Posted 14 January 2011 - 12:37 AM



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It doesn't look like there's much hope for the left-wingers in this upcoming state election. No matter what Keneally does (short of an amazing performance in the aftermath of a natural disaster aka Anna Bligh), she is finished. State Labor signed its own death certificate with their repeated failed bids to privatise the power companies and Federal Labor should have done more with the stimulus package to help prop up the overburdened infrastructure of the state.In my view, the state's problems stem from an overly optimistic agreement to the GST distribution formula which has ended up short-changing the state. With NSW bearing the brunt of new arrivals, the infrastructure is stretched to breaking point and the city is sprawling both outwards and upwards. Longer traffic jams, higher density living, poorer air quality and crap public transport are all symptoms of this budgetary shortfall.I don't think the jolly Barry O'Farrell is necessarily a bad bloke. He comes across as a moderate, having recently voted in support of gay adoption. However, the NSW Liberal party has some rather dark shadowy figures in the background. I of course speak of none other than David Clarke. He's a Tripodi-esque powerbroker with strong ties to the Catholic Church. A practising member of Opus Dei, one can only dread what direction the conservatives might go, irrespective of the beaming, jolly facade of good old Barry. My greatest fear is that the religious right will gain a stranglehold over the party and force Barry to accept some rather shoddy policy positions, with the threat of rolling him down the hill and out the door should he fail to acquiesce. 4 years of American-style religious right-ery is not something I would like to live through, but it's a real and present danger for us all.What do you all think? Am I being overly pessimistic or is this a fair assessment of where we stand today?