It isn’t “economic head winds” holding Australia back. It isn’t unemployment or dwindling resources or falling educational standards or a ‘transitioning economy’. It isn’t the “debt and deficit disaster”. It isn’t poverty and homelessness or Indigenous disadvantage. It’s not migration, discrimination, racism or terrorism. It isn’t even the big issues of climate change, corporate exploitation and inequality.
The greatest impediment to progress in this country is our politicians.
We could go a long way towards solving the problems we face if the decisions weren’t being made by people whose raison d’etre is to beat the other guy and then enjoy the spoils of victory.
In the pursuit of popularity, politicians spend their time appeasing different groups. They are morbidly afraid of bad publicity so base their decisions on what ill-informed focus groups, social media, or vested interest lobbyists tell them, regardless of what the experts are advising.
To differentiate themselves from their opponents, politicians denigrate their colleagues and actively oppose anything they try to achieve just because it wasn’t their idea and they don’t want to help the other guy to look good. Even when they agree, they play politics, making the other side squirm, demanding concessions or amendments, often just for the sake of it.
Politicians will deliberately inflate, stoke and exploit unjustified fear so they can present themselves as our defenders or our saviours when these non-existent disasters fail to happen. The shameful use of tragedy and lies for political point-scoring has become common place. It has been used as an excuse to erode the protection of human rights and to undermine moves towards sustainability.
They have conferred on themselves some sort of celebrity status where they spend their time making “appearances” and attending “events”. They write endless books and go on speaking tours and do magazine spreads. They are photographed at sporting and cultural events and host hugely expensive dinners wherever they go as if they are wealthy benefactors. They fly all over the world making “contacts” which seem more about securing post-politics employment than actually achieving any tangible benefit for the country.
Instead of sharing information so the public can make informed decisions, they deliberately withhold or distort the truth. They spend a fortune getting consultants to write reports which they refuse to release, or even read, if the findings don’t suit them. They employ spin doctors and media advisers who manipulate opinion. They blame scapegoats. They use distraction and timing and leaks to divert attention away from news they don’t want journalists or the public to focus on. They attack the character of those who expose the truth or those who seek to advocate for the disadvantaged and disempowered.
Time in executive government is spent rewarding allies. Party loyalists are gifted with high-paying positions and donors and public endorsement are rewarded with policies and contracts which confer personal benefit.
Whilst politicians are our ‘representatives’, they are also our leaders. They are the decision-makers. If they cannot work in concert to genuinely inform both themselves and us as to the best course of action, then our system is no longer working.
