The problems with a principled stand

In the past couple of weeks, the conservative parties have retained government…

Government approves Santos Barossa pipeline and sea dumping

The Australia Institute Media Release Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek’s Department has approved a…

If The Jackboots Actually Fit …

By Jane Salmon If The Jackboots Actually Fit … Why Does Labor Keep…

Distinctions Without Difference: The Security Council on Gaza…

The UN Security Council presents one of the great contradictions of power…

How the supermarkets lost their way in Oz

By Callen Sorensen Karklis Many Australians are heard saying that they’re feeling the…

Purgatorial Torments: Assange and the UK High Court

What is it about British justice that has a certain rankness to…

Why A Punch In The Face May Be…

Now I'm not one who believes in violence as a solution to…

Does God condone genocide?

By Bert Hetebry Stan Grant points out in his book The Queen is…

«
»
Facebook

Day to Day Politics: My Last Post.

Friday 23 December 2016

This will be my final political post until sometime after Christmas. It has been an exhausting year and I must say my fingers are a bit worn. Other than a few missed days I have probably written in excess of 300 pieces for The AIMN. Never has there been a period of time when I was short of material or lukewarm about writing.

My intention has always been to create discussion. Not to be pure and righteous but to get people talking and debating. I don’t find it necessary to participate unless there is a need to defend myself but really to have people voice their opinion with an openness to agree, disagree or embellish the discussion. After all, I have all the say in what I write. And I have to say that some of the comments have been so illuminating as to be worthy of an article in their own right.

I hope what I write is honestly presented, with integrity and in my own style that incorporates some well-chosen, in your face, observations when required.

So my thanks are extended to all of you, on this blog, and Facebook, who diligently read my protests of scorn at the injustices of the world. Not to mention all the other writers who contribute to THE AIMN. In February I will turn 76 but I have lost none of my vivacity for dissent and I will continue as long as is necessary to rid our nation of the inequality and neoliberalism that is destroying us.

I shall finish where I left off on Thursday when I wrote this:

“Now if the decline continues up to the next election, that is, if institutionalized politics in Australia does not come to terms with the fact that they no longer represent a vast majority of the electorate then we may very well create a perfect storm, a wave of ‘Trumpish’ proportion might hit our democracy. It only requires the political planets to alien and anything might happen. Goodness, the Nationals in Essential Poll are on 2% of the vote and are running the country. It’s a joke and something needs to be done. The seriousness of the situation cannot be underestimated. It is said that when America catches a cold that we get the flu. Might I suggest we are about to get pneumonia.”

The following day we were greeted with the news that Cory Bernardi and George Chistensen were both reconsidering their positions within their respective parties.

Retired MP Tony Windsor said:

“Malcolm Turnbull should pull on these idiots. What’s the point of being Prime Minister?”

“Bernardi should do us all a favour and get on with it and Malcolm should either piss or get off the potty.”

Both of course would under normal circumstances not command a high degree of respect in their parties. They do because of their propensity to Bolt like sensationalism, a paper-thin majority, and command a lot of media attention as a consequence. They then overrate their self-importance. The shallowness of their ideology can be illustrated when they are alongside others of superior intelligence. It is particularly noticeable when Bernardi is on Q&A for example. Both have loyalties of ultra-Christian conservative values that are from a world that most of us have moved on from.

Former Victorian Liberal Premier Geoff Kennett said of Bernardi on ABC radio:

“This is an individual who, for some ego-driven reason, believes he has the answers to the world; he does not.”

Having said that though, both if they chose to leave, or in Bernardi’s case to form his own party, have the capacity to change the political landscape forever.

Is Bernardi serious? Well he often threatens to do it but this time it seems more serious. He has formed his own Conservative group akin to the left’s Get Up and predicts big things in 2017. Sarah Martin in The Australian (paywall) says that:

“The conservative firebrand and his ‘’very close friend”” Gina Rinehart met key members of the US president-elect Donald Trump’s campaign team, including former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, in Washington last month, fuelling fears the senator might have the support of Australia’s richest women to bankroll the party and dilute the Liberals support base.”

Therein lies the dilemma for the Liberals. Do they go further down the ultra right neoliberal road with the likes of these two and others in the party, leaving ‘small L’ liberalism behind forever or does the Prime Minister confront them and tell them to go jump and decimate the conservative vote between the Nationals, Liberals, One Nation and Bernardis.

It’s a hopeless position to find oneself in but it’s of course sometime in the near future it will happen.

In November Malcolm Turnbull said that there will always be some disillusioned voters, but Australia’s electorate has not seen a rise in disenchantment equivalent to that in the United States.

He is dead wrong.

For those who don’t comprehend just what neoliberalism is I suggest you read this:

“Neoliberalism sees competition as the defining characteristic of human relations. It redefines citizens as consumers, whose democratic choices are best exercised by buying and selling, a process that rewards merit and punishes inefficiency. It maintains that “the market” delivers benefits that could never be achieved by planning.”

“After Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan took power, the rest of the package soon followed: massive tax cuts for the rich, the crushing of trade unions, deregulation, privatisation, outsourcing and competition in public services. Through the IMF, the World Bank, the Maastricht treaty and the World Trade Organisation, neoliberal policies were imposed – often without democratic consent – on much of the world. Most remarkable was its adoption among parties that once belonged to the left: Labour and the Democrats, for example.”

“Now if this does happen how will it affect the left of politics. It would of course split the conservative vote and you might think that’s a good thing but they could always form a four pronged Coalition.”

Given the electorates dissatisfaction with institutionalised Neoliberalism politics it may not be advantageous to the Labor Party unless they came up with unique new policies bathed in fixing the inequality responsible for the displeasure.

My thought for the day.

“Sometimes I allow myself the indulgence of thinking I know a lot. Then I realise that in the totality of things, I know very little.”

PS. A special thanks to our editor who puts up with all my errors of grammar.

Happy holiday season.

 

40 comments

Login here Register here
  1. pierre wilkinson

    thanks John, enjoy your break

  2. kerri

    Thanks for a year of informative and thought provoking commentary, John.
    Enjoy a break and a happy time with family and friends.
    I will look forward to your writings in every morning of 2017 as I have in 2016.
    Cheers!

  3. captainwise

    Wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas John and a big thank you for your most enlightening thoughts throughout the past year.
    I look forward to more in 2017, best regards cw

  4. Don A Kelly

    I gasped when I read your headline: My Last Post. I said to myself “Oh No”. Thankfully my disappointment was short lived when I read on. Everyday I look-forward to reading your thought provoking articles and I learn so much.
    Have a wonderful festive season John and your family, recharge your batteries and comeback refreshed in the new year.

  5. Kaye Lee

    May your troubles be less
    And your blessings be more.
    And nothing but happiness
    Come through your door.

    All the best to you and your family John. Enjoy!

  6. Cele

    Just like Don A Kelly, I initially assumed that the headline was going to reveal your plan to retire. it was with great relief to discover that you are having a short break. Best wished for Good Health, Happiness and Good Fortune.

  7. jagman48

    Thanks John. I have enjoyed your posts and in fact looked forward to them all through the year. I contribute rarely as many on here know far more than I do. Happy holidays and a happier new year.

  8. Terry2

    All the best, John – by the time you return we may have a new Prime Minister !

  9. Keith

    Thank you John, and the rest of the AMIN team; and commentators generally. Merry Christmas.

  10. Caroline

    Thank you thank you thank you. So grateful to you. Enjoy a relax. Next year is gonna be hell.

  11. Möbius Ecko

    Please stay safe all.

  12. Michael Taylor

    Enjoy your Xmas and your break, John. All the best for your family too. May good health and happiness be with you every day.

    PS: this particular editor will get a break too. ?

  13. Freethinker

    Thank you for your excellent contribution, my bet wishes to you and enjoy the break..

    I take this opportunity to also express my best wishes to the AIMN admin team and all the people that with their contributions have made this site special.

  14. Kronomex

    What a way to end the year, photos of the two biggest black death buboes in Australian politics.
    Have a good break John.

  15. nurses1968

    John, the real Eveready Bunny of articles,just keep going and going.Don’t know how you manage such interesting articles almost daily
    Michael Taylor
    It seems everyone is taking work breaks{except me :-[ }
    I was a bit gobsmacked to find out my employer has decided to walk away from politics, slamming and locking the door behind him after a lifetime of fighting the good fight

  16. Phil

    Thank you John and thank you all at AIMN for your work, your ideas and your tireless input to support independent news and views.

  17. wam

    Your honesty is obvious, your integrity is unquestioned, your work load unequaled and your posts make an enjoyable read.
    Bernardi typifies the SA wowsers in their abhorrence of f*ck but the slime is the one who greedily capitalises on their votes,
    As for labor’s future under a catholic called william? His ancestors had a great song ‘les fleurs de la foret’
    Your happy holiday made my day because my friends post septic rubbish memes on these words.
    ps Loved Windsor

    pps my guess: you will not be able to go to sleep without your brain churning.
    Rest assured we will be waiting patiently to see the butter produced.

    ppps what a informed view was rick watts post on rossleigh’s satire.

  18. 1petermcc

    Thanks John. Damn near choked on my corn flakes at the headline though.

    To drag the comments towards politics, I can’t see either of them moving if they think it through, but Cory is not the smartest bloke in Politics.

    Perhaps he aspires to Cory’s One Nation? Of course he could simply join One Nation and depose Pauline. He can’t have women doing a man’s job, and in-fighting is all the rage over there.

    He had better be quick though. The tricycle has already lost a wheel some nutter has decided to vet the Qld candidates. In the words of Sir Humphrey Appleby, “Never start an enquiry when you don’t know what the outcome will be, Minister.”

    Thanks for the great read this year, John. I blog less often because you have it covered.

  19. stephentardrew

    Always a great read John. Have a wonderful break. First thing I grab every day. Best wishes to your family. Enjoy the holiday mate.

  20. thebustopher

    Never short of subjects – not wrong, John, not wrong.

  21. stephentardrew

    Michael you have a wonderful break as well. I so much appreciated your wonderful effort. Ever a fan.

  22. crypt0

    Thank you John Lord and the AIM network….
    May your Christmas break see you return re-energised and ready to resume the good work !

  23. Ricardo29

    Like to add my comments of appreciation to John, Michael, Kaye Lee and all who sail in the good ship AIMN, may the swells be gentle, the winds fair, the sun shining and the fishing good. And to the many readers and commenters, most of whom enhance the topic under discussion.Happy festive season in whichever way it is celebrated.

  24. Keitha Granville

    thanks John for helping me to maintain sanity in the madness of life. To you and to all others on AIMN, without whom I would be greatly depressed and far less informed.

    Merry Christmas to all and hopefully a great New Year

  25. David1

    Like to echo all Ricardo29’s comments, summed my thoughts up nicely. Those who share the values of AIM but don’t partake of the morsels we receive from its talented group of contributors are missing out on a view of News and Current Affairs the great majority of MSM don’t provide. Namely honesty and integrity.
    Thank you all for an intriguing year, hopefully it is onward and upward in 2017. Sincere seasons greeting.

  26. Andreas Bimba

    John you have integrity, compassion, wisdom, real answers and dedication while the fighters for the right just have hate, elitism, lies, ignorance and greed. The latter unfortunately are backed by the Kleptocracy and by most of the mass media which is why they have gained so much ground.

    Neoliberalism delivers nothing to the overwhelming majority of people and eventually many of the most wilfully ignorant, selfish and stupid fed on a diet of mass media lies, that currently vote for the Coalition must also begin to realise this.

    Turnbull, Joyce and the whole Coalition government are a joke and contempt for them is growing the longer they are in government. Rising unemployment and woeful government services will eventually destroy them. Gina’s and Rupert’s poodles are no longer able to deliver and at some point One Nation will also collapse as they have mediocre representatives with no coherent policies.

    Has the tide turned against 30+ years of neoliberalism?

  27. Jennifer Meyer-Smith

    Thanks John Lord,

    for your insights and plethora of articles.

    Thanks also Kaye Lee and John Kelly and other regular contributors.

    Thanks also to Michael and Carol,

    for providing us with AIM Network. It is an important line of communication for us all to express our horror at the LNP Degenerates and our visions for a better, innovative, kinder, equitable Australia.

    As usual, I love Andreas’ intuition, informed comment and glimpse of hope for a near future without the appalling constraints of neoliberalism.

    Happy Christmas All.

  28. Aortic

    Thank you John and all the erudite contributors at AIMN. Without your incisive insightful articles we would all be swimming in a sea of Murdiocrity. Merry Xmas to all and the best for 2017.

  29. Leanne.

    Thank You John For your articles, Disparaging remarks, witty humor, and most of all the conversations
    this year has brought us all. I especially say ty to you for getting ppl to open their eyes and use their brain
    and ty to all the contributors whether staff or just occassional writers with an opinion. I have enjoyed most of them immensely.

  30. MichaelW

    Merry Christmas and a Happy new year to all at the AIMN, and to all fellow bloggers.
    let’s hope 2017 improves.

  31. kristapet

    Thank you, for your always, insightful posts – I have enjoyed them immensely, and I have valued your clear-eyed, frank, and, at times, humorous prose.Looking forward to your return.
    Wishing you the best for the festive season.Keep safe and well.

  32. Annie B

    A very big thanks to you John, for your endless efforts of writing, always with a view to a better Australia, a better political climate, and much insightful information, given for the benefit of others and to promote and further, good productive debate.

    I have learned so much from you – and always enjoy very much, your “Thoughts for the Day.”

    Very best of good wishes for the Yuletide season, and a wonderful new year 2017 – to you and your family.

  33. helvityni

    Day to Day Politics: My Last Post.

    Good to find out, after reading the your article, that this is not your LAST post here, and that there will be more after Christmas…

    Many thanks John for your insightful writing, enjoy your Christmas break, let the fingers rest… 🙂

  34. June Currie

    Thank you,John,for your wonderful,thought-provoking contributions which I look forward to each day.Only wish there were more politicians who think as you do.How desperately the world is crying out for decent,rational,passionate and compassionate leadership.

  35. silkworm

    I would like to thank the AIMN for introducing me this year to Modern Monetary Theory. Therein lies the antidote to Neoliberalism that progressives of all types have been looking for. I hope to see many more informative articles on MMT next year.

  36. win jeavons

    Your worn fingers are much appreciated, for their ongoing efforts.

  37. etnorb

    Thank you very much John for ALL your excellent posts this year! I look forward to next year in anticipation of more of the same from you. I hope you & yours have a very Merry Christmas & a happy & prosperous New Year. Thank you once again John.

  38. Max Gross

    Neoliberalism is just another word for fascism. And the Brown Shirts are on the march.

  39. Jexpat

    Max:

    What’s interesting is that for all of the neoliberal crowing about comeptition, the ‘system’ it sets out in Australia is often dead set against competition, favouring barely regulated monopolies and oligopolies instead.

  40. JeffJL

    Have a great break John and come back recharged and fired up next year.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The maximum upload file size: 2 MB. You can upload: image, audio, video, document, spreadsheet, interactive, text, archive, code, other. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop file here

Return to home page