First, I read the headline: “Dutton rules out two frontrunners for RBA governor.”
Then I read that Mr Dutton had said:
“We’ve made it clear to the government we don’t believe it should be somebody who is familiar, if you like, to the government, somebody who has been working very closely with the Treasurer, or the finance minister, or the prime minister.”
Next, I read that Jane Hume said that it shouldn’t be someone from the Public Service who’d been “doing the bidding of the government.”
All of which leads me to the belief that the whole Robodebt fiasco seems to have washed over their head without them picking up some of the fundamental lessons that should have been learned.
Starting with Senator Hume, she seems to have missed the fact that the Public Service are not there to simply do “the bidding of the government”. But then she was the one who was expressing the idea that Phillip Lowe should have his term extended because he was really only the poor man who’d had to raise interest rates because of the poor performance of Labor. We could have a long conversation about the truth or otherwise of that statement. Suffice to say, I don’t think that she’s going to win a lot of hearts with sympathy for the man who told us that rates wouldn’t rise until 2024 and, ok, that was wrong but if you just take in boarders or get a second job or spend less, then you’ll be ok.
As far as the idea that the Public Service are simply there to implement the government’s policy, it seems appealing enough at first glance. However, BJH (Before John Howard), there was a concept that they were there to give frank and fearless advice. I’m sure that you’ve heard that phrase before but basically it means that there were times when a public servant needs to explain to the minister the difficulty or, in some cases, the impossibility of what he or she intends to do.
“Yes, minister, giving everyone a million dollars will make everyone a millionaire, but the resultant inflation will make the Weimar Republic look like a minor economic hiccup… the Weimar Republic… you know, Germany before Hitler… inflation was… no, minister, I’m not sayin’ that you’re a Nazi, but…”
While the “Yes, Minister” aspect may drum up images of the recalcitrant public service of Sir Humphrey Appleby and the reluctance to embrace change, the fact remains that a newly elected MP will have a lot to learn and simply believing that one has a mandate to exclude anyone who votes for the opposition parties should have their vote disallowed on the grounds of mental incapacity doesn’t mean that it can happen overnight, even if it’s a firmly held belief of the incoming Prime Minister, Craig Kelly.
One of the major problems with Robodebt was the way that people acted to please the minister. At the moment, the Coalition are attempting a lot of rewriting of the Royal Commission’s findings. As well as the “Well, income averaging was started by Labor,” we also have the idea being floated that it was the public servants who failed to make the poor minister aware of the problems in the scheme. Morrison’s press release contained no mea culpa but was a typical response from He Who Does Not Hold A Hose.
All the evidence suggested that not only were ministers unwilling to listen to any problems raised by those responsible for implementing the scheme, but some were complicit in covering up legal advice and any commonsense suggestion that averaging someone’s income out over a period of time would not tell you how much they earned in a shorter period of time. Otherwise, we could possibly disqualify most aged pensioners on the grounds that they worked too many hours over the previous fifty years, and it puts them over the allowed hours for the pension.
Thankfully the media have learned a valuable lesson from this which is if they ignore something there’s a pretty good chance they won’t be held responsible when it all goes wrong. After all, in spite of the praise the Royal Commissioner gave to social media and independent journalists in uncovering this whole mess, there’s very little reporting of that in the media that was criticized for their lack of interest in doing any more than acting as ChatGPT and rewriting press releases from the government. Strangely criticism of the mainstream media from Catherine Holmes is also missing from most of the mainstream media.
And to move on to the terrible problems of the gas producers, I read in The Australian Financial Review a description of how bad recent changes were and how this terrible Albanese government had made all these decisions which were holding up projects which was leading to a supply shortage… Strangely there was no comment from the government, or even an energy expert critiquing the views of those with a vested interest in making as large a profit as possible.
Now I’m not knocking those wishing to exploit our national resources at the expense of everyday householders to make as big a profit as possible… Mm, when I put it that way…
Anyway, my point was simply that the media are once again acting as stenographers for a vested interest feeding them a story rather than questioning, investigating and presenting an alternative view.
Ok, in a few hours we’ll have the results of the Fadden by-election. In spite of the fact that Aston was the only federal by-election where the government has won a seat from the Opposition in a hundred years, some of the media were speculating about Labor winning. By-election typically swing against the government, there’s the cost-of-living problems and Dutton is trying to make it a protest vote about the government and the Voice in what is a conservative seat, so how anyone could even contemplate Labor winning is strange.
I guess it just means that if the Liberal candidate only limps across the line the media will be able to talk about the turnaround in Dutton’s fortunes and what a great result it was.
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Nine suffering years of cavedweller crap from retards Abbott to Morrison, economc vandalism, social insolent evil, political bad bastardry, donor driven larceny and hypocrisy, have made us sick, vulnerable, injured, for quite a while, BUT, do not expect the nematodes like Duckwit-Futton and J Hume to comprehend, with their retained limited educational standards. The nation has been set up for profiteering, and is loaded with inbuilt inequalities in renting, repaying, existing, housing, job satisfaction, security. A damaged Australia to suit the utterly selfish is normal conservative behavioural patterning. Greed is, do as I do, follow us to exploited heaven.., BAH. the Un-Australian media with foreigner Merde Dog the floating fleafarm flaunter of egofixated obsessivness is the leading single cause of our hindered progress and fairness. Who wants a Yucky Country?
Michele Bullock
I could be happy if the media would stop blindly repeating what the politicians tell them and do a little research for themselves.
@ Phil Pryor – I couldn’t have said it better myself. Nicely put!
Anyone who hasn’t been completely comatose for the last ten years,excluding those pockets of bananaland who are permanently and chronically rednecked,would know full well that constable Dutton is political poison across the rest of the country.All he is really doing is yodelling to his base in the hope that he doesn’t slide further down the shitter.The only thing keeping him afloat is the execrable bias of the MSM,especially the tosspot Murdoch’s filth.It’s got me fucked why Labor hasn’t really pulled the levers on the urgent changes we need, Climate,housing, inequality etc.,because no matter what they do ,the Msm is still going to bag them. The LNP is still the same mob of hypocritical,self serving,incompetent and corrupt shitkickers they have always been,Dutton being one of the most egregious examples.
The real leader of the opposition is Adam Bandt,no matter what the cretin Dutton thinks.
@ Phil P & Kerri, fully agree.
Thanks Rossleigh – well said.
Just finished a comment / story on Binoy’s article on Utopia. The close-out equally applies here as a note to ‘the media’.
[After many years of close-up personal experience] “I am unable to watch Utopia [and 7, 9, 10 Mudrock msm] – even the trailers make me cringe. It not only reminds me of those poor public servants throwing their disempowered hands in the air, surrendering, and resorting to banality, but also it represents the embedment in the psyche of the citizenry that the public service is perennially useless and corrupt. When in fact it is a conspiracy-by-design of criminally minded politicians and their mandarin mafioso.
Thank goodness for ICAC, the Robodebt RC, the self-annihilation of Scummo and his band, and the advent of NACC. The seal of the lid on the filth has been broken and the stench emanates. Hopefully it can be prized right off all throughout Oz, and we can set to a path of proper governance for and by the people.
Whilst I might hold my nose, I won’t be holding my breath.”
Now, after ten pm, Sat, Herr Dutton, Der Grosse Tuber, claims a big victory.., most bye elections forever have been about two percent against the government of the day, but the barely illiterate hardly know that sort of thingy. That electorate has a huge proportion of retiree graspers and gougers, who aimed to get it and then get up there, avoid intellectual activity and cerebral strain, and just wade along in media muck between golf, bridge, the boat’s leaks and service…I had acquaintances who retired up there, and few neighbours bothered much in friendly awareness, all introverted and a showy boat at their pier. It was like a voluntary penitentiary actually, with big rates, charges (the golf) , costs. They loved the low wages for underlngs elsewhere.., keeps the shit out from their area. Pauline Broom-Jockey got a candidate running, doing well, the solid iggy vote for self…
From the Rupert meedja:
Dutts is a “man of integrity” and will make a “magnificent Prime Minister”, paraphrasing Caldwell.
https://www.news.com.au/national/federal-election/fadden-byelection-cameron-caldwell-retains-seat-for-lnp/news-story/20f50906dffd3b66c3d5a1619afa4373
And as usual for the Rupert, they make no mention that it was a foregone conclusion that the seat would remain in the hands of Libs, it’s jam packed with the hard core rusted on’s. Der Spud said words.
I see that Fatman Clive’s party, according to the AEC, got 0 votes. How sad…heehee…how very sad…
The most revealing results out of the Fadden byelection was that the Legalise Cannabis Party achieved more votes (5993) than the Greens (5026) whose vote went back by 4.52%.
Pauline Hansons One Nation received a swing of 0.34% with a vote of 7302.
With respect to the good citizens of Fadden, these results demonstrate how the Gold Coast is not representative of the broader electorate.
https://tallyroom.aec.gov.au/HouseDivisionPage-29422-159.htm
We can expect the tubermensch to arrive at Yarralumla shortly to present his credentials to the LNP’s paid for Governor General.No, that was only his wet dream.Business as usual…now to kill that nasty Voice thing with another avalanche of lies and misinformation.You can bet it won’t get up in Queensland,too many bigots and racists.
As someone previously said, this is Dutton who was part of the previous government that loaded the AAT with their mates and cronies and start doing the same with the IRC. The hypocrite is trying to preach integrity from his own den of corruption.
“The precious document, the “foundation stone of constitutional and parliamentary government”, is in storage at Parliament House in Canberra while a new display case is built.”
Which has been soundly trashed and rubbished and ignored by Caterpillar Eyebrows and the other LNP gubmints on up to May 2022.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jul/16/australias-magna-carta-precious-document-bought-in-1952-for-12500-now-worth-35m
Some say that south of the equator, compared to the northern hemisphere everything is inverted. Seems to be some truth in that. Take the US crime hub of Miami, Florida. Florid is right; a pixie-land of pretence, low-lying, built on swamp, destroyed mangroves and otherwise vital environment, in modernity flocked to from the north by greedy brain-dead retirees, rent-seekers, drug barons, grifters and opportunists, and partnered by the worst of RWNJ politicians. A magnet for bent developers, who in turn embedded a status quo of cancerous sloth, greed, exceptionalism and disregard for anything but their cabal of paranoid usurers. Now well and truly the arse-hole of America.
Seems that Miami, and the greater Gold Coast in Queensland has been modelled entirely on its American namesake. Subject to the same invasion of the same types, except (inverted) flocking from south to north. After the perditions of the early colonial era, it turned itself over via tough hard-working folk to become the heartland of Labor after the Great War. Sadly, not the old Queenslander, in modernity it has been gradually turning via the same cancerous growth as seen in Miami / Florida in the US. And it continues to spread, to be turned by innumerable surrounding feckless aspirant cling-ons prodding the fester. Dutton’s audience.
Come to the sun! Go troppo! Then sit in yer sieges gasping the de-ionised/re-ionised manufactured air until shrivelled like dried prunes beyond use-by. She’ll be right, mate! Until climate change and mother nature render it like the Tower of Babel and the plight of Gilgamesh.
@Clakka Ouch! but sadly, correct.
I remember my dad saying – back in the 80’s – when he visited the GC for some work meeting or other … “roll on climate change”
I have always enjoyed and appreciated these pieces by Rossleigh, so it is superfluous to compliment them each time. However, I do believe that this piece deserves special mention for the title alone. 🙂
Rossleigh, “media have learned a valuable lesson . . if they ignore something there’s a pretty good chance they won’t be held responsible when it all goes wrong.”
That is the situation in a nutshell.
Ignorance is bliss in their world and we’re all the poorer for it.
Time and again the legacy media weighs in on the side what will advantage the narrative that best suits themselves, not you as worker.
That is why a Dutton is treated with kid gloves, why Shorten was sent to the sidelines after Labors loss a few years back, why our current accidental PM was promoted above his abilities and why Robodebt was never scrutinized properly, why any hundred things that do not pass the pub test pass into our lives.
The irresponsibility of the legacy media is only seen when viewed in one way, from the position of those negatively affected. The media however is responsible to its own best interests. IOW, they are one-eyed hypocrites out to destroy democracy.
I don’t expect things to get better, in fact there’s a Bill before Parliament that will give the Aust Communications & Media Authority (ACMA) the right to decide what is misinfo & disinfo, but guess who is exempted from allegations of creating misinfo & disinfo? The very same experts in misinfo & disinfo – the legacy media.
I never thought I would see Aust turn into a totalitarian dystopia overnight but some skunks among us are working to that end.
The media has a lot to answer for, but I don’t expect them to look into their own deceits.
Best to do is ignore what they say and speak your own insights, while we still have that power.