Yesterday’s Politicians Today

 

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

If your view of politicians is seen through the lens of Question Time, you might think that most are rude, uncaring, self-centred individuals.

Behind the scenes, things are different. Politicians are different from what they show in that sad theatre that has become Question Time. Politicians from all sides have to get on. And to a large extent they do, regardless of the show they put on for the cameras. That said, the level of dislike and mistrust between politicians today is the worst it has ever been. We’ve even seen this from members of the same party, and not just opposition parties.

Today’s politician could learn a lot from the much humbler and placid politician of the past. That’s not to say that back then they were all angels, but the tone, mannerisms, and general deportment of most current politicians make criminals look nice.

In 1966, after addressing an anti-conscription rally at Mosman Town Hall, Labor politician Arthur Calwell was shot by a disturbed man. Calwell lived, but it was his actions and words afterwards that highlight the difference between yesterday’s politicians and today's.

The shooter, Peter Kocan, not long after realising what he had done wrote to Calwell. He apologised for his delude actions. Calwell’s reply is something that I could not see most politicians writing today. Calwell urged Kocan to ‘forget the incident’ and he wished him well. Calwell knew of Kocan’s mental imbalance as Kocan’s mother contacting Calwell.

Not that it pays to shoot people, but apparently, Kocan was such a good writer and a poet, he went on to receive an NSW Premier's Literary Award in 1983, and a $50,000 Australia Council Writers award.

The Australian public might like and approve of politicians more if they showed greater respect for one another. Respect for our political system and getting rid of their ideologies will also help. People turn away from political debate today. Even around election time when politics matters most, the current stench of politics turns people off. This can be seen in things like the donkey vote, writing Mickey Mouse on a ballot paper or even refusing to vote and copping a fine, these all show how little respect people have for today's politician.

The bitterness and resentment between politicians and political systems have always been with us. It’s the ugliness, the personal attacks, the venom in conversations today that makes people steer clear of politics. Newspapers and media don’t help when they ignite the flames of hatred and mistrust. This only adds to the lack of polite political discourse.

Eloquence and fluency are things we don’t hear much from today’s politician. Integrity is, and perhaps never was a key ingredient of a politician’s make-up. Tweeting on your mobile phone or sitting with you back to a speaker is more the form of politicians now. None of these things make a person want to vote for a type that does this.

Whatever qualifications politicians have today, showing humility and looking your counterpart in the eye would improve their standing. Having respect for people, the system, and the political office, all normal simple human things would generate greater trust and respect than any policy or grandstanding can ever create.

Democracy is Dead

 

Image by Andrew Martin from Pixabay

To say that Australia is a democracy is not a lie, it’s not the truth either.

Has democracy failed us? No, it can’t have. We built our democracy; it did not build us. If we think that our democracy has failed, we could look to the media for blame. We could look to ourselves with our fascination for loud political leaders. Nowhere more have we seen this fascination come to an ugly head but in the rise of populism and through its banner carriers.

Populists claim to speak for ordinary people. But we’ve seen the results of these types and the damage they have done to the people they say they represent.

However, the media, with its opinion columns, its hard-right/hard-left commentators, its ideologically driven viewpoints, its financial backing and its column inch support for political parties, the media would seem the likely culprits.

President John Kennedy (no relation) once said that “The press is a valuable arm of the presidency”. In Henry Porter’s 1984 book, Lies, Damned Lies and Some Exclusives, he said, “In pursuit of an easy life journalists have progressively relegated themselves to the status of mere instruments of government propaganda”. That is not true of all journalists, but it is true of the popular media. The kind that most people read, watch and listen to.

Do you think that today’s press is an information provider or an opinion creator? Why are there conservative broadcasters, green presses, right and left-wing publications? Are they all just in it for the money? Are there political journalists that you read and others never? Why is there a twenty-four-seven news cycle?

In my old university library, there is a whole bookshelf dedicated to one man, Rupert Murdoch. Not one of these books praises Murdoch for doing good. Not one offers a view that his publications are fair and balanced. He alone has raised up and brought down more governments than any other individual in history. Ownership matters.

Competition matters too. This Guardian article tells you the sorry one-sided story of media ownership in Australia. Australia's newspaper ownership is among the most concentrated in the world.

If political stories are told from one angle, with an agenda or ideology behind them, and most people consume and believe these articles, democracy dies. But who is to blame? The compliant media or the government?

If governments redact and hide their actions and their motivations, democracy dies. Your right to know is not greater than the governments' laws that say they have a right to conceal; and there’s nothing you can do about it. But most people are not interested in doing anything about press freedom. Because you can’t read about the things that are hidden, so you are not aware of them. Just as a large part of the press does not report on government actions. They hide their deals from scrutiny; so, you lose, and democracy dies.

Governments can bully and intimidate anyone. Any journalist and any publication that tries to expose their corruption will find themselves in a secret trial. Look at the Bernard Collaery case.

When governments stoke the fires of division, democracy dies. When governments spin every story, democracy dies. When governments turn their back on people, democracy dies. When we have a Labor opposition that does not react, condemn or stand up against the removal of rights and constant lies, democracy dies.

We have let all these things happen to our democracy. How can you not say that democracy is dead?

An imagined 2021 victory speech

 

I don’t believe in miracles. I believe things become better by us helping one another. And that’s what this government is going to do. We are going to help to make things better for everyone. 

It has been a long journey for our party, and for the Australian people, but now that we are here, we promise not to let you down. I’ll say it again, we promise, I promise, we promise. 

I want to thank the previous prime minister and his government for all the work they have done. He and his government have done a lot of good over his tenure, so I thank him and his party. And to all our friends and allies across the world, you will be able to expect our continued support, and our efforts to carry on meeting our shared values and goals. 

Now that you’ve instilled your trust in us, we will work to create jobs and job security. We will improve housing affordability. We will get rid of those divisive, ideological-driven increases in humanities degrees. We will enshrine a voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the Australian constitution. And we will be happy and glad to place alongside the Australian flag, the Aboriginal flag in and on our Parliament House. 

We will make the hard choices on the economy and the environment. That doesn’t mean that we’re going to throw people on the scrap heap because they work in mining. We will work to build an energy infrastructure that doesn’t add to the problems of the world while keeping people working. Too many jobs have been lost and not created because we haven’t invested in new and cleaner technologies. 

With this election victory, we begin to turn Australia into a fairer and more equal country, for everyone. We will once again be the country of the fair go. This place we call home will be a country for the young and the old. It will be for black and white and for people from every nation on earth. This will also be a country that is equal and respectful to women. We will not stop until we achieve this. 

We will change how young Australians see their future. We want to see the next generation of Australians not having to lower their sight but look forward to being able to get the education they want and able to afford a home. Younger people should have the same rights as everyone, and the same voting rights. 

We’re going to make Australia a maker of things again. We’ve done it before, we can do it again. But this time, this time, we will make things that enhance our economy and our future while not depleting the environment. And every company that does business in our land will pay their fair share of tax. That I promise you. 

My task, our task, is just beginning. And together, we will create an equal nation. A fair nation. A nation that will help and support your dreams and aspirations. 

And for those who didn’t vote for us, I will offer you comfort, not condolence. I’ll work to make things fair and equal for you, and for everyone. 

Before I go, I want to thank all the members of my party and to everyone who has done so much to support it. I want to thank our national campaign team, the deputy prime minister, and the rest of the team, thank you, and especially to my loving and supportive family. Thank you one and all.