I am sure that there are people both sides of Government who should be excluded.

There are a few people that I have had dealings with in Politics from both sides of Government who I think had their hearts in the right places, weren’t too ego driven and achieved a few things that they should be proud of. Terry Mackenroth – good bloke and made things happen. Bruce Davidson – another good bloke and always did what he thought was best. Both are now gone from Politics but they both did an exceptional job whilst they were there handling similar portfolios.

I ask Government to think about what they can do for jobs. Get out there and speak to small business owners and see how they can help.

Have focus groups (basic marketing here!!!) and create blogs for feedback so you can better understand what the average Australian business owner needs to stay alive and create jobs.

And… make the tough decisions. We have voted you in to do that – not to win elections.