BASS ELECTORATE Ben Rush, 45 Launceston FAMILY MAN
The poster for Greens Senate candidate Nick McKim in Ben Rush’s Newstead frontyard is a clear indication of the high school teacher’s voting intentions this year — but Rush says he has no firm allegiance to any party.
Describing himself as broadly progressive, he says he still prefers to vote for individuals rather than parties and makes his decisions on that basis.
“There’s not a huge amount of progressive options right now,” he says. “I wouldn’t say I agree with everything the Greens stand for, but overall they are the closest progressive voice in terms of what is important to me.
“And does anyone really agree with everything in the party they vote for? I doubt many do. But you have to just pick whoever is the closest to best represent you.”
Rush, 45, lives in Newstead in the electorate of Bass with his wife Belinda and two children, Hanya, 7, and Jonas, 4, (all pictured left) and says the issues that matter most to him are social equality ones.
“I think inequality in one form or another is the base of a lot of problems we face as a society, and it bleeds into things like wage growth and the environment and there’s a roll-on effect from there.”
Growing up in a working-class family in Launceston, Rush says his parents were both staunch Labor voters, so when he voted in his first election in the 1990s, he also voted Labor, a decision influenced by his parents.
But having been introduced to ideas of environmental science and conservation in high school, the seeds had been sown for a shift in his political leanings.
“I wasn’t a hard core Labor voter, I was more a soft Labor voter with an interest in the environment that hadn’t formed fully, politically, yet.
“In my time Labor, I feel, has drifted more towards the centre, while I have become more progressive. So my voting preferences have evolved in that way as well.
“I’m not a single-issue voter and the Greens have evolved to be more than a single-issue party as well, which I like. They cover enough of the issues that are important to me.”
While Rush’s ideals have drifted steadily towards the left of politics over the past couple of decades, he is wary of the leftright distinction as it is popularly applied.
He says it is a distinction that is frequently used to artificially polarise debate, leaving no room for productive discussion or compromise.
“It comes down to trying to simplify things. The neo-conservative mob has done a great job of driving those wedges in, creating divisions and scaring people into voting for policies that actually aren’t in their best interests.
“And seeing the rise of that conservatism really concerns me. Looking at the things that happen in places like New Zealand and the US, politicians really need to be more mindful of how much their words impact and influence people.”
Rush has voted Green for several elections now, but says he is always open to other candidates.
“I’ll vote for the Greens in both the Senate and House of Reps this year, but if there is an independent candidate that I like, I’ll vote for them too.”