Swing voter on why she’s voting Labor in the federal election

Sue Parry Jones doesn’t align with any particular party but she’s made her choice – and it’s because one candidate is “sorely lacking”.

OPINION

As part of our election coverage, news.com.au asked two readers to explain why they’re voting Labor or Liberal this weekend.

Sue Parry Jones writes below about why she’s going to be voting for Labor this weekend, while Simon Davies explains why he’s picking the Liberal Party.

I haven’t always been a Labor voter – in fact, aligning myself with a certain political party has never been my election day strategy. Rather, as a social worker, a mother and a grandmother, my focus is voting on behalf of the people no one listens to.

At the moment I believe that applies most significantly to people experiencing homelessness, and I know that when it comes to the vulnerable, Labor is the party most likely to actually do something to help.

Sue Parry Jones will be voting for Labor in the federal election. Picture: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Labor’s promise to build 30,000 new social and affordable housing properties within five years is sorely needed. Anthony Albanese was raised in public housing by a single mother on a disability pension, which has given him a unique perspective on the issue. But even without this lived experience, Albo seems to lead from a place of empathy that has been sorely lacking in Scott Morrison’s government.

Despite reports of a $200,000 ‘empathy consultant’ being enlisted to help the Coalition communicate more effectively with its constituents, the past four years have shown just how lacking our current prime minister truly is.

Fleeing the country during the bushfire crisis, handballing accountability to the states during the Covid-19 pandemic, failing to secure enough vaccines and failing to act quickly enough during the recent flood crises are all evidence of a leader out of his depth.

Yet it is Morrison’s seeming lack of ability to put himself in anyone else’s shoes that is most worrying to me as a voter. You simply cannot lead a country without empathy, and as we’ve seen, when this happens it is society’s most vulnerable who hurt the most.

As damaging as I believe Scott Morrison has been for our country, my vote for Labor is not simply a vote against his party – it’s a hopeful vote for the kind of Australia I’d like to see my grandchildren grow up in.

Susan Parry Jones wants a party that offers hope for the future. Picture: Supplied

Living in Queensland, the recent flooding disasters we’ve endured have not been normal weather fluctuations. The catastrophic bushfires of 2019/2020 were not normal.

We’re in the grips of a climate emergency and I don’t believe we can afford not to vote with the climate at the forefront of our conscience.

I feel that as a country, we’ve moved away from policy, and under an Albanese government, I’d like to see the Labor Party champion more of its core beliefs and policies. In recent years it’s seemed like there has been a blurring of lines between the two major parties and some key party values have become somewhat wishy-washy on both sides of politics.

I’d love to see Labor continue to redefine itself in an appropriate way with clear policy platforms that represent what the people want. I don’t care whether it’s Albanese at the helm or someone else, as long as – unlike our current prime minister – that leader is able to put their constituents first and lead with empathy and compassion as opposed to hubris and self-interest.

The famous Gandhi quote – that you can judge a society by how it treats its most vulnerable – has never been more appropriate than right now. The pandemic, the rising cost of living and the housing crisis are pushing more and more Australians into the at-risk category.

By its own admission, the Liberal Party believes in less intervention by the government in people’s lives, which also means less help for those who need it. I truly believe Australia has the potential to be the kind of society in which everyone – not just those whose parents can afford to give them a deposit – can thrive. I just don’t believe it’s possible under a Morrison government.