The election questions you need to ask prospective local members

Given that we’re lucky enough to live in a truly democratic nation, we must not take elections — or the opportunity they provide us — for granted. Now is the time for tough questions, writes Peta Credlin.

How many times have you complained about the quality of our politicians, the way they waste your money, and the dumb decisions they make?

Well now’s the time to get engaged and do your bit to hold them to account. If you don’t, if you just let the campaign slide by and throw away your vote on polling day, then I reckon you give up your right to whinge at any time over the next three years.

If you’re in a marginal seat, or in one of the Liberal seats targeted by GetUp, over the next 34 days you will receive mail, phone calls, text messages and knocks on your door from candidates or from someone on their behalf.

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Do you really want this to be a one-way street where you passively receive information from spin-doctors or worse?

It’s your right to question candidates in your electorate and to have your views heard. After all, that’s the basis of our democracy; the people get their say and — now that both parties say that prime ministerial assassinations are behind them — they hire and fire too.

I don’t live in a marginal seat, but if I did, here’s some of the questions I would put to the aspirants chasing my vote. Liberal and Labor candidates would have different answers of course, and Labor and Liberal voters would tend to want different responses, but all candidates should be able to demonstrate that they’re fair dinkum about wanting to serve, and have thought seriously about the issues our country faces.

Labor will be going after the Liberal seat of Dunkley, currently held by Chris Crewther. Picture: AAP/Mick Tsikas

The first question you should ask any candidate is — “why do you want to be elected?”

You’d be surprised how many struggle to answer, often, I suspect, because they’re embarrassed about really just wanting to get elected for the personal kudos that brings. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with ambition but it should be ambition for a good cause, not just ambition for a political career.

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Then there’s the follow-up — “so what do you want to achieve?”

Again, you’d be surprised how many can’t give a convincing answer because, deep down, often, it’s just to be elected. You’d hardly run if you didn’t want to win but there’s got to be a point to winning other than just having MP after your name.

On both sides of politics, as the cannibalism of recent years shows, too many MPs are thinking of their climb up the greasy pole of politics rather than the overall good of their party, let alone that of the country.

Too many candidates don’t really know why they’re Liberal or Labor other than through force of habit or to conform to the voting preferences of their area. That’s why “what are your fundamental aspirations for our country?” is an important question. If your Liberal candidate nominates more personal responsibility and greater freedom; and if your Labor candidate says more equality and a bigger role for government, you’ll know that they’re not just flying under a political flag of convenience.

Warren Mundine will be running as the Liberal candidate in the marginal seat of Gilmore. Picture: Jonathan Ng/News Corp Australia

One of the other problems is that candidates are much better at articulating what they want, than what they will actually do to bring it about.

Right now, Labor candidates will say that they want to see higher wages, better schools and hospitals, and more action on climate change. But ask them how they are going to achieve higher wages, and how struggling small businesses might afford to pay their staff more, and they’re usually stumped. Ask them how schools might actually be improved — beyond just more dollars — through more choice and a focus on the basics rather than the latest imported teaching fad?

On health, if it just boils down to more money, ask where that’s meant to come from because it has to come from somewhere, and if it’s via increased taxes then that’s just robbing Peter to pay Paul.

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On climate change, ask them how much more your power bill should have to go up and which industries should be shut down in order to cut emissions? Of course, they’ll likely claim that more renewables will reduce prices and create jobs — even though all the evidence of the past few years is against it — so push them on the detail. And ask Labor candidates why they want to get rid of your car.

Julian Burnside is running as the Greens candidate for Kooyong, a seat currently held by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. Picture: Stuart McEvoy/The Australian

For their part, Liberal candidates will say that they want strong borders, a prosperous economy and a cohesive society. That’s great, but we all want that. And sure, that’s what the Coalition have more-or-less achieved in government but what are they going to do next? It will probably boil down to stopping Labor’s almost $400 billion dollars of new taxes but if a Liberal candidate can give you more positive reasons to vote Liberal than just negative reasons not to vote Labor, then you might be talking to a future party leader.

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Above all elections are a test of character: for leaders, for political parties and, yes, of voters too. There’s which leader is more inclined to lose his temper or fail to do his homework. There’s which party has the more underwhelming candidates or the more petulant and shallow MPs. But there’s also how we, the people, treat the process. Will we simply bemoan yet another contest where no leader and very few candidates come up to our exacting standards; or will we engage with it in the knowledge that while the perfect is unachievable, getting involved will always improve the result?

Don’t forget the adage that, in a democracy, the people ultimately get the government they deserve.