EDUCATION IS THE ONLY WAY TO...Take Back Our Country

There's a difference between being governed and being controlled, and most Australians have never been taught to see it.  Civic education isn't taught in schools. Our political class are the authors and beneficiaries of an uneducated and disengaged public. Dedicated educators hold the key to breaking a cycle of systemic manipulation that thrives on our ignorance. Are you one?

A Conversation with Sam Muscat

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:11

You're listening to the Cheryl Lacey show where curiosity meets courage, and I'm so glad you're here because joining us right now is host of the Vibe on WinfM every Tuesday morning, Sam Musket. Sam, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_01 0:24

Yeah, good morning to you, Cheryl, and what a beautiful start to a beautiful day.

SPEAKER_00 0:29

Indeed, indeed. And it sounds like you're in the car off to a busy morning.

SPEAKER_01 0:34

Yes, unfortunately, a pretty busy morning, but um hey, it's great to be in Melbourne. It's you know, except for fuel. I I heard Peter before and um I thought, how true, but I've got to say to you, um, Peter's conversation in regards to preferential voting, you know that hits a nerve with me. And uh I I think it all comes down to education. One thing that you have always spoken about, and yeah, it's it's sad that we as Victorians, we as Australians, don't understand how the preferential system operates. But it's great to be on your show and thank you for the invite, Cheryl.

SPEAKER_00 1:14

Oh, Sam, my pleasure. And this is the thing, when you and I get together, we always come back to education and the importance of knowing how our political system operates and functions. And this couldn't be more evident now, particularly as we're seeing commentary, and you may have heard me mention this earlier. Jeff Kennett, our previous premier back in the 90s from the of the Liberal Party, is urging politicians, minor parties, uh, the coalition to come together for people to vote the Labor Party out here in Victoria. It shouldn't be up to the people to have to wait for an election cycle if we have a corrupt government. So should we clearly have a defunct system where the governor of Victoria is actually sitting on her hands doing nothing about the failure of this government, but more particularly her failure and the country's failure to hold the government to account.

SPEAKER_01 2:20

That's right, and I think it's more about her failure, it's about um hiding behind the bushes, you know, next to the botanical gardens where she's hiding, and it is an absolute disgrace, and it makes mockery of what this word that we call democracy. And and Jeff Kent is spot on. I mean, I, you know, even as a trade unionist when Jeff came into being the premier of this state, I admired him because he had the guts to stand up and make change. But he made change, which was the betterment of all Victorians. Um we have a not just a corrupt government, we have a government that has used, misused, you know, uh public funds. I I've just driven from the western suburbs to come into the um eastern suburbs today, and I go, you know what, I couldn't use the tunnel because the tunnel just took me to a deadlock. So that that's that tunnel to me is a what? Is taking me from one deadlock to another deadlock. But Jeff is right in his pronunciation in regards to we, you know, we need to get all the parties to get together and make sure that the Labour government does not win this upcoming election in November. I don't believe that they will do that because everybody has their own self-interests, which is a real sad thing. But that also goes back to the arrogance of the Liberal Party and the arrogance of the country party. This is a time that we should push everything aside and think of what the actual goal needs to be.

SPEAKER_00 4:08

Well, you've made an outstanding point there. What is the goal? And this is the issue, is we will never agree completely to what the goal is. If you've got people that are happy to do nothing and get paid to do nothing, and then you've got people at the other end of the scale who want everything and major takeovers, you and you and I have always used the term greedy capitalism. Yep. We've got that at the other end. What we're doing is squeezing everybody out.

SPEAKER_01 4:38

Yes, spot on. And and the sad thing about that, Sherald, is that you know, when we look in the mirror, we're the ones to blame because our ignorance of how the voting system works. You know, I looked at the results on Saturday, what took place in South Australia. You know, there's nothing to be proud about that the Labour Party won, and won with another big majority, okay? And and, you know, we make this big hullabaloo that One Nation has um got in there, and and good on and good on Pauline Hansen and the work that they're doing, but there are there are areas within South Australia that could have easily gone to liberal, but because of preferential voting, and because they are all hell bent in making sure that Pauline's Hansen party doesn't win, they gang up against her. I mean, you know, if I wasn't on radio right now, I'd use uh uh an adjective, but I'm not allowed to. But, you know, you just got to question the the understanding, and it goes back to that thing that we just spoke about, it's the educational thing, but the lack of understanding that we have in regards to how the preferential voting operates. One of the seats I understand had about 13 candidates. So that's 13 votes that one individual has, and that all relies on preferential voting. It it's you know, it's I I the word I want to use I can't, but I think you know where I'm going.

SPEAKER_00 6:18

Oh, look, absolutely. So again, we we we're saying uh we've got to get back to education, and you've talked about another issue that needs unpacking. Yet we've got education systems around the country that are based on a socialist context. So until we get governments that are wanting to make that change, and look, they're not going to, frankly, Sam. They're not going to make the change.

SPEAKER_01 6:42

But Cheryl, think about what um Jeff Kennedy saying. Let's all get together. Now that means if they all want to get together to ensure, to ensure that this mad socialist left government is withdrawn from being the government, it's going to have to rely on preferential voting. That means that the Liberal, the Country Party, Pauline Hansen, all of these other tools and everything else are going to have to get together and give each other the preferences to ensure, to ensure that Labour doesn't win in any seat.

SPEAKER_00 7:22

Look, I I happen. Yes, look, I I understand that you and I know well very much that even if we were to get Labour out, there'll be a way for them to creep back in again because of the two-party preference system. It comes back to that, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_01 7:37

Well, no, you see, the two-party preference system is and again, you see, if we have a look at the the ballot paper, when we get it, we create the two-party. What it is, what that two-party preference is, is that we've been indoctrinated in the sense of saying there are really only two major parties. There's the coalition party, which is not a party, it's a com it's a combination of two different parties getting together and have, in some cases, have the same values but represent different areas. And then you have the Labour Party. Well, you could argue that the Labour Party is a coalition with um Greens. Right? So this business of a two-preference party is what we've created over the many, many years to say really there's only Labour and Liberal, but then we use the word there's only Labour and the coalition. You get what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_00 8:35

Well, that's true. That's true. It still comes back though, do we need parties at all? And I have this conversation with Mike Holt, you know that. And if and in the ideal world, and let's let's you know put a positive spin on this, because uh the conversations just go round and round and round with the problems that we've got. We're not uh really talking about possibilities and what's what's open to us that can be changed. So if we had an if we had an ideal situation where we the the people and this is what my colt talks about, whereas all of us, the people, get to say, hang on, our governance system isn't working, we're not happy with it, we want change. What would that look like for you, Sam?

SPEAKER_01 9:18

Well what that would look like for me is that people there's only one vote, and on the ballot paper would mean that if you prefer to vote for Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck, you put one next to that person you want to vote for. You do not have to then put one, two, three, four with the number of candidates within that ballot paper. So then it's a very clear indication on who you want to be your representative.

SPEAKER_00 9:46

Right, so how so elaborate a bit more.

SPEAKER_01 9:50

Okay, so you go to the ballot paper, you get a ballot paper, and the ballot paper will have as many candidates have decided to stand, right? So instead of having political parties, you have candidates who say, These are my values, this is what I want to do, this is why I think our community needs or our electorate needs, etc. etc. Right? Now they might they might form a party at the end, but if but if in the ballot paper you actually exercised one vote on that ballot paper, so it was very clear that if you wanted, um, you know, and I and I use the Disneyland characters not out of disrespect, but I just say if you had mini Minnie Mouse, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck on the ballot paper, you you only would have to indicate your preference, sorry, not your preference, yeah, well you call it your preference, your vote on one uh one that goes into one of those boxes. You don't have to fill up the three boxes. No, there's no preferential voting. It's a clear one vote. So if you want Sherald Lacey to be your candidate, your representative in Parliament, you just put a number one against her name. You don't have to fill up anything else.

SPEAKER_00 11:10

Well, this is what Paul Anne Hansen urged everyone to do in South Australia at the uh uh election over the weekend, and it did raise some issues. I think what's more important that you're saying is that it's independence, all independents and no parties.

SPEAKER_01 11:26

Yeah, I I you know what, I think the sooner we got rid of parties because see each party has a philosophy. Each party has its agenda in the sense of what it believes um from the left, from the right view, from the extreme right view, from the extreme left view. I it's all about their constitution within the party and what their mantra is within that particular political party.

SPEAKER_00 11:56

Yes, and w I was just speaking with uh Peter uh before you came on air, and we were talking very briefly, and perhaps you could touch on this too, Sam, that uh even though we're saying that we have parties each of the Labour parties, for example, talking about Labour with South Australia, they're a very different political party to the Labor Party in Victoria, and likewise federally, and I dare say probably the same with all the other states as well. So when we think Labour, we're not thinking the same thing anyway.

SPEAKER_01 12:32

Oh look, I um I think what it is is that the Labor Party in South Australia, right, and and if you look at the Minnes Government in New South Wales, they are the right faction of the Labor Party. So they're still the Labour Party, they still have the same um, you know, I I'm gonna use the terminology constitution rules, call it what you like, but they still have the the um the same um base, except because they are the right of the Labour Party, they have different values. So, for example, they will they will support industry and they will s they will support, you know, the rights of industry to make a profit and all of that. So it's it's still the Labour Party, it's just that that's the right faction. If you come to New Sa uh to Victoria, you've got the extreme socialist left, right? Um that bows to the trade union movement, hence the reason why you were talking about corruption. You were talking rightly so about you know what this governor general is doing in this state. We don't need a governor general in this state, right? And then I even question that if we do need a governor general, period. Because a governor, you mean?

SPEAKER_00 13:58

A governor.

SPEAKER_01 13:59

Sorry, a governor, sorry, a governor. And but you know, th they sit on the fence and I want to know why we pay so much money to have these people who are supposed to be the overseers of our democracy, to protect the people so that democracy stays alive.

SPEAKER_00 14:17

Well, if you think about historically, and we'll talk about this next time uh you come on air, Sam, the governor was essentially the person, and they they they actually were uh people of great prominence from the UK. Absolutely. And that's been lost so you think about the Governor General uh of Australia, uh who we've got now, a crazy left-wing person who did some good things somewhere in Canberra at some point in time. I don't know. I actually can't tell you who who she is or what she's done.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

Well, when you work out what she did, what she did that was good, let me know, please.

SPEAKER_00 14:50

Exactly. So you're right. So let's talk about governors next time you come on the show. How's that sound?

SPEAKER_01 14:57

Yeah, that sounds like a plan.

SPEAKER_00 14:58

Excellent.

SPEAKER_01 14:59

You know, the the whole political system, Peter touches on it on a lot, and it really goes back to the base, and and I'll finish off with this, Cheryl. Um, he gets it's and we I think we all agree, it goes back to what we teach our young people at school. It should be a part of the curriculum, it should be a part of understanding what our constitution is. Sadly, sadly, sadly, there are so many people in this country that would not even know what the constitution of this great country is.

SPEAKER_00 15:31

I couldn't agree more, and uh, that's exactly what our our mission is, Sam, is to educate all Australians. Thanks for being on the show.

SPEAKER_01 15:38

No, and thank you for having me, Cheryl. Then have a great day. And if you are driving to the Eastern suburbs, the traffic down the Westgate freeway is yuck.

SPEAKER_00 15:50

I can imagine. No, I I I do train travel. I do train travel. It's all it's relaxing. But anyway, have a great day, Sam. Look after yourself and fill up your car.

SPEAKER_01 16:01

Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_00 16:02

See you later. Take care. That was Sam Muskert, and he is the host of The Vibe on a Tuesday morning here on 88.9 Win FM. And it was great to have a conversation with Sam. We have the similar views that education is key not only to all things generally, but in particular how to vote, because our the governance of our country determines the success of our schools, of our families, and our lives in general.