Welcome to AuspolSong!
This is the little national final for Australia’s song in Politvision!
Send your votes to @allalone-inthedangerzone or @dreadedloreenkid, or to either of us on discord. You will vote for 2 songs: your favourite will receive 3 points, and your second favourite will receive 1 point.
The Songs:
Song 1: “I Don’t Like It” by Pauline Pantsdown
Drag queen “Pauline Pantsdown” viciously lampoons far right Australian politician Pauline Pantsdown for her racist and xenophobic views, Hanson was elected to the House of Representatives in 1996 and was voted out in 1998. She returned as a Senator in 2016, and leads the One Nation party.
Song 2: “My People” by The Presets
Australian electronic duo The Presets wrote and produced this song about the horrific treatment of refugees under the Howard Government (1996-2007) and its “Pacific Solution”. The song has once again become deeply relevant under the Abbott-Turnbull Government’s very similar and much worse policy.
Song 3: “Beds Are Burning” by Midnight Oil
A protest song written in 1987, this song is about returning stolen land from the indigenous Pintupi people, who were forcibly removed from their land during the 20th Century. Midnight Oil also performed this song at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Closing Ceremony, dressed in black tracksuits with the word “Sorry” printed on them, as a symbolic gesture to the Stolen Generation and the Howard Government’s refusal to apologise for it.
Song 4: NO No NO” by youtube user whitesecretion ft. Tony Abbott
A short remix from (then Opposition Leader) Tony Abbott’s appearance on the panel discussion program Q And A during the 2013 election campaign. Tony Abbott was famous as both Opposition Leader and Prime Minister for responding to any proposal or idea he disagreed with (which was a lot, given he is very conservative) with an assertive “no”.
Song 5: “Not Now, Not Ever!” by The Australian Voices ft. Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard was Australia’s first female Prime Minister (2010-2013) and was often subjected to gender- and sex-based attacks, intrusive questions about her fitness to lead as a woman, and was generally much more viciously attacked by her opponents than would usually be expected (especially by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott). In 2013 she snapped, and made a 15 minute speech attacking the Opposition Leader and his colleagues for their attitudes to women. This is a choir rendition of this speech, using a selection of quotes from it.
If you would like any further explanation of the context of the songs, feel free to contact either of us!
Voting closes on December 18, at 11:30am AWST/2:30pm AEDT/4:30am CET
