Politics is a game. Its other name is, “beat your opponent.” To win you say whatever you must to get votes. In this game, truth is the first casualty. Thus, facts are an inconvenient truth that need to be managed in a way that can serve one’s best interests.
If that means distorting, engineering or misrepresenting, then that’s what political parties do. Prime Minister, Scott Morrison announced this week a promise of 1.25 million jobs over the next 5 years. What he didn’t tell us that 250,000 new jobs annually, is about the average job creation rate that has occurred naturally over the past decade. It is due mostly to population increase, of which immigration is a major contributor. It is not due to any government jobs and growth initiatives.
That’s Morrison playing the game. He has taken something that happens naturally and presented it as something positive and creative about his government’s performance. Interestingly, Tony Abbott pulled the same trick in 2013. It might be in the Liberal party manual.
If the Coalition had been creating jobs over the past five years, then one would expect some reduction in the number of people actively looking for work over the same period. In September 2013 there were 706,400 people unemployed. In December 2018 there were 680,800 seasonally adjusted. The unemployment rate has gone down, but only because more people are participating.
Good journalism is supposed to see through deceptions like this and call them out. One fears we are going to see a lot more of it from the Coalition over the next three months, because the reality is, they have done precious little about jobs and growth.
As the federal election draws near, you can be sure the mainstream media (MSM) will waste much of their time on the trivial and ignore most of what’s really important.
We can confidently anticipate that policy initiatives will take second place to personalities, preferred music, how one dresses, which candidate better manages eating the great Aussie meat pie, and so on.
Things like the preferred prime minister, which looks at form and completely ignores substance, will be a weekly, if not a daily talking point for the breakfast shows, radio shock jocks and evening television satire.
Negative wedging will also be the order of the day for the journalists on the hustings, desperate for a scoop. Get one candidate to confirm or deny what might sound like some vague reference to a statement by a staffer that was misinterpreted by a journalist while he was asking about something else altogether and before we know it, the campaign has been side-tracked from the real to the imagined.
Journalists love this kind of triviality and they will spend a lot of energy trying to catch candidates out on their knowledge, or lack of it, on what the tax rate is for pensioners or what the current mortgage rate is, or how much a loaf of bread costs, or even the population of Broken Hill.
This is exactly what the Coalition would want. They will do anything to deflect attention away from policy initiatives because they don’t have any. And you can be sure a compliant media will knock themselves out each day, trying to deliver those meaningless fifteen-second sound bites for the 6pm news, regardless of their relevance to good government.
While Labor has made its position clear on education, climate change, negative gearing, superannuation concessions, family tax benefits, education, Sunday penalty rates, infrastructure, multi-national tax avoidance, imputation credits and a more humane approach to Asylum Seekers, the Coalition has been doing the bidding of the IPA.
Deregulation of business; privatization of public activities and assets; elimination of, or cutbacks in, social welfare programs; reductions in aged pensions, pay-as-you-go health care, and tax breaks for business and the investing class, are all part of its manifesto.
If Scott Morrison has his way, the big issue will be the economy. The electorate rate him and his government as better economic managers. They are wrong about that, but he knows the media are not smart enough, or won’t want to challenge the outrageous claims we can expect to hear from both him and Josh Frydenberg.
The reality is, the Coalition has failed miserably with the economy and they know it. Over the past five years, low wage growth has seen our living standards decline and inequality increase. Every act, so far, by the Coalition government has exacerbated that inequality. This time, however, the voters know it too. They feel it.
They know that the ‘debt and deficit disaster’ mantra was false. They have seen the ruthless approach in cutting funds to vital services. The Coalition has demonstrated all too clearly that they govern for their masters, the corporate sector, the mining industry, the banks, the finance houses.
This election, if we want facts to matter, we need to reinforce them across every social media platform we can access. We cannot rely on the MSM to their proper job. We must to do it for them, shame them, expose them for their dereliction of duty and ensure that those with whom we are in daily contact, know the facts. And we need to do it loudly.
This election, facts will be important; actual facts, that is, not the ones spin-doctored to make them appear something they are not. We need to ask the right questions and ensure we question all the answers.
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“Politics is a game. Its other name is, “beat your opponent.” To win you say whatever you must to get votes. In this game, truth is the first casualty. Thus, facts are an inconvenient truth that need to be managed in a way that can serve one’s best interests.
If that means distorting, engineering or misrepresenting, then that’s what political parties do.”
Sadly, John I have to agree with you, and remember the Tampa “Children Overboard” lies from Little Johnnie “Flakjacket” Howard et al that a close observation of the television footage completely contradicted. So, telling porkies will be the major strategy for the LIarbral Notional$ RAbbott Turdball Morriscum misgovernment.
Today the MSM reports that the LIarbrals are having difficulty fund raising for the May (?) 2019 Federal election. It appears the captains of Australian industry can see through the disorganised chaos that masquerades as government policies on doing just about nothing since 2013.
I am reminded that the 1972 Whitlam election was characterised by Australian experts and academics coming out on radio and television disputing the Liarbral spin doctors on radio as soon as the propaganda was released. As you correctly say, WE must hold the spin doctors to account and repeatedly reinforce the evidence that the Liarbrals are hopeless financial managers and toadie puppets for the IPA, international bankers, the corporate sector in general, and especially the international mining corporations with their foreign resident shareholders.
The coalition are going head-long into a misinformation campaign on Labor’s tax credits policy.
This follows comments made by Liberal MP Stuart Robert – he of the dodgy personal internet charges that he tried to get us to pay :
RMIT and ABC Fact Check have investigated the coalition’s claims and have found Mr Robert’s claim to be misleading.
The clue to this red-herring is the use of the term taxable income which does not include the largest source of income for many retirees: superannuation.
Superannuation income (for fund balances of up to $1.6 million) is generally not subject to tax in the retirement phase, and is therefore excluded from taxable income.
I know several retirees who have signed a petition against the Labor policy on dividend imputation and franking credits who will not be impacted in any way and they are being misled by a campaign of disinformation that needs to be called out.
This is the Fact Check :
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-30/fact-check-labors-dividend-imputation-policy/10626204
Kakistocracy Chronicle
Part 1
It was six years ago
we start our tale of woe
When Abbott and his circus came to stay
They’d beaten Kevin Rudd
when help from Murdoch’s mud
and Abbott’s skill at lying won the day
Abbott had gone in hard
on a hapless Gillard
earning himself the title Dr No
With Rupert on his side,
he sloganeered and lied
and got in with no policies to show
The farce that’s since ensued
has left his party screwed
Though really this was never a surprise
For Abbott and his crew
had no clue what to do
bar, blaming labor, spin, and lots more lies.
It didn’t take too long
for things to go quite wrong
Their promises were broken from the start
Cormann and Joe Hockey
smoked cigars, felt too cocky
as their budget stunk much worse than a fart
The budget of fourteen
was underhand and mean
so the polls went into terminal decline
We had Abbott’s Dames and Knights
the Egghead’s “Bigots rights”
and backflips from perfidious poodle Pyne
While Abbott led the side
the polls kept on the slide
with his lies and his stupid captain’s picks
The crew were just as weak
they were soon up shit creek
This party of pernicious lying pricks
Things went from bad to worse
as they flogged a dying horse
The backbench thought the jockey was to blame
They tried an empty chair
but the spill went nowhere
they were left with the Thug though now quite lame
After the faulty spill
they went all out on Bill
and tried to pull another budget con
Even the ten flag guff
was running out of puff
as polls showed that these lying fools were gone
With Bronwyn on the take,
exposed through chopper gate
the public had concluded they’re the worst
They were deep in trouble
inside a bullshit bubble
and just the prick in charge to make it burst.
The press were asking whether
Abbott could recover
Voters made their mind up, this mob must go
They got out baseball bats
for liberals and the Nats
At the ballot box they’d deal a deadly blow
On the eve of Canning
Turnbull did his planning
And Abbott, still deluded, got the flick
After years of failure
relief in Australia
The mad monk had gone they’d sacked the prick.
Abbott’s die was cast,
his use by date had passed,
another chapter started in this farce
They were sure Malcolm’s words
could polish policy turds
and fool enough to save their sorry arse
Part 2
Turnbull started well
everything was swell
What a great time it was to be alive
Agile, innovation,
nuanced conversation,
the polls reversed, the party might survive
All was on the table
Malcom seemed so able
but pretty soon the cracks began to show
For him to lead this mob
he’d appeased right nut jobs
keeping all Abbott’s nonsense on the go
The voters were surprised
Mal’s Abbott, in disguise
Relief, turned to dismay, was this a joke
Different coloured ties,
more smiles but same old lies,
and new slogans served with waffle when he spoke
Bill Shorten all this while
had worked upon his style
and labor had been leading real debate
The press all wrote Bill off
they so admired the Toff
PM they said was always Turnbull’s fate
Hey let’s change the GST,
Yeah nah, not going to be
State income tax lasted almost, a day
Poor thinking was the norm
as Mal returned to form
and polls began to turn the other way
Malcolm’s great solution,
was a double dissolution,
an election called out of desperation
New slogans from snake oil man
It’s all “Jobs and Growth” and “plan”
So much for intelligent conversation
Then on election night
the polls were very tight
Nobody knew who’d lead Australia
Whatever be the score
One thing we knew for sure
Mad monk and the Fizza, both were failures
With a lead of just one
the fun had just begun
The senate was worse and full of crackers
With Abbott set to plot
a feral senate lot,
the right held tight their grip on Malcolm’s knackers
Yet Malcolm thought it wise
to bring in Abbott’s spies
Giving ministries to Dutton and Mathias
Although it must be said
with wood that’s mainly dead
There wasn’t much to choose amongst the liars
So Malcolm’s brilliant plan
was heading for the can
The senate or the right would hold the rein
As Malcolm waffled on
and on and on and on
divisions in the party room remained
The nutters on the right
required a plebiscite,
out of spite, though the public view was clear
Though bigots did their best
the verdict came back YES!
We had overdue gay rights by end of year
Mal’s way of saying thanks
to donors and the banks
was to give them multi billion dollar cuts
Though Hanson tried to play
the Senate said no way
Rewarding banks would soon be clearly nuts
Although the coalition
loved royal commissions
especially to burn those Labor thugs
The banks on the other hand
the plebs must understand
had never treated customers as mugs
Forced into submission
the banking commission
revealed how these crooks would lie and steal
The bankers soon were seen
as morally obscene
While government just slept behind the wheel
Barnaby Joyce and Mal
never the best of pals
fell out as Mal made a staffer bonking ban
Barnaby it transpired
had a root on the side
Such a good God fearing family man
Polls were front of mind
They were always behind
thirty losses on the trot soon arrived
Though Mal was within striking
Abbott kept on sniping
and talk began whether Mal would survive
Murdoch came back to town
Intent to bring Mal down
Dutton was the puppet to wield the knife
Mal called forth a spill
He survived but very ill
Mal was fighting for his political life
This bunch of buffoons
behaved like bar room hoons
threatening and bullying their pals
Dutton just was Dutton
a deluded thug with nothin
that didn’t stop these jokers killing Mal
Dutton thought he was in
He’d practice how to grin
Morrison and Bishop both organised
Bishop first got booted
then Dutton got rooted
and Morrison prevailed to win the prize
Part 3
Morrison started fast
to cover up the past
Spinning he was just an innocent guy
Why did Mal have to go?
How would Morrison know
It wasn’t him, he’s just PM, surprise!
Mal escaped to New York
Leaving nothing for the dork
except a furore in his Wentworth seat
The seat was ever blue
but anger quickly grew
Morrison got the mother of defeats
Morrison was a jerk
His smile more of a smirk
His try hard baseball hat a Trumping fake
He tried out stunts and spin
with his smugly smirking grin
but the message was this man is a mistake
Victorians loudly spoke
Liberals were past a joke
Banks resigned with a spray on the way out
The polls kept declining
and the stars were aligning
to ensure the end of Shouty McShout
Marketing Morrison
the mendacious moron
kept trying to distract us from the mess
The bus trip rebounded
the voters dumbfounded
then he tried to dictate how we should dress
Things were going crook
He tried to pump up Cook
#thingscookdid exploded on the net
Mundine in Gilmore
Another Scammo furore
Morrison was becoming Labor’s best asset
This charade will stop
This mob will get the chop
The coalition will disintegrate
Labor will have a turn
Sanity will return
The coalition left to lie and hate
Timely article John very pertinent as are New England Cocky’s. Thanks, posting to Twitter.
Facts aren’t important and lies are “just politics” according to ProMo. Twice now he has used the “just politics” line with Leigh Sales.
The first time was when she grilled him about the Coalition’s fear campaign about Labor’s “debt and deficit disaster” considering the debt was much higher but apparently “good debt” now. Debt incurred to keep people employed during the GFC and to keep the country out of recession is bad but debt incurred by hugely increasing defence spending (which creates very few jobs here and sends billions offshore to prop up the US and European economies) is good in conservative land because – you know – national security stuff.
The second time was just a couple of days ago when ProMo was running through the Coalition’s economic achievements. Sales asked the obvious question, if everything has been going so well, why did you remove a sitting PM? “Just politics”
FauxMo will say whatever it takes.
Yes, timely and needs repeating often and loudly so that even the drongo’s being led by the nose hear it.
The incomparable Graeme Henchel, what a bewdy.
“The coalition left to lie and hate”, yes, they do it so well, ably supported by the typists of MSM, aided and abetted by the repulsive rupert and sons and ample fill in from the likes of the parrot, andy blot and company. Difficult to counteract, hope a majority see through the garbage and turf this miserable pack rotten, lying traitors.
Motormouth tells us he has a great pool of talent to draw from. Where the bloody hell are they, motormouth, certainly nowhere to be seen in the current scum that has risen to the top.
I was just reading a headline from The Australian: Labor’s Hostility Towards Older Voters. I read no further.
Trouble is most do not seek out alternate news sites, and just believe the MSM drivel trotted out.
Since Bill refused to rush over to New York to kneel at Ruperts feet, I expect Murdoch media will do their utmost to destroy him.
Morrison has made it very clear that he
and his band of lying, ignorant, lacking in merit, minions will do “what ever it takes” to win.
It will be a long 3 months with the same dozen lies, repeated numerous times each and every day, until the majority of voters can recite them in their sleep.
Hopefully enough voters will consider the dreadful affect this useless govt has had on their lives and vote them out.
Why do so many people vote against their own best interest. Brainwashed?
Graeme Henchel, you’ve done it again, very good, love it….
It’s ALL there…
The little girl who was reported saying that Abbott was a dumb-dumb ( she had heard mum and her friends talk ?), is now few years older and can draw her own conclusions and confidently say that Scomo might be even dumber….
@GH: You have done it again!!! Well done!! I am as jealous as hell of similarly talented people.
If you buy a restaurant that was not doing well you use your business sense and your common sense and work hard to improve what was wrong. If you had a terrible chef and service was appallingly slow, or if there were food and hygiene concerns you would note them and work hard to make sure you improve. You don’t tell the customer who complains there is fly in their soup ‘well the last owners left cockroaches in theirs.’ If a customer say’s “i’ve been waiting an hour.” You don’t respond with ‘the last owners left you waiting for two.’ I am stunned when politicains who are asked how they are going to improve or fix something automatically deflect by pointing out how badly the opposition handled it when they were in power. I think about the ‘fly in my soup’ or ‘the hours wait’ analogy and think ‘how many voters are going to sit enjoying their fly soup because they are concerned that walking out might reflect on ‘their choice’ of restuarant rather than calling out the mismanagement of the business. Voters need to smarten up and demand evidence based policies and a demonstrated strategy to achievement. We need to get over feeding a system that relies on parties uncovering cockroaches or worse to make flies more paleatable. If this country was a restaurant they would need more than Gordon Ramsey’s Hells Kitchen to make people want to willingly consume the tripe coming out of parliament. I am neither left nor right…. I am just not that polemic to blindly adore and ignore the failings of any political party but I can not vote for the party that ignores it’s own accountability by blaming someone or something that happened in the past. And they have a nerve to tell First Nations people to get over it.
Kaye Lee. January 31, 2019 at 12:15 pm
It might be “just politics” to Snotty, but it is people’s lives that he is playing with in this game of his.
It might be a game for him on $500K plus, plus all expenses paid but for someone on $14K it is deadly serious stuff.
And that is the problem. The majority of federal politicians have never had to do it tough, never had a real job, never had to make a decision about whether to eat or heat.
We need to look at the Canadian federal ministers who come from the industries and professions to which their portfolio relates.
Our parliament is filled with lawyers, accountants, doctors and hangers on who have only ever worked in political offices and politics, although work is a very loose term.
It is no wonder that they have no idea what the world outside Canberra is like.
It is no wonder they have no idea what it is like trying to survive on $14K a year.
It is like an American billionaire politician telling federal workers who have not been paid for a month to go and get a loan from their bank. Completely bonkers.
Speaking of the future then read this article (it’s long) then realise why when it comes to 5G, the West hates China.
http://www.unz.com/article/huawei-5g-and-the-fourth-industrial-revolution/
But the vast majority won’t read. Such is life.
http://www.unz.com/article/huawei-5g-and-the-fourth-industrial-revolution/
Matters Not
You have been posting some excellent commentary. Thank you.
Your link above published the following:
https://www.unz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/GodfreeHuawei-2.jpg
Diagram worth a long read?
Which begs question, WIPO?
https://www.wipo.int/portal/en/