Dubai: Australian expatriates in the UAE are not surprised by the Australian election result but feel there is little chance of change under the new government.
Tony Abbott’s Liberal National Party (LNP) defeated the Australian Labor Party (ALP) with a 3 per cent swing in Saturday’s federal election.
Many were left unsurprised by the result after accusations of party infighting plagued the reputation of the ALP throughout their two terms in government.
Marko Rankovic, an Australian living in Abu Dhabi who wasn’t surprised by the result, said the change in government would mean little for Australian politics.
The very same ridiculous issues will be discussed by the Australian media, he said,
“The policies our government puts forward on border protection and immigration are pointless. Australia will always attract refugees because it is perceived as a safe, prosperous country,” he said.
For more than a decade Australian Liberal and Labor governments have pursued controversial immigration laws targeted at refugees travelling from Indonesia to Australia by fishing boats to seek asylum.
Refugees from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Somalia, among other countries, have travelled by boat to seek asylum in Australia over the past 10 years.
Dr Roderick Crouch, Principal at Victoria International School Sharjah, said he was concerned as an Australian about how the country treats people.
“We are one of the wealthiest countries,” he said, “and our lack of compassion is showing on both sides of politics. “This ‘stop the boats’ rhetoric is so fierce. I feel it may affect Australia’s external reputation,” he said.
Conservative leader and Prime Minister-elect Tony Abbott has declared the LNP will stop refugees travelling by boat to Australia.
Crouch, a non-resident Australian and self-described swinging voter, is worried by some of the new government’s policies.
“It concerns me that the incoming government has announced a cut in foreign aid particularly when we have chairmanship of the UN Security Council,”
Breff Gorman, an Australian and partner at real estate company LJ Hooker Middle East in Dubai, said he wasn’t surprised by the outcome but thought it would be more of a dramatic win.
Australian polls in the lead up to the election had widely predicted a landslide defeat of the ALP.
Gorman said the result was great for Australian politics and would reduce unemployment.
“Just the political unrest you have had under the ALP leadership and the confusing policies under the finance front and regards to the super tax (carbon tax) applied to the mining industry. If the LNP get rid of the tax it will open a lot more jobs because mines will be reopened and planned mine sites will be signed off,” he said.
The ALP introduced a controversial price on carbon in 2012 — a carbon tax of A$23 (Dh77.50) per tonne of emmitted CO2 on selected fossil fuels.
In Opposition the LNP had called the tax ‘damaging’ to the economy.
Crouch said Australia is too conernced with opinion polls and not concerned with the long-term future of the country.
