Ideology in the Australian Political Environment:
Competing Paradigms – The Chaotic Interface 
Between Major and Minor Visions of the Australian Cultural Landscape*

	For the last ten years or so a number of relatively rightwing commentators, e.g., often in the Australian, and to a lesser extent also in the Sydney Morning Herald, etc., have appeared to have argued from a perceived position of consensus and self-consensus as to the ‘obvious’ certainty of their ideological vision/s of current political realities on the Australian political landscape. However, with the seemingly inevitable shift to a Labor government, much of that self-assurance has recently appeared to have been shaken and, as a result, taken a serious turn to the so-called Left to varying degrees. Such issues as Aboriginal affairs, the relaxed attitude towards green-house gases and the environment in general, industrial relations, anti-union attitudes, etc., are all apparently undergoing a subtle shift or softening in attitude/s. Whereas, before, the official line was that “x is such and that is the case and we will do y or nothing at all” seems to have shifted to “x is still the case, but, -x is also the case to some minor extent, and, therefore, we will do y and ‘z’ and no longer nothing at all” seems to have produced a ripple of uncertainty in the assumed hegemony of their self-perceived narratives as dominant or major. What is casing this apparent seismic shift? (1)

	Of course, first, we should “is there such a shift going on?” Would not a shift in political power ensure some degree of ‘revision’? Is it not the case that the cultural wars are still being fought over but in somewhat shifted terms of reference? Is the current ‘me-tooism’ surface and superficial, or, is it a deeper phenomenon? Can we appreciate the current shifts in positioning in this self-appreciation of Australian culture (as we have examined on previous occasions). In all of this continual re-evaluation of ‘our understanding’ of the current political and cultural landscape let us ask a number of questions relevant to this topic:

1.	Is their a seismic shift going on, or, is it a minor shift or shuffle to the so-called Left; is all of this more apparent than real?
2.	If point 1. is asserted, what might be driving this shift?
3.	What form is this re-vision taking and might be taking in the near future? (2)

	I have some suggestions to make as I believe some degree of re-evaluation is underway and that there is a serious contest for the dominant and dominating position of a major narrative in this regard. Essentially, what does it mean to be distinctively Australian? Howard’s version or Rudd’s version; Liberal or liberal (with a small ‘l’) or Labor or socialist; ‘green or business or ‘green and business’, etc. (3)

	I would also tentatively suggest that we are witnessing a moderate return to the middle ground (still relatively more ‘right’ than ‘left’); a shift that remains conservative, pro-middle class ‘welfare’ and non-radical, but, for all of that a recognition that we cannot ‘live by bread alone’! With a booming economy, despite accelerated debt-levels, might it not be the case that people are looking for issues of value rather than just issues that concern a furthering of our mere materialist and consumerist wellbeing? Let us see if we can make some sense of this ideological re-writing that is currently changing the current Australian political ‘landscape’?? (4)
							  Noël Tointon, Sydney, 11.11.07.
*Latest version of paper: www.homestead.com/noelshomepage/noelshomepage3.html 
The above theme was workshopped at The Continental Philosophy Group, 9.12.07.

I would like to note the following comments:

1.	Although ‘Left’ and ‘Right’ seem to be anachronistic terms on the contemporary political landscape (given that every one is an economic conservative, etc.) it was felt that in terms of an orientation towards collective action the appellation of the Left could still apply albeit with qualifications relevant to contemporary conditions. E.g., the recent election and its issues of the environment, an increasing support for budget surpluses to be headed into infrastructure, an appropriate program of indigenous support, re-assertion of union values in the AWA controversy, etc., one could argue that there was a shift back towards the Left (albeit from right of center). 
2.	That this shift to the so-called Left was probably already in motion before the prior election?
3.	On what might be driving this shift? Perhaps concerns over certain values that can only be more effectively dealt with from a collective point of view. E.g., everyone might agree that we need to pay more for our power if we can make it green-house neutral or negative or less-positive, but, on an individual basis few would take up this proposal by individually paying more. Collectively people would be much happier to adopt such a strategy (perhaps around 70% might think along these lines). A large consensus on this type of matter would naturally cross party-lines. More obvious factors were also noted such as AWA’s;  in good economic climes this was also a values-led election (after Keating and contra Latham [and his comment on a Seinfeld election about nothing {whilst still agreeing with his consumerist observations?}]) 
4.	The relatively recent rise (over the last 20 years or so) of Right-wing commentators is noted by Tom Switzer in The Australian  in his article Don’t silence conservative dissent in Rudd era, 8-9.12.07. In this article he mentions regular conservative opinion writers would include: Paddy McGuiness, Gerard Henderson… later joined by Albrechtsen, Andrew Bolt, Piers Akerman, Miranda Devine, Sandra Lee, Michael Baume, Terry McCrann, Michael Duffy, John Roskam, Tim Blair, Christopher Pearson, Paul Gray, Neil Mitchell, Paul Sheehan. I would also include Paul Kelly.
5.	It was noted that a swing of less than 2% would return a Coalition government, however, elections traditionally favour the incumbent party (unless a strong ‘time for a change’ factor at is at play). 
6.	A new element was the blogosphere with its critical pressure brought to bear on commentators trying to down-play polls favouring Labor, mistakes made by the Coalition, playing-up minor transgressions of the non-conservative parties, etc.
7.	That with a Liberal meltdown and a well-performing Labor machine, in all probability, the major narrative will now be one taken up and controlled by those sympathetic to the so-called Left even though this relative loss of control by the Right will be contested by the Right. Again, this return to a major Left narrative will be quite a different animal to that of the Hawke-Keating era. Indeed, its major outlines will already be with us as issues successfully introduced and contested prior to the last election?
8.	Metaphorically, we have at least three Venn diagrams when looking at these issues, namely, the public at large, commentariat, political and cultural sociologists, and perhaps a fourth, the blogosphere, and, that these three or four spheres cannot be isolated from each other but this time considerably overlapped. That election trends favouring Labor were noted (through acceptance or through default by all parties given the consistency of the polls overall?). 				         N., 12.12.07.