Election diary No 13. Wednesday, 23 February 2022.

‘Desperation’ in team sports is different than in individual ones. We all react differently when under pressure. For those who see victory as the only outcome, how desperate you are is often the difference between winning or losing (collectively or individually)?

Desperation can be associated with many areas of life; sport, business, politics, or anything that requires a winning attitude. Therefore, it has been interesting to study Scott Morrison’s reaction to the somewhat unaccustomed pressure placed on him this year.

Desperation often brings out the best or worst in people. It can bring out a personal fear of losing – admirable qualities that bring victory or the use of unfair tactics. Morrison is desperate to maintain the power he has become accustomed to and chooses the worst of desperations qualities: Ruthlessness.

I see his personality in two parts. Firstly, his decision-making leaves a lot to be desired. Secondly, he needs to lie when he is in trouble or when being honest would be the better course. Both are, of course, in conflict with his faith and, as a consequence, prick his conscience. His religion tells him to believe his Bible literally; however, it is only the residue of things not understood and can never be a substitute for fact.

One and two combined are in direct conflict with his religion, and subsequently, this pricks at his conscience to the point that he becomes dangerously desperate. Imagine going against what your faith tells you to do so often. Indeed, the God he believes in and worships wouldn’t ask him to do the things he does.

I could enter a theological debate on that statement, but I would rather keep my argument simple.

But let’s get back to the sort of desperation he will most likely employ in the election campaign already underway. A few commentators have picked up on this aspect of Morrison’s demeanour in the past couple of weeks. Particularly when he attacks Albanese with this manner of desperation:

From 7 News:

“Billionaire businessman Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest says ministers’ rhetoric on China has entered ‘reds under the bed’ scare campaign territory.

The prime minister and defence minister have been leading the charge against Labor, accusing the party of being soft on China and labelling opposition leader Anthony Albanese as the communist party’s preferred candidate.”

Then Rachael Withers writing for The Monthly, reported that when:

“… speaking to RN Breakfast, The AFR’s Phil Coorey said that recent statements on national security by some government MPs were ‘fairly out there’, noting these were ‘desperate times’.”

Rachael Withers, in the same piece, reported that:

“In yesterday’s party room meeting, the PM basically admitted how desperate he was.”

Although he stopped short of using that word himself, his comments were nevertheless so direct that they surprised long-time political journo Katharine Murphy.

Desperate times may call for desperate measures, but just how low is this Government willing to go?”

The Australian’s editor-at-large Paul Kelly wrote that:

“… the prime minister’s partisan tactics on China “reveal a strand of desperation from the government”.”

Two years ago Morrison bragged that Chinese investment in Australia had grown 800% from 2008-2018

"We would be mugs if we denied ourselves access to this capital"

In this time Morrison's govt let the Ports of Darwin & Newcastle be sold to China

Who's soft on national security? pic.twitter.com/XXOLbQpzpI

— Media Analyst (@MediaAnalystOz) February 17, 2022

On this day in 2020, I wrote on Facebook that:

“At this time in the electoral cycle, why would Labor want its internal policy debates to distract from a government running from crisis to crisis – from Hawaii to sports rorts to coronavirus to robot debt?”

Who’s soft on national security?

The Government’s outrageous comments have drawn condemnation from former ASIO head Dennis Richardson, who said:

“… when it comes to national security issues – foreign affairs head, defence head, Asio head, ambassador to Washington, our most important ambassador – he has said it only serves the rhetoric of the government, only serves the interests of one country: China, not Australia.the Federal Government was ‘doing the work of China’ by eroding bipartisanship on national security.”

Anthony Albanese responded to all the damaging personal abuse by saying:

“What I want to do is unite the country. I want to unite the country because unity is strength. What Scott Morrison is trying to do as a desperate political measure is to divide the country. It’s not in Australia’s national interest to have a divided country based on fake news.

We know what his own colleagues think about his capacity to not tell the truth. The fact is, his deputy prime minister has said that over a long period of time he’s observed that Scott Morrison is a hypocrite and a liar.

I say when it comes to national security, he should listen to what the director general of ASIO said this week. He should listen to what no less than the former secretary of the department of foreign affairs, head of ASIO, ambassador to Washington, appointed by John Howard – that’s Dennis Richardson’s credentials and he’s made some very strong comments this week.”

Twiggy Forrest – again – pleaded the message that the Government ought to tone down or scrap its security concerns over China, saying the “rhetoric on China has entered “reds under the bed” scare campaign territory.”

The Governments who have lost control of their public standing become desperate when polling shows them in danger of losing their power. Every time Morrison fronts the media, you can witness the desperation on his face. His speech quickens, as does his eye blink rate.

Of course, the Defence Minister, Peter Dutton, who ought to know better, has joined Morrison’s circus to sing from the clown’s book of desperate hits. To suggest China had picked Anthony Albanese as its election candidate showed why this very unpopular politician (he is the only one who doesn’t realise it) should never be given the leadership of anything.

That Morrison was prepared to trash our long-standing bi-partisanship in this area shows the depth of his desperation and how using gutter politics is just like kicking with the wind to him.

Former Australian Diplomat Bruce Haigh, a staunch government critic in a piece published in the Chinese Communist party’s tabloid, the Global Times last Monday, made an elementary point. He said that Labor might reset relations with China simply by not being Morrison and his Government if they win the election. And do so without necessarily making a substantial policy change.

Then came the deadest of dead cats:

“We now see evidence, Mr Speaker, that the Chinese Communist party, the Chinese government, has also made a decision about who they’re going to back in the next federal election, Mr Speaker, and that is open and that is obvious, and they have picked this bloke as that candidate,” Dutton said.

The art of diplomacy is not in their bag of political know-how.

Cartoon by Alan Moir (moir.com.au)

I wrote in my 2019 Election diary when referring to the Tony Abbott years:

“We need to know that what you are telling us is the truth. We want you to reform the system so that it is transparent, honourable and reflects your interest is in us, not you.

We want no more of the same old same old. You need not only restore our democracy but improve it. Change has to come.

The past six years has been shameful. If you cannot demonstrate that you can do these things at this election, we will come at you with baseball bats.

Those of my vintage will well remember Robert Menzies’ “Reds under your beds” scare campaigns.

We are to be invaded by the red hordes from the north,” he shouted loud and clear in every election campaign he participated in.

I remember as a young boy seeing pictures on posters in trams, in the newspapers, and news shorts at the cinema with images depicting the communist hordes thrusting their way towards us. There were others with hundreds of Chinese rolling across Sydney Harbour Bridge in their rickshaws with guns and communist flags.

Both the Trade Unions and Labor were pursued with vigorous anti-communist slurs and scare campaigns for decades.

Yes, the Carbon Tax was going to wreck the Australian economy. An insinuated crisis around every corner every day. Pathetically so, without fact or reason.

ISIS is coming to get us. And you personally. His scare campaigns were relentless dirty gutter politics. He stopped at nothing to frighten the shit out of people. So desperate was he that he promoted fear like a legitimate political weapon and wielded it unapologetically. It was like being on a permanent war footing.”

Not much has changed, has it?

The Prime Minister cannot sustain this desperate attack on the character of the Opposition leader. After national security, what else is there to attack? If Albo intends to play tiny target, Morrison will become more desperate. Will he trip himself up in the process?