1 The right of politics has, for some time now, imposed its thuggish propaganda and intimidatory behaviour on democracies worldwide. As far back as Reagan and Thatcher, the right has had its way. Other than a few exceptions, they have chalked up many more years in power than governments of the left. In Australia the extreme right-wing has primarily been in power. Since 1910, non-Labor governments have governed for two-thirds of the time and Labor for one-third.

In their governance, the right has attracted a proliferation of odd xenophobic people who have sought to plaster their thoughts on every parliament wall, from religious extremism to coal is good.

The true Liberalism of Menzies is now dead and buried and has been replaced by a brand of Conservatism unique to American politics. The Liberal party exists in name only.

In an article for The Conversation, Frank Bongiorno points out that:

“Labor’s two-party-preferred vote in 2022 is only slightly behind Gough Whitlam’s in 1972… an argument can be made that the 2022 election discloses an electoral shift to the left. It is perhaps the most significant since the combined momentum of the elections of 1969 and 1972 that brought the Whitlam government to office.

Changes of government in federal politics don’t happen often. There have been eight since the second world war, and three of those were in a turbulent decade between late 1972 and early 1983.”

Australian voters are a laconic bunch who have wrongly interpreted the quote “she’ll be right.”

It was never meant to have a lazy terse meaning but an optimistic one. So, we have, for the most part, clung tightly to antagonistic non-Labor governments.

Because Australian voters regularly return governments, tending not to discard the incumbent, we can reasonably assume that the last election signals a broader shift in voter attitudes and leanings.

This Government I speak of was a false democracy. It looked harmless to the voting population, but as time progressed, all the interaction with everyday people, the pretending to be a hairdresser or whatever, was only a perception of Morrison’s creation. In the beginning, people were fooled by his acting, but when you see it every day for years, you eventually must wake up from your vacation.

It was peculiar to all governments that the conservatives held power over, from Howard, Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison.

Although Albanese started his leadership in times unsuited to massive change, it may be that he was chosen for just that reason. Therefore, we can reasonably be assured that an Albanese Government will receive two terms of Government if they fulfil their commitments. All going well, perhaps another three.

The start of his tenure demonstrates that he comfortably fills the shoes of the office. He looks the part, listens with dignity, and speaks with understanding.

No one would dare suggest that Albo has the charisma of John Curtin, Gough Whitlam, Bob Hawke or Kevin Rudd. Still, he does display sincerity, warmth, integrity and authenticity.

In comparison, the newly elected Leader of the Opposition, Peter Dutton, decided to go on holiday not long after being elected. I would have thought he would immediately start mending the many things that needed fixing, but he has continued as though nothing happened.

On Albanese’s travel, the Opposition has proven that they have taken nothing from their loss. The cynicism coming from it about Albanese being out of the country is nothing more than what the Prime Minister himself described as nothing more than “beyond contempt.”

We seem to learn more about governments and their leadership when they have died (much the same as ordinary people) than when they are in Government.

Climate change, anti-corruption, gender equality and competent Government – are now the domain of the progressive left and hopefully will remain so for some time.

Whom should the Coalition blame? Well, Howard and Abbott are front and centre. Scott Morrison, his lying, and the Coalition support for fossil fuels and, of course, the rogue irrational MPs for their climate denial.

The Murdoch media defended their stupidity but couldn’t recognise its own. And let’s not forget their attitude toward women and the party infighting. And, of course, their questionable values and governance.

And yet they still seem to be at peace with their party’s relationship with the fossil fuel industry.

But the Coalition stars will always be John Howard, who took the party to the right. Tony Abbott may have been a better liar than Scott Morrison, Malcolm Turnbull, who traded the leadership for well-worn beliefs and Barnaby Joyce, who proved himself to be the Leader of the many nut cases that formed the National Party.

Morrison believed that success, for whatever reason, depended on being seen doing everyone’s job but their own. Albanese is allowing his ministers to do their jobs.

How many guises did you see Scott Morrison in, ambo, hairdresser, test pilot or poultry boner and many more?

He put on hard hats, high-vis vests and gauze caps and propelled himself into the lives of the average working citizens who have been identified as politically advantageous. All these images were implanted in us, on TV, in hotels and in gymnasiums.

Do you know why? Well I don’t, either. I guess that about sums it up. Now let’s move on.

2 Together with the Prime Minister’s promise of a new politic comes a commitment to implement an influential Integrity Commission. The Greens and the independents will reject loose ends that allow for an escape route for corrupt politicians.

Furthermore, if this promise is to have some bite, it must also have adequate freedom of information process.

The independent auditor-general must be “independent” with a reasonable budget. The same goes for the Ombudsman.

The Government must create an impartial, professional and effective public service resembling that of yesteryear.

3 Something we can all agree on:

“Former Attorney-General Gareth Evans has called for Witness K’s conviction to be reversed following the decision to abandon the prosecution of the whistle-blower’s lawyer Bernard Collaery.

And Evans states that:

“Decency would also demand that the Witness K conviction be effectively reversed, but that’s probably a bridge too far.”

4 The Monthly reported that:

“The gap between male and female Coalition voters: only 28 per cent of women now say they would vote for the Coalition, compared to 38 per cent of male voters. The gap has widened since the federal election, with women continuing to drift from the Coalition under Peter Dutton.”

Who could blame them?

5 They are not mucking about, this Albanese Government. They have announced details on:

“… its promised jobs summit, to be held in Parliament House in early September. Treasurer Jim Chalmers says workplace reforms agreed to as part of the summit may be introduced as early as this year.”

6 In yet another example of Labor’s intention to make change a priority:

“Politicians will have to declare political donations over $1000 in real-time as part of a sweeping package of integrity measures.”

7 Special Minister of State Don Farrell wants to introduce the changes by mid-2023. “Truth in political advertising” laws will also accompany this legislation.

8 Another change will “potentially double the number of senators allocated to the Northern Territory and the ACT, from two to four.” The joint standing committee will examine the proposals on electoral matters.

I’m trying this morning to get a feeling for the future of politics in our country. Not much critical analysis has been written about the aftermath of the May 21 election.

Probably the most substantive thing I noticed was that the young have finally caught up with the aged. Yes, the Millennials have caught up with the Baby Boomers. Let me explain: For many years the old have supported the right of politics, and the young have latched onto the left. Polls have consistently shown this. The seniors in an ageing population are dying quickly and taking the conservative vote with them.

The young left vote has been exposed in significant proportion. Labor, the Greens and the Independents obtained 75% of the total vote. The old card-carrying supporter of my vintage has gone, and the young with no natural allegiance have moved in.

Our national census tells multiple stories about a country experiencing considerable change. It doesn’t paint much of a picture of the chances of the right in the next election. Population shifts in Victoria and New South Wales will lead the Electoral Commission to eliminate what were three blue-ribbon Coalition seats. All now held by so-called Teal Independents.

Another ingredient in this recipe for a rapidly changing nation is its browning. And the focus on immigration has shifted from the end of the war, white Europeans and the 60s, Italians and Greeks, and the Asian influx that followed to the now Middle Easton, African and Indian persuasion.

In my thoughts on what might emerge in the aftermath of the election, I find it astonishing that no self-reflection has occurred. I mean, does the Coalition think they were just victims of being in office a tad long? Maybe they feel that being on the far right eliminates any circumspection.

We have heard not even a cry that the leader failed or that we should never have appointed him as our leader. It’s as if he is not to blame for anything – the young saw his deceit and cunning through his lies and voted with purpose. Why couldn’t more of the elderly see through him?

At this point in my writing, you are probably asking yourself, “didn’t he watch Four Corners?” on July 3. I did, but it only focused on branch stacking and pre-selection in NSW. There is more to it than that.

I want to know why Morrison had such a hold on the party. When it became apparent that they were going to lose, why was he not confronted? Why wasn’t he told to tone down his religiosity? Those and many other questions remain unanswered.

It leaves the conservative parties caught between a rock and a hard place. Just like when John Howard advised Tony Abbott against Royal Commissions into the Unions and Pink Batts, opining that they weren’t worth the trouble.

Labor hasn’t much choice. Having championed a Corruption Commission for so long, the Prime Minister is duty-bound to provide it with some work. They have enough investigative work to last a couple of years.

Here are but a few examples of alleged corruption:

The land they paid 30 times its value for, Sports rorts, misappropriation of water from Murray-Darling by coalition donors, $444m to Great Barrier Reef Foundation with no tendering, many of Angus Taylor’s questionable activities, $30 million to Foxtel for no apparent reason and there is a list as long as the Flemington straight.

On the one hand, voting against an Integrity Commission will cause much grief for the Opposition. On the other, they, the Coalition, have no choice but to vote for one in the knowledge that there are those in their party who will have to face the music for their sins.

What happened with Robodebt and who gave the order to proceed when it was illegal needs a Royal Commission.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will have to make a similar choice to Abbott’s. He can say that we must investigate all the allegations to return to a decent democracy or that he is not into vengeance politics. However, we may need a prick of spite to prove what can happen to democracies when corruption is allowed to flourish. I believe blood needs to flow now so that the governance we were forced to endure never happens again.

Of the many mountains the Coalition will have to climb to return to its once-held dominance, none will be more important than relevance. It will not be regaining lost seats or how far right it should go, but how relevant are they as political parties. By the next election, their base will be further eroded by the loss of more elderly voters, leaders unsuited to the times and two parties who have drifted away from each other. So much so that even talking to each other brings on conflicts.

You cannot buy relevancy. It doesn’t come in a box. It comes about with good policy, leaders of proven trust and saleability, and a capacity to overcome past errors.

At the moment, the leader of the National Party, David Littleproud, looks out of his depth. Peter Dutton has picked a rather odd time to go on leave (all expenses paid) after declaring that his party’s policy on climate won’t change and that he will fight the next election on education in the belief that communists are teaching our children.

Making it even harder is a Government quite the opposite of the previous one – a trustworthy leader backed by a team of competent ministers ready to put things right over time. An understanding electorate is glad of the truth even when difficult to swallow. This Coalition has none of these prerequisites.

Anthony Albanese exhibits leadership qualities the populace has been waiting a decade for. Of vast experience with a diplomatic manner and forceful tone. Comfortable on the global stage without a hint of self-importance.

Yes, inflation may rise to 7%. Yes, interest rates will continue to go up. Yes, climate change and energy will be costly, but the people will accept it if you tell them the truth. The same goes for our debt.

Relevance is a consistent reminder of how the electorate views its politicians. The Government is ready to do its job; the Greens are emboldened and Teals excited. This parliament starts its repair work on Tuesday, July 26 2022. The question is, though, will the Opposition have any relevancy? Only time will tell.

The independents and the Greens would do well to recognise that they are not in power. They, along with the Opposition, form part of the body politic and should behave maturely if they want to be seen as relevant.

1 Apparently, after being soundly defeated at the election, the Coalition still thinks there is mileage in continuing to oppose climate change while supporting coal. This sort of talk takes us back to the Neanderthal age. It’s flat Earth stuff.

Wouldn’t you think that after a thrashing at the election, mainly because of lousy policy on energy, anyone with a scintilla of intelligence might have admitted defeat and quietly backed down? No, not this mob.

Most normal people would accept the loss and back away. Even with the loss of “Wentworth, North Sydney, Mackellar, Kooyong, Goldstein, Curtin, Bennelong, Higgins and Ryan,” they still think they can front up to the next election with the same policy. It goes to show how far right they have gone. Having said that, I still believe that Labor has a lacklustre target for 2030.

Traditional economic thinking says that it is the less well-off who will have to forgo wage growth to bring inflation under control: Cap on wages or cap on profits.

Why not a Resources super profits tax? I’m in favour of real wage growth rather than wage stagnation. Just a thought.

I still believe that the tax cuts for the more privileged should be cancelled as part of an economic crisis plan. You can hardly expect others to have their wages held down when the more advantaged are getting tax cuts. Use it to cut the deficit. The rich don’t need it. As Abbott said about the ‘carbon tax’, if it can be legislated, it can be unlegislated. Well, words to that effect.

2 The new Minister for Workplace Relations, Tony Burke, has promised:

“More than eight million Australians will have access to 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave by the end of the year as the new government pledges to make workplace equality reforms a priority.”

3 The final two-party preferred count has Labor on 52.1 per cent of the vote and the Coalition on 47.9. How that many could vote for the Coalition astounds me. And guess who gave it victory? It was the better educated, the under 55s, and women.

4 The government confirms it will terminate the controversial Cashless Debit Card trial across Australia.

5 In 2015 Bill Shorten asked:

“… if we were drafting our Constitution today, does anyone seriously dispute that we would require our head of state to be an Australian?”

That is just as important today as it was in 2015. Indeed, the Monarchy belongs to our past, not our future.

The same can be said of our flag. It also speaks of our past and says nothing of our future. Most of it contains another nation’s flag, and the balance is a few stars. Nothing in it recognises our First Nations People or our future. And contrary to some views, we don’t fight for a flag; we fight over right versus wrong.

6 Peter Dutton doesn’t understand that not everyone acts in a grubby self-interest.

I just saw Peter Dutton accuse me of acting because I “want a job on the Reserve Bank board”! He doesn’t understand that not everyone acts in grubby self-interest. I’ve already got a job thanks! #insiders

— Sally McManus (@sallymcmanus) June 25, 2022

7 The new education Minister, Jason Clare, has decided to do away with the compulsory religious element of the national school chaplaincy program and open up the program to allow schools to choose either a chaplain or a professionally qualified student welfare officer.

8 America may be the most advanced technological nation on earth. However, its social progress on matters of great moral importance is still fighting its way out of the Dark Ages when mysticism was rampant.

9 Cross benches advisor allocation has been reduced from 4 to one. The parliamentary Library will be given more resources to assist them. I expect it will finish at two.

10 Prime Minister Anthony Albanese continues to repair our international relations. (It was, of course, in dire need of much repair.) Big kudos also for our Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, who looks quite at home on the world stage.

11 A new budget on October 26. Parliament reconvenes next month and a jobs summit shortly.

My previous article: Dutton and Speers: That pathetic interview.

One of the promises the new Prime Minister made during the election campaign was to create or recreate a more civil parliament and, for that matter, a more tolerant and reasoned society. Most would all agree that we want our politicians to put their better minds to the problems confronting us. We want the screaming and disrespect to end.

This can only come about if we show each other consideration. Respect is an admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities and achievements. Some say that we earn it by way of our behaviour toward others. I think we would all agree with that.

To quote Roy Jenkins (from 2003):

“Civilised conduct, mainly: courtesy or politeness, lamented the decline of civility in our politics. It lacked a polite act or expression of the little formalities of political society.”

However, other words come into play if Anthony Albanese is to achieve a more civil parliament.

Manners are associated with a person’s outward bearing. Manners are often described as either good or bad to indicate to others whether or not their behaviour is acceptable.

In sociology, manners can indicate a display of social status and a means of differentiation between classes. This is less so in Australia, where class matters less.

Manners are integral to the function of the social norms and conventions enforced through personal practice and upbringing and are self-regulated in public and private life. They also apply equally to both men and women.

Other words such as etiquette, politeness, charm, values and demeanour also come into play.

All these niceties, of course, don’t only apply to politics. I believe erratic behaviour in sports comes about because of a lack of respect for the games they play by the players.

Respect for the sport you play and provides you with a living is the first criteria for being a success at it. The best are usually hard-working, humble, show respect for their opponent, and are gracious when they lose. However, some seem to think the sport they play owes them something.

The same can be said of politics, where politicians generally enjoy privileges that far outweigh other areas of society. In our politics, Question Time is often seen as the showcase of our parliament. It is here that Albanese wants to start his crusade against bad behaviour.

No one could seriously challenge the thought that it has descended into a bear pit of savagery.

Some think they can win a debate by being loud and crass. Others believe they can win with a perceived superior intellect. Few realise how necessary civility is to produce reasoned outcomes.

A debate is not necessarily about winning or taking down one’s opponent. It is an exchange of facts, views, ideas and principles. At its best, it is simply the art of persuasion.

The public might be forgiven for thinking that the chamber has descended into a hate forum. A sideshow where respect for the other’s view is seen as a weakness. Where light frivolity and wit have been replaced with smut and sarcasm. And in so doing, they have debased the parliament and themselves as moronic imbecilic individuals.

There is no doubt in my mind that at the beginning of Tony Abbott’s Prime Ministership, we entered an American period of our politics. A term I use to describe the Trump form of lying, bad manners and vile politics that became the norm in the US. It had a rotten smell that has hung around for a decade.

Those on the right fostered these behaviours until they became legitimate tools in the armoury of political tactics. And so, over the decade, the Australian politic fell into disrepair.

We abused free speech when what it required was respect. In a democracy, the right to free speech is given by the people through the parliament. Therefore, it should be incumbent on people to display decorum, moderation, truth, fact, balance, reason, tolerance, civility and respect for the other point of view. Nobody has ownership of righteousness.

In the American period, all that mattered was that you created a picture of a man or woman you wouldn’t trust. If you dragged others in, so much the better.

With that said, how will the Prime Minister create more respect than disrespect at Question Time? From what I understand, the manager of the House of Representatives, Tony Burke, doesn’t plan many changes to the standing orders. Much to the chagrin of many, Dorothy Dixers will still be allowed. Burke reckons they fill a function of informing the parliament about government progress. Some questions usually allocated to the opposition will now go to the teal members. Dutton is said to be unhappy with this arrangement.

Without any formal statement, it is challenging to predict opposition behaviour, and given Dutton’s foul-mouthed past, one cannot imagine any change. Although now that parliamentary behaviour is front and centre, I would expect Peter Dutton to make some sort of effort or carry the consequences.

I regret that I’m compelled to write again about the Leader of the Opposition. In what was an interview about the past, he told us everything about the style of leadership we can expect from him. Let’s call it “Liberal Negative” to give it a name.

Frankly, I was shocked by Dutton’s incapacity to concede defeat. The born-to-rule attitude runs strong. Or so his answers indicated. Time and again, when he ran out of reasoned words, he resorted to the Morrison tactic of abuse and blame.

It was astonishing, even laughable, to hear a man just appointed to be his party’s Leader trying to blame Labor for the very policy failures that the people had overwhelmingly condemned them for two weeks earlier.

As reported in The Guardian, the opposition leader constantly deflected blame for the national energy crisis, saying there is “fault all-round” while blaming the states for locking up gas reserves. For heaven’s sake, they were the Government for a decade.

“Dutton also suggested that there was a “sense of panic” on display from the new energy minister, Chris Bowen while defending the Coalition’s management of the national energy market when it was in Government.

“The sense of panic from Chris Bowen that is out there at the moment wasn’t there when Coalition was in government,” Dutton said. “I think he is a bunny in the headlights.”

 

A clearly unimpressed Mark Kenny responded via Twitter:

Where is the conservative apology over the chaos and collapse of the coal/gas-heavy energy market? Remember their fulminating clarity when a perfect storm took out SA’s power in 2016? Turns out coal & gas are not always “base load” & not always available. @InsidersABC pic.twitter.com/CewXDIIPUF

— Mark Kenny (@markgkenny) June 18, 2022

How can Dutton, a dyed-in-the-wool true-blue conservative after a decade of the most robust opposition to any reform, now claim that it is all Labor’s fault? Or at least 50% is. Those sorts of lies are why the LNP lost. The people woke to it.

Even though heartland seats fell to climate independents across the country, Dutton said they would not support Labor legislation that enshrined the 43% cut in emissions by 2030. More likely, they would take a smaller target to the next election.

Instead of uniting in the hope of tomorrow, Dutton has surprisingly chosen to reside in today. Does he not realise that the electorate has said no to the type of governance his side practised? Lie and attack, create chaos and confusion, divide and rule. We are on the periphery of a new politic.

Those were my thoughts as l watched Peter Dutton’s interview with Speers on Insiders last Sunday. Even after a resounding defeat, he couldn’t concede that the lack of an energy policy was a key reason. Had he overlooked that he had been part of the Government for the last nine years?

He seemed underprepared, or putting it more bluntly; he wasn’t sufficiently up with the detail to give a reasoned answer to anything, so he repeatedly aborted his answers to attack Labor negatively. All he could offer was a hatred of Labor. It was unprofessional politics and showed his limitations.

He was so wooden that you could almost hear his media advisers’ sighs of despair. My take on the interview is simple. They have learnt nothing from the defeat. We can expect a totality of hostile opposition in the Abbott mould. The Liberals will move further to the right, and the Nationals will remain the climate deniers they are.
Nothing has changed. Nothing.

Speers also asked him about an article published in The Australian where he said he had devised a plan when he was Defence Minister to buy a couple of submarines from the United States to fill a capability gap.

At the time, his comments were disparaged by Defence Minister Richard Marles as “rank politics.” There were even allegations that Dutton may have leaked classified information had the plan been canvassed by the Government’s nuclear submarine task force, which Vice Admiral Jonathan Mead was leading.

No such thing, Dutton told Speers. Apparently, he had reached his conclusion after visiting the Connecticut production line.

The remarks had been formed by “his judgment“:

“There is nothing top secret in a professional judgment as the former defence minister that I have made. It’s not based on classified information or secrets but the judgment that I made,” he said.

Speers went on to ask about the Indigenous voice to parliament that Labor has promised to deliver as a priority.

The opposition wanted time to go over the detail of the proposal before deciding on support, Dutton announced without even a hint of bipartisanship.

“We want to see that detail and there are lots of questions that will come from that. I don’t think the public has any understanding yet of what the Government is proposing,”

Perhaps I’m a bit of an idealist, but I wouldn’t say I was enamoured with the tone of that last sentence.

He then more or less changed the subject to bring up that; “I really want to see the closing of the gap.” It, of course, is a separate issue. And one that is hard to believe.

Labor has promised an Uluru statement from the heart in full. It would include a truth-telling Makarrata commission as a first step toward a treaty with Indigenous Australians and constitutional recognition of the voice to parliament.

Dutton’s record on anything to do with Indigenous folk isn’t great. He is on the record in 2019 as opposing the voice to parliament because it would create a third chamber. A nonsensical suggestion if ever I have heard one.

Liberals tend to pull up the shutters when equality for others is proposed.

In 2008 he opposed the national apology to members of the Stolen Generations, but after becoming Leader of his party, “mistake.”

Of course, changes in the constitution have an abysmal record without the full support of both major parties. In the past, Dutton has shown a giant chip on his shoulder when it comes to people who, in some way, are different. Or at least perceived that way.

Amidst all this negativity from Peter Dutton, the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, has urged Dutton to be on the “right side of history” in supporting the voice.

My previous article: About “Boofhead”

PS: Trying to deflect blame for Australia’s energy crisis onto Labor shows all the intelligence of a reincarnated Tony Abbott.

1 For a long time now, l have been promoting the idea that only Labor has the ideology and the know-how to manage the changes necessary to restore our democratic processes and implement massive change.

“The secret of change is to focus all your energy on not fighting the old, but on building the future” (Usually attributed to Socrates, but this is not true).

It wasn’t a difficult decision to reach. The LNP had proven themselves incapable. The Greens would never have the numbers, although they might have a big say in the Senate, and the independents might find themselves as an idea’s forum without the balance of power.

I said if you want change, change the government, and fortunately that is what happened, and is precisely what is happening now. I also said that when Tony Abbott became Opposition Leader, he would wreck our democracy if given the opportunity. Guess what happened.

In November of 2013, I wrote my first piece for The AIMN titled An Abbott in the Lodge – Never, in which I commented that:

“On a daily basis the negativity of Abbott spreads like rust through the community. He seeks to confuse with the most outlandish statements. Hardly a day passes without referring to Prime minister Julia Gillard as a liar while at the same time telling the most outrageous ones himself. And with a straight face I might add.”

It got far worse than that, and it never changed in the years following.

2 As illustrated by its actions post-election, the Albanese Government is hell-bent on righting wrongs and implementing policy. Thus far, their attack on the issues has been impressive. They have kicked goals in foreign affairs, wages, health and human rights to name a few. They have inherited more problems than first identified but are in an attacking mood.

3 NDIS Minister Bill Shorten is in a fighting mood, vowing to consider the scheme’s more comprehensive economic benefits when assessing the scheme’s sustainability.

4 Work has begun on legislation for a new fully independent corruption commission. But patience is required because it won’t be effective until June next year.

5 Last Friday, the Government held their first National Cabinet meeting, and I’m sure there wasn’t a lack of things to discuss. A possible recession might top the agenda. Health was a priority, followed by the lack of skilled workers. If I could have added a point, it would have been to stop subsidies for fossil fuels and put the savings toward aged care.

6 Ostensibly, in the period after the downfall of the Morrison Government, one thing stands out like the proverbial: That being the disclosure of just how inept this Government was. The prime example has been the lack of an energy policy and any belief in climate change. The Federal Government has now provided the market with the certainty they have wanted for a decade.

It will take time to resolve the energy problems. Because of a stream of bad policy decisions, the previous Government has left our energy system almost unable to meet the demands.

However, we are now committed to a more ambitious emissions reduction target. There may be mountains yet to climb, but there is also a desire to reach the summit.

As Anthony Albanese has pointed out:

“Scott Morrison went to the Glasgow conference last year and gave an empty speech to an empty room with no changed position. We saw a pamphlet released by a former government rather than a policy framework, and we continued to see arguments even during the election campaign about the science of climate change, let alone the need to act.”

7 The writers of political history should record in the archives just how abysmal our governance was in this Luddite decade. And they should do so in a way that compels the reader to absorb just how near to disaster we ventured.

8 The Federal Government has now provided the market with the certainty they have wanted for a decade.

9 Still, not a month into its incumbency, Albanese Government is finding out the hard truth of the problems it finds itself surrounded by; interest rates will rise, unemployment, now 3.9%, will increase as soon as immigration recommences.

10 In yet another example of this Government’s progressive nature, they showed a willingness to listen.

The first act of the previous Government was to abolish the Climate Commission. One of the first acts of this Government was to meet with Emergency Leaders for Climate Action (ELCA):

“Led by Climate Councillor and former Commissioner of Fire & Rescue NSW, Greg Mullins, Emergency Leaders for Climate Action (ELCA) has cut through the political noise and firmly articulated that worsening extreme weather is being aggravated by climate change, driven by burning fossil fuels.”

11 How refreshing it has been to hear Albanese and others talking about our problems without the constant interference of politics interrupting the discussion. Policy problems and how to fix them is now the new politic. There is no time for constantly trying to score political points by criticising each other.

Now that the election has concluded, it is hoped that our politics has learned a lesson. The conservative far-right has tried its hate for hate’s sake style of political confrontation. It took the electorate a decade to wake up to its dangerous consequences; then, they were told where to go. People lose faith in the process when politics gets in the way of solutions.

Weaponised adversarial politics has ended, and there has been a notable dialling down of political hostility.

Albanese often uses the phrase “people have conflict fatigue“. This decade of weaponised politics by the right has so degraded trust in public life that politicians have spent little time addressing the things that improve the lives of voters.

Only Labor can implement the much-needed change we need. As the old saying goes: “That is a no-brainer.”

My previous article: About “Boofhead”