Day to Day Politics: A Government full of liars. No kidding.
Wednesday 18 January 2017
I learnt at an early age that if I deliberately lied or even lied by omission, or I tried to deceive, it would inexplicably, in some implausible way shape or form come back to haunt me. After several costly lessons that severely bruised my conscience I modified my idea of what truth is. I cannot say I had a road to Damascus experience and a rod of puritanical enlightenment struck me but I certainly became aware that intentional lying didn’t have much of a future.
An observation.
“Do you shape the truth for the sake of good impression? On the other hand, do you tell the truth even if it may tear down the view people may have of you? Alternatively, do you simply use the contrivance of omission and create another lie .I can only conclude that there is always pain in truth but there is no harm in it”
And so it is with the Turnbull Government. They enter 2017 telling a string of lies, omitting things the people are entitled to know or are just deliberately trying to deceive us. Unlike me, and I imagine many others, they have failed to recognise the futility of their crassness.
The use of data matching techniques against fraud for example can be a legitimate tool of Government. They are not foolproof and were not intended to be. However, in the full knowledge of this the Government deceptively sent out debt notices knowing that the system originally designed to catch fraud was being used to actually raise revenue from overpaid Centerlink clients.
In the middle of it all, the targeting of people who had made errors that they weren’t even aware of came the Sussan Ley debacle where politicians were mindful that they were ripping off taxpayers in claiming expenses that in all conscience they shouldn’t have.
All with the rules they shouted but they had been sitting on a report for well over 12 months with 29 recommendations of how to fix the problem, hoping that it would just go away and they could continue to lie and go on with their rorting. Why is it that after the Brownyn Bishop “choppergate” scandal, when the public were more than just pissed off did they have an enquiry and then forget it.
It’s strange that now they can, after being found out telling lies about their more recent expense claims that they can act almost instantaneously. And its even more strange that after ”choppergate” the pollies made no effort to tone down their claims.
As I said in my opening remarks. It always comes back to bite you.
Having said that, the government MP Steven Ciobo reckoned that voters ”expect ” politicians to claim travel entitlements to attend sporting events.
Another lie.
Any comparison between the Centerlink scandal where the ordinary citizen was being asked to provide evidence of their own honesty and MPs wilful dishonesty, tells us all we need to know about the decline in the virtue of fairness and our democratic principles.
The Government in its typically conservative hatred for those less fortunate want to blame their own incompetent handling of the economy on those on welfare. It’s a “just get a job” attitude whilst knowing that for every available job there are 19 applicants. They are good at perpetuating lies. Even ones by omission.
The social services minister Christian Porter in 2017 was so keen to perpetuate the myth that people on welfare were just overpaid incapable slothful grubs that they were being too bighearted to, or were just rorting the system. Oh what terrible lies they tell, full of elitist crap.
Remember the time he said a single mum with four kids was better off on welfare than if she had a job.
The fact of the matter is that they are using a Labor designed programme designed for another purpose to collect revenue. They knew it had flaws but went ahead with it anyway. Deceitful bastards. They know there is $2.1 Billion dollars to be had over four years from this. No wonder they signed off on a programme that would raise heaps of cash but at the same time vilify the poorest in the community. What an immoral untrustworthy fetid lying government we have.
An observation.
”Honesty isn’t popular anymore. It doesn’t carry the weight of society’s approval it once did”
On top of that Human services minister Alan Tudge told another lie when he said that the scheme had recovered $300 million since July 2016 when in fact the amount was a figure only identified as debt.
And so, like one day bleeding into the next the citizens of our poorly governed country were, over Christmas and the new year, able to compare a Government intent on fleecing the poor to raise revenue with MPs fleecing the taxpayer to feather their own nests.
On the subject of MP’s entitlements Mr. Tudge had this to say:
“I don’t think, in relation to some of the examples that I have seen in recent times, that people have deliberately sought to defraud the system.”
On the subject of Centerlink debt he said this last year of a person who appeared on channel seven:
“We’ll find you, we’ll track you down and you will have to repay those debts and you may end up in prison.”
The Government after the Christmas break continues to try and hoodwink the people with its lies and omissions. Sussan Ley has lost her job and looks like being replaced with another of dubious character. Arthur Sinodinos is no stranger to controversy having stood down himself during the Independent Commission against Corruption’s investigation into Australian Water Holdings.
Whilst his evidence was cleared by the commission it is doubtful if a jury at the local pub would have done so.
The Government starts the year with a scandal with a minister buying a $795,000 investment property and claiming travel expenses to do so.
At the same time they resist any move to water down negative gearing and attack housing affordability.
As if the Ley scandle wasn’t bad enough we had Julie Bishop claiming entitlements to attend a polo match just to prove how out of touch they really are.
It is said that they are the most educated government Australia has ever had. Now that may be true but it’s a pity the parents of all of hadn’t instilled in them that telling the truth is fundamental to society’s wellbeing. Collectively I don’t think the conservatives have ever gathered together a larger group of liars together in one parliament. Turnbull is a hypocrite on the Republic, marriage equality and Climate Change. Joyce is a liar by omission for not releasing a report into moving a department into his own electorate, Sinodinos cant pass a pub test. Julie Bishop lies about her travel expenses as has Sussan Ley. Brandis and Morrison, what does one say. Hunt has frequently lied about Climate Change. Steve Ciobo, Pyne, Chester and Cormann on travel expenses. Porter as identified in this piece. Did I mention Dutton. Oh, and the biggest for lying by omission must surely be Frydenberg.
My thought for the day.
”Have we reached the point in politics where TRUTH is something that politicians have convinced us to believe rather than TRUTH based on factual evidence, arguments and assertions?”
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king1394
Return to home pageThe current mob of Liberal Politicians serve only an Ideology and they act similar to an ISIS member.So it is mandatory that they lie; for the cause of their party and it has nothing to with what’s good for society.Though; when party members lying ways get’s too much for them they are all giving absolution by the Liberals Masterful liar; Little Johnny Howard. And this sets them free to go on their merry way of tale telling
Ruling rabble Mk#1 with Rabid-the-Hun and their incompetent implementation of the IPA wishlist and then the five minute dawn of the false hope that Truffles’ promised with his ruling Rabble Mk#2 that has only resulted in not only further fiscal incompetence but the degradation, sullying and polluting of every single facet of Australian society that had made this country a nation to be proud of.
We have never had corruption on such a scale, media as fecklessly useless and a future so dim as we have at present…. Welcome to the new Dark Ages, where business is government and bought representatives are only their spruikers.
They have killed democracy.
We live in world now of spin and hype and black vrs white and dare I say it core truth’s and my Celebrity Rules and where liars are now not scene as fools
We……are letting our govts get away with despicable behavours, we can see the lies, we see the wastes, we see , we see. Joe Australian feels helpless, fears for the future, fears immigration, fears, fears……….and no candle light at the end of the tunnel. We are rudderless, going who knows where.
The LNP media managers are back from their holidays and decided yesterday to have the Prime Minister lash out at Bill Shorten after Shorten had noted that a TPP without the USA was not a reality. Turnbull would have us believe that Labor is protectionist and opposed to trade but for some reason Turnbull fails to acknowledge that Trump’s vow to ‘tear up the TPP agreement’ effectively means that the deal is dead.
It also seems to have escaped Turnbull that the TPP agreement was signed in October 2015 and so far the Turnbull government have failed to seek parliamentary ratification and haven’t even brought enabling legislation before the parliament. To say, as they did, that Labor are refusing to support the TPP legislation when there is no legislation, is being misleading and deceptive. What Labor actually said was that when the enabling legislation has been drafted and is brought before the parliament, then the Labor shadow ministry will form a view on it but in the meantime, without the USA it is unlikely to be seen as a viable deal.
Australia currently has nine FTAs in force with Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, US, Chile, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) (with New Zealand) and Malaysia. Australia concluded FTA negotiations with China in November 2014. We also have the Canada-Australia Trade Agreement (CANATA).
The TPP signatories include countries such as Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam and until now, the USA.
Bill shorten is correct : without the USA, the TPP is not a viable trade agreement and offers Australian nothing as the only countries we don’t have an existing trade agreement with and who are part of the TPP, are Mexico, Peru and Brunei.
Maybe some people want to be lied to rather than looking the truth into the face.
Welcome to AustraLIAR
a land where lies abound
and truth is such a rarity
it’s seldom to be found
You wonder how it’s come to this
a land once young and free
is now a place of fraud and fear
and stark dishonesty
Our useless lying “leaders”
are the best that can be bought
by multinational billionaires
whose ethics count for nought
Welcome to AustraLIAR
unless you are the needy
our common wealth is not to share
except amongst the greedy
We’re now the land of double speak
of broken trust and failure
While honest folk just shake their heads
lamenting lost Australia
Yet still the polls belie the fact
the country’s in a mess
The proles it seems believe the lies
they read in Murdoch press
Welcome to AustraLIAR
a land that once was proud
We’ve now become a global joke
our innocence deflowered
There’s those who say they’re all the same
all parties show bad form
but never in our history
has lying been the norm
So what to do to stop the rot
and turn the ship about
For fairness and integrity
we must kick these liars out.
I have a feeling that politicians, on the whole, have always lied and been crooked, but now we are realising, for the first time, the enormous scale of the deceptions and corruption. And it is taking our collective breath away.
Of course, it helps to have people like Abbott, Hunt, and overseas, Trump, who hardly say anything truthful and barely take a breath between lies.
With our increased ability to communicate, compare, and contrast, instead of being held captive to the mainstream media, we see them for what they really are. They must really hate the internet.
Well said Mr Lord. Weren’t these guys ever taught the basics of morality in school ? My mother, who was a teacher for more than 40 years, would have been aghast at the crude puerile disgusting behaviour of these adults. Don’t these guys have children and aren’t they even slightly ashamed of the impression they’re leaving on their offspring ? Turnbull peppers his conversation with references to his grandson Jack. What a breathtaking hypocrite he is.There’s is no further outrage to be expressed anymore, just an earnest desire to be rid of them forever.
We might all be connected by internet, and have been for some years now, yet we choose people like Abbotts and Trumps to be our leaders…
Here in Oz it’s just not the leader who is hopeless, but his whole government.
The Department of Immigration and Border Protection is accused of mismanaging offshore detention centre contracts, with an independent audit alleging more than $1 billion was spent over the last four years without proper authorisation.
So who’s fault is it ? Peter Dutton will have you believe that all this bungling over the last four years was due to the actions of Labor and the Greens.
That’s because during the last four years, Labor has been in office………..Oh, wait a minute !
Quick, Peter the spin machine needs a quick squirt of WD40.
It is in the nature of party politics. Politics is organised lying.
Terry 2, you beat me to it…
I might be wrong, but I thought it was two billion ( Guardian)…?
Terry 2, helvityni….. remember, its never their fault. Labor, the Greens and the nasty rottweiler down the road who pisses on every tree trunk he lays his eyes on, are to blame. (Yes, it was $2 billion)
As I said last year, John Lord will be writing articles like this for a long time to come. Politicians lies are necessary to prolong the GDP growth Ponzi scheme and they will employ every dastardly trick to cover them up.
Their growth ideology is fundamentally one big lie and from this will come our demise.
“On a finite planet, nothing grows forever.” — Richard Heinberg.
And the Centrelink folly will cost the taxpayer heavily! Repayments to all of the welfare recipients defrauded out of their money by the policy of “pay us back until we get our s**t together” plus interest. The potential lawsuits for pain and suffering. Now Tudge has recognised there were issues relating to mail and addresses and more letters will be sent by registered mail.
Like everything else this incompetant government touches the cost of patching up their stupid ideological mistakes will burden this country for decades.
MH70? NBN? GBR? Offshore detention? I am sure Kaye Lee could add to this list.
We should sue them all personally for wrecking our economy and our country
Oh Lord,
A great post.
ASSERTION:
a confident and forceful statement of fact or belief.
“his assertion that his father had deserted the family”
Spot on:
The rabbott,- opus dei cannot lie because the end point is god’s truth. Trunbull – the pragmatist cannot lie because the end point is a worthy truth – the atheist can lie because they know mobius.
OMISSION
It is clear, at least to me, that the shame of women like a couple of bishops and susson everything in doing manly rorts is newsworthy. But there are many more men deserving of banner headlines::
(historically nick sherry’s tragedy for a relatively minor rort or the rabbott’s hernia aid for whom we paid $21000 for canberra- brissie and hervey bay via the bush to gold coast cost us $24000, The berk, cormann and office spenders all deserve a media truth run.)
Perhaps the lying is by SELECTION of examples used as evidence by politicians, journalists, bloggists, humans.
You showed the word missing from politicians, maybe for all of us is HONEST and that may be the truth. I don’t know this woman but this quote popped up when I look for to be true to yourself, forgetting the shakespeare ‘to thine own self be true’
“If nothing else in this long and short life, let me be true to my conscience, to the dignity of my own heart. Let me act in a way that says, I have honored my spirit as truly as I have honored others’. Let me stand tall and rooted as a mountain in the face of a quaking world.”
― Jennifer DeLucy
Wow obama never ceases to amaze – chelsea manning released.
Yeah, the trouble is, no matter who you vote for, you get a politician boom boom.
Of all the lies, I find Ciobo’s the most slimy and egregious, employing as it does, the false premise that people WANT politicians to make claims. This is a typical tendentious Murdoch-commentariat-type-insidious-insertion, softening up the punters to go along with the latest porky proposition. I saw one in a Fairfax paper today, whereby it was posited that a billionaire employer (evading tax?) is EMPLOYING people and so that makes anything appalling done all right. THAT one has been doing the round for decades and is intended as a silencer. It exactly encapsulates the current situation: the continuous draining of the “common” wealth upwards towards the “very much less common” wealth. Increasingly, average Australians are reduced to fighting over the scraps… on line. The current crop of politicians is supremely, confidently unaware of the average Australian’s lot. Hanson and Co will reap the rewards. They are, perhaps, our future leaders… so… representative… of the collective intelligence of the Australian people!
There needs to be a penalty for untruth in the Parliament – a real penalty. Financial would be the best. They’d get the message very quickly. Sort of similar to Centrelink recipients, no pay for 2-3 weeks.
And the Labor leader can stop being smug – his side is just as bad. Independents too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQur4LSgxi4
John, twice you’ve referred to “taxpayer’s money,” but according to MMT, taxes do not pay for anything, not schools, not hospitals, not pollie’s entitlements.
Change…real change, won’t happen in my lifetime, Canberra is on a path of no return, it attracts same minded entrants, they begin “the pathway” by entering “the party”, they get indoctrinated, they embrace the cult. They are controlled, they wait for that moment to enter govt. They have begun their career as a politician.
I fear for australia, i truly do.
I am quietly proud to be Australian.
A first generation Australian of English parentage, born in the Queensland (coastal) bush in January, 1933.
We lived in virtual isolation : a couple of farms ‘over the river’ – another ‘down the track’ , and my Mother home schooled me by Government Correspondence. My parents were well educated (bore no ‘regional English’ accent) , and I naturally learned to speak like them.
Life was good for me, tho’, being the only child (& no other kids within cooee ) I occasionally felt a little lonely. Mum and I would do ‘our school work’ in the mornings, and after ‘dinner’ (as it was in those ways) I had the remainder of the day to myself (along with Dog and Pony .and the surrounding bush. I learned quickly ( the three R’s ) – extensively from my Parents – and from Nature.
Whilst the Great Depression was taking a heavy toll, we were virtually self sufficient, tho’ really ‘ just getting by ‘.. Weekly trips ‘to town’ would yield the ‘School mail’, newspapers , and letters from England. I could spend virtually half a day at the local Primary School.with a small degree of exposure to other children. My Parents continued to groom me as one would an English Public Schoolboy !
Prior to my 8th birthday we moved ‘into town ‘ – the nearest country town, mentioned above.
It’s from here on that I experienced the pain of ‘being different’ ! There is a resistance to they who appear different.!
Donkey’s years ago I came across this :- ” The opposite of Courage is NOT Cowardice … it’s Conformity ” ! …..
P.S. I weathered the Storm – attended High School in the nearest regional town, and along with further learning, and have enjoyed a fulfilling life.
During my ‘ bush Parenting ‘, I learned to Live thru’ my Heart – empathy.
P.P.S. Today I shed tears for those children ….. and I rejoice in their (inoffensive) non-conformity !
I read that an interviewer attended a Trump convention and talked to Trump supporters. Many were convinced that Obama had a role in 9/11 (at a time when he was not yet President). Yet others believed that Clinton had Parkinson’s. When confronted with the facts, they simply said they had “made their minds up”. Others were convinced that Clinton lied more than Trump when a study of the lies told by each during the campaign showed overwhelmingly that Trump lied, on average, every three minutes and despite the extent to which Clinton was reviled, she actually ran an honest campaign – by and large.
What does this all mean? Simply that we are to blame. We are so stupid and so gullible that we believe what we want to believe – our “truths” are as often as not built around our own twisted view of the world. Studies show that this is how our minds tend to work and have shown that it is possible to take ordinary people and construct a fictional event. In a disturbing number of cases, people were able to convince themselves that they recalled that event. But this is evidence only of us and our minds – and politicians only play on this. It is to our detriment, but for politicians, it is a high stakes game. Their political futures; the continued patronage of their supporters, jobs as lobbyists or consultants after politics, jobs in plumb ambassadorial roles after politics. Since governments like the Coalition don’t govern for all and in fact govern only for a minority (who are equally deluded about what is best for an economy – their views usually coalesce around what is good for them), they have a much larger task to convince the rest of us that the philosophical and fiscal underpinnings of their bizarre policies are valid. And it must work – after all, they were re-elected, so half of the voting public buys the lies and a fair number of the rest probably had doubts about voting Labor because of continuing reluctance to support Shorten..
But perhaps this goes some way to explaining how a total dunderhead like Hanson is able to garner support. She is not clever enough to deliberately burrow into our mind’s recesses, but by chance, her opinion-based rantings do find a supporter base. Her commentary is a bit all over the place but for those who have an abiding unease about the world around them, her “ideas” tend to both give shape to their vague opinions and to foment a growing group of non-thinkers. Clearly, the extent to which our views are based on opinion rather than fact varies over a wide range, but there are more than enough who are at the “opinion” end of the continuum to turn support for Hanson into political power and to supply stellar ratings for the non-thinking shock jocks who are able to stridently and confidently verbalise their opinion-based views.
It seems many are too scared use their owns minds they’d prefer to borrow else’s.
Hi John Lord,
What makes you think that the government now acts decisively and fast on the report? Have they started or already done so? I may have missed it.
I am afraid, the LNP drove me so far, that I am not entirely convinced they will implement an independent authority to monitor (approve??) claims made by politicians.
And if they do, I am not convinced that this authority will have the necessary teeth or how it is being staffed.
I have become too mistrusting to believe any good intention, this government pretends to have.
ozibody, what a great quote. “The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice, it’s conformity.” — Rollo May
Thanks for the window into your upbringing. I grew up in the bush too, though not homeschooled. I would walk about a mile to school as a Primary School kid, and walked even further then caught the train to go to secondary school.
Lying and immorality go hand in hand. Yes people we have a completely immoral government the very antithesis of democracy. Meanwhile you sleep on in ignorance pretending against all evidence that it is acceptable.
My dear citizens you yourselves are complicit in the destruction of fairness and honesty. Have you no shame? It will most certainly lead to bitter ends for all. Have you noticed the latest reports on global warming acceleration? Have you any idea that the overinflated property market is due to burst. Have you noticed the decimation of manufacturing and the increase in temporary employment? Have you noticed while you go backwards the elites are making a killing at your behest?
Do you think the rich will suffer or will you be in dire straights. Stop fooling yourselves they do not care one iota about you dear citizens. Another crisis is coming and could have been avoided if you held politicians to account for blatant lying. Well when it happens you dear nation of sleepy heads will scream blue murder yet allow them once more to feed you lies and make you pay for their greed.
They are stealing from the homeless and unemployed but oh well it is not me. Well very soon it may well be you.
John, as you no doubt are well aware, the Great NLP Swindle took off like Wylie Coyote after the Road Runner way back in 1996 under the steady claw of the Lying Rodent. It’s all been downhill from there. Downhill, through the bottom of the barrel into the gutter and down the drain into the sewer where Australian politics (I almost said governance but we don’t have any) remains, floating and fermenting like last week’s turds. And where oh where has that metaphorical Road Runner hared off to? The Caymans.
@ klaus,
I agree. I have feeling this was a “captain’s pick” and only occurred due to Turnbull’s wealth. When it comes to the other less wealthy (but often still wealthy) politicans in terms of the setup and terms of reference of the independent authority they will act to ensure they maximise the graft they can get out of the public purse. These partly wealthy pollies don’t feel wealthy at all as they mix socially with wealthier business people who scam “fringe benefits” to the maximum level possible.
Also, all the independent authorities have been stacked with sycophants since Howards time. Now most authorities governing money are now suffering from Regulatory Capture. For most of them every executive should be dismissed and replaced with people not tainted by business or far right ideology – however that would be pointless as the nepotistic LNP have shown they would not choose anyone objective.
I think Shorten’s playing the same disingenuous game with a Federal ICAC. The “discussions” would be to create it but make it relatively toothless. What we actually need is a People’s Royal Commission (not headed by a judge, but by a collection of intelligent people) to determine what the correct lobbyist, donations and allowance policies should be – so they cannot create rules and systems for themselves.
Yes jimhaz, 100%. Nothng to add!
“It is in the nature of party politics. Politics is organised lying.”
But that doesn’t mean it should be accepted, or even condoned!
Religious people, especially fundamentalists and traditional catholics, make the best political recruits because they already have the cognitive dissonance and the ability to lie “naturally.” The art of politics is to transform that religious zeal into a political zeal by changing scapegoats.
It should be seen that the principal organ of Neoliberal zeal in Australia is the IPA, which is populated by hard-right Catholics and other religious nutters.
At their Foundations of Western Civilization program, the IPA co-host with Quadrant various talks promoting old time Christian religion. They have promoted Geoffrey Blainey’s book The History of Christianity.
Tony Abbott addressed the IPA 70th birthday bashtelling them that religious faith underpins western civilization, which underpins modern freedoms.
Abbott mused: “The IPA, I want to say, has been freedom’s discerning friend. It has supported capitalism, but capitalism with a conscience. … ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ is the foundation of our justice. ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself’ is the foundation of our mercy. Faith has weakened but not, I’m pleased to say, this high mindedness which faith helped to spawn and which the IPA now helps to protect and to promote.”
Of course George Pell was there in the front row to give God’s blessings to the event.
Pell has made that great lie – climate change denial – an article of religious faith in Australia.
John, I hear your anger though I bet you, you’re not on ya pat malone. And we ain’t talking about the mob down at the pub here, these Liars are in charge of everyone future and their bank accounts I’ve heard they are going to steal some tax we earn from our super funds, Anger anger RIOT. Grrr.
Miriam English : my graduation to high school also involved a 45 min. each way rail trip ……..the trips involved a designated ‘ rail motor ‘ – sometimes 2 carriages. No windows as such, just pull down blinds ( mid 1940’s). One of the drivers was a real ‘character ‘ named Louis – who would often ‘plant the foot ‘ on a homeward journey ….. to earn the title Leaping Louis ! … 🙂 …..
” “Every human being must have a point at which he stands against the culture, where he says, this is me and the damned world can go to hell.”
― Rollo May
The above, and earlier May quote, is where I’m really aiming in (recent) posts. The world populace has (during much of my lifetime) been lured / enticed and lately bullied , to Conform to certain strictures … vis a vis today’s neo-con capitalism, globalisation, wealth accumulation / consolidation .
Agenda support is rendered through denigrating ‘ Non Conformity ‘ as virtual law breaking, and generallly bad named.,….. whilst ‘ Failure to Conform en masse ‘ renders all people ‘ Individuality ‘ – that’s all … and it’s perfectly adequate..
We are all born as Individuals ….. our Birthright !
P.S. … ” Love & Will ” ….. ” The Cry for Myth ” … by Rollo May
,
While politicians and their spouses are allowed to buy properties during the time they are in office, many will be speculating, often with inside knowledge. They have no incentive to do anything to reduce the cost of housing. Why isn’t property purchase quarantined in the way that business interests and shareholdings are (supposed to be)