The Protestant Reformation was the 16th-century religious, political, intellectual and cultural upheaval that splintered Catholic Europe, setting in place the structures and beliefs that would define the continent in the modern era.
The events of the last five years must surely be making the ‘broad church’ of the Coalition question whether the time has come for their own Reformation.
It’s all very well to listen to a range of views but that doesn’t mean you should let the nutters call the shots which is increasingly what is happening.
When Australians voted overwhelmingly for marriage equality, there were still several MPs who refused to accept the vote of the people.
Bob Katter, Keith Pitt, David Littleproud and Russell Broadbent voted No. Barnaby Joyce, Tony Abbott, Andrew Hastie, Michael Sukkar, Kevin Andrews, Scott Morrison, Alex Hawke, George Christensen and Rick Wilson all abstained from the vote.
Surprisingly, that group contains three party leaders (four if you count Katter), and another who is touted as a future leader of the Nats.
When it comes to taking action on climate change, the broad church gets even more ridiculous. Who could forget the jubilation on the floor of the house when Abbott succeeded in dismantling an effective policy on carbon pricing that was achieving its goal of emissions reduction while compensating consumers and trade-exposed industries.
Now the debate and policy direction seems to be being led by Craig Kelly who appears in the media daily and floods social media with increasingly hysterical rubbish disparaging anyone who thinks we should reduce carbon emissions. Yesterday’s effort suggested that “if you are a climate Alarmist” shooting Santa’s reindeers “becomes a MUST for those calling for zero emissions.’’
His deliberate misinformation knows no bounds. Two days ago he posted this incredible observation:
“2018 – COLDEST OF LAST 4 YEARS
Even before the December satellite global temperature readings are finalised, it’s now clear that 2018 will be a colder year than either 2015, 2016 or 2017.
I wonder if this cooling trend will continue in 2019 and beyond?”
Cooling trend??? The hottest twenty years on record have all happened in the last 22 years with the last four years topping the list but because 2018 didn’t beat the record the previous three years set, Kelly considers this a cooling trend.
Aside from dubious policy direction, we have been subjected to an unedifying avalanche of allegations about bullying, harassment, intimidation, misogyny, infidelity and expense rorting committed by the moralising men of the broad church.
This cannot continue.
Unless the Coalition go through a purging Reformation, these anachronistic, self-entitled male bullies, and the compliant women who facilitate them, will be consigned to the scrap heap of history and it will be completely their own fault.
