ONE month into an election year and nothing has changed. As the column has recorded, the way the nation has been governed is due for an almighty overhaul. Rob Oakeshott, former NSW Nationals and Independent MP in state and federal parliaments, who is set to emerge for another tilt in the federal seat of Cowper, refers to the current state of affairs: “As a dysfunctional political process”.
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An audit of political events for 2018 by our contributors and contacts, categorised the national weaknesses as leadership, private industry, a “tarnished” public service, lack of positive political policies (that is, specifically on immigration, banks, superannuation, restructuring the federal constitution – in particular the make-up of the Senate and, even, the states and territories - plus a health and hospitals’ system choked by too many bureaucrats and not enough health workers.
There have been some gems of analysis about the lack lustre attempts by politicians and the over-rated private sector at leadership and problem solving.
Jack Waterford, The Canberra Times’ doyen of political commentators, in a hard hitting summation about the pathetic attempts by conservative governments to stymie the public sector, wrote on December 29: “The reputation of even a tarnished public service towers over that of bankers; you can’t get public service ethics from bankers’ ranks”.
Targeting the banks’ royal commission for special audit (and remember this was the commission Labor wanted for years and which Liberal leaders ducked and weaved from, especially Scott Morrison as Treasurer, who was of the view that “not much skulduggery was going on within the banks”), Waterford noted the delicious irony that when the Coalition Government sought advice on the reform of the Australian financial system “it went straight to another former managing director of the Commonwealth Bank, David Murray”, the bank pilloried by the commission. When the AMP was likewise found wanting about ethics, to whom did it turn? Mr Murray.
Waterford then wrote this jewel: “David Murray, no doubt, is finding out now at least, that restoring shareholder value, if it can be done, involves hard work on a culture destroyed by relentless greed, a focus on profit and shareholder interest at the expense of good citizenship, honest dealings with employees, customers, public interest regulators and the public”.
Applying this assessment by Waterford with a broad brush across the whole kaleidoscope of government and private industry it is not difficult to understand why ordinary Australians have had a gutful of both and are demanding better leadership and representation - much better - from the elections due shortly. It is probable, my scouts around the nation say, the great lack of propriety has not been helped by the observation that the Liberal Party is at its worst level of respectability and representation.
There may have been worse governments, Gough Whitlam’s second term especially, and Sir William McMahon’s inept parliament spring to mind, but as a party the current Liberal Party at all levels, offers nothing, not one sliver of inspiration, even hope.
As a senior public servant reported this week: “Bill Shorten may not be Mr Charisma but seems to run a tight ship - person-for-person the current mob of ALP front benchers are smarter and more genuine than the Coalition equivalent”.
Another senior servant added: “It would be to their advantage if the Coalition front bench concentrated on their own job and less on what they perceived Labor was or was not doing”.
In fact, it would be even better if both major parties got a copy of Fiona Nash’s recent SMH article, Regions are the Nation’s Powerhouse, in which she said, “Regional Australia is the land of opportunity and if city people were to look, many would wind up investing, working and living there.”
Which brings me to the most important issue of all - constitutional change; but, the lead must come from the people and this critical 2019 Federal election is the right time for voters to hammer home that need.
We cannot rely on our MPs to show the way - that is why 2018 was a year that saw voters go more strongly than ever for Independent candidates across federal, state and local governments, men and women of intense integrity and foresight who drew, increasingly, the previously silent voter onto the hustings. Well done you good and courageous Australians!
Don’t expect private business to get its hands dirty on this score of constitutional change. As Waterford wrote in his article: “It is not so clear that private industry has learnt much, or much good, over the past 40 years”.
We cannot rely on our MPs to show the way.
- Graham Gorrel