Australian Democracy at a Tipping Point

Guest Author Uncategorized

Today’s Guest Poster is Paul G. Dellit, from The Australian Independent Media Network. It is a good summary much of what many us have been thinking and saying for a long time.

(Image Credit: Otiose94)

Well, we may well have reached the tipping point between genuine democracy in Australia and the beginnings of creeping fascism. You may think this to be one of those ‘shock-horror’ attention-grabbing opening sentences. It is. And I also believe it to be an unalloyed statement of the danger we now face.

History is littered with hindsight surprise that those with power and those who might have opposed those with power didn’t take action to avoid an obviously looming disaster. Of course, the ‘loomingness’ of disasters is often not appreciated by its contemporaries. It would be naïve to expect otherwise. Couldn’t they see that the South Sea Bubble would burst? Couldn’t they see that a grossly overheated investment market populated with stocks that were either massively overvalued or worthless would result in ever-widening ripples of market failures and a worldwide Great Depression. Couldn’t they see you don’t fix Depressions by reducing the size of economies. Obviously they couldn’t see any of those things. And with the dawning optimism of a new century, they couldn’t even remember them, or if they could, they were playing that ‘main chance’ game of ‘I’ll make what I can make out of this and bugger all of the rest of them who lose the lot’.

Prime Minister Abbott and his acolytes, Ministers Dutton and Morrison, propose the passing of a law that would create a precedent for the end of the rule of law in this country. It would invest a Minister with the powers of policeman, judge and jury to act upon an untested suspicion of guilt to deprive an Australian of his/her citizenship. Following current LNP practice, the reasons for stripping someone of their citizenship would be deemed secret for security reasons. So this Ministerial power would be exercised covertly and absolutely beyond judicial or other form of independent review. The Minister would be required to form his suspicions on the basis of the intelligence provided to him. The name Dr. Haneef immediately springs to mind. But even if our security organisations and the foreign security organisations with whom they trade information were as infallible as our PM believes the Pope to be, and even if they had no self-interested agendas, the Minister invested with this power could exercise it to suit his own ends – say, just before an election – to manufacture a terrorist scare and then appear to be the ‘man of the hour’ who restores our peace of mind (coincidentally winning the votes of a few more undecided Alan Jones listeners to save his marginal seat).

The proponents of changing Australia from a common law country, based upon the separation of powers, to rule by ministerial fiat, as their proposal would enable through the precedent it would establish, argue that they are honourable men who would exercise their new powers dispassionately, wisely, and in the public interest. Of course, this is irrelevant. Laws are not made to fit the character of current holders of high office. They are intended to safeguard against, as far as possible, abuse by those who are partisan, stupid, and prone to act in their own self-interest.

The proposed new law deliberately excludes those safeguards.

Consequently, we need some way of ensuring that the current and all subsequent Ministers, thus empowered, will ensure the intelligence they receive is impeccable, and will interpret that intelligence dispassionately, wisely, and in the public interest.

So let’s run an eye over the proponents of the new law, just for starters.

Malcolm Fraser considered Tony Abbott to be perhaps the most dangerous politician in Australian history. You may have thought that a little hyperbolic. I did. There can be little doubt that our current Prime Minister is the least equipped for high office since Sir William McMahon. And the record also shows that Prime Minister Abbott was able to pass through one of Australia’s finest schools and one of England’s finest universities untouched by exposure to academic research methods, the principles of logic and dispassionate evaluation, the values-free acquisition of knowledge, and even by the evidence that compassion and empathy are fundamental to social cohesion. It is apparent that his academic success is based upon often uncomprehended rote learning, the way he learned and then recited his Catechism as a small child. These are flaws in the makeup of the man that speak to his lack of intelligence and general incompetence.

But as we began to see in the run up to the most recent election, and as more information about Tony Abbott’s past was revealed, we began to understand that Malcolm Fraser’s assessment of him was, if anything, an understatement. We began to see his pathological need to win, we read of his violence against a woman when he lost, we observed his relentless, dishonest, misogynistic attacks upon Julia Gillard as part of his strategy to win office, we heard the litany of lies he told to win office, and the lies he has told about lying and about anything else to suit his purpose, after he had won office.

How could we ever contemplate granting power without safeguards to a person with such a pathological need to win, to get his own way, and to retain power regardless of the consequences for anyone else? Can we imagine Peter Dutton having the stomach to independently exercise his discretion against the wishes of Tony Abbott? It wouldn’t matter if he did. Tony Abbott has the Captain’s right to sack him and bestow that office upon himself if he needed to to get his own way. And can we imagine Scott Morrison doing anything that would compromise his leadership ambitions? Smug self-satisfaction was his only reaction to the human tragedy unfolding daily as the result of the exercise of his Ministerial discretion?

It was some small relief to know that the more intelligent members of Cabinet objected to the extreme Abbott proposal that second generation Australians could be stripped of their citizenship based on nothing more than a Minister’s suspicion, as we have said, covertly exercised and beyond judicial or other independent review.

But now, two thirds of the LNP Back Bench have signed a letter in support of the proposed Abbott law. They may be distinguished as a group for being considered not good enough to serve on the most incompetent Front Bench since Federation, but they may just give Tony the support he needs to make another ‘Captain’s Call’.

If Prime Minister Abbott does cross this Rubicon, so will Australia and God help Australian democracy when Ministers of any stripe use the precedent set by this law to expand its operation into other aspects of our lives to suit their own personal ends.

600 thoughts on “Australian Democracy at a Tipping Point”

  2. From The Guardian yesterday:
    (http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2015/jun/02/labor-maintains-poll-lead-as-tributes-flow-for-joan-kirner-politics-live)

    Readers who have hung in with me since lunchtime (you treasures) will remember that at the end of question time there was contention about whether the Liberal MP Brett Whiteley, took an authorised photograph in the chamber.

    Whitely said he did not, and made a crack about the manager of opposition business, Tony Burke, not knowing a flash if he saw one.

    Burke isn’t evidently inclined to let it go. The Burke office has spliced together some footage to let you decide whether this was a selfie or not.

    Have a look.

    My ruling? Either Whiteley is shading his eyes from sudden dazzling sunlight (possible), or he’s holding up a smart phone at a distinctly selfie-looking angle.

    Madam Speaker is investigating.

  4. Another cabinet split –

    Another split in Federal Cabinet has opened just a day after Tony Abbott threatened to sack leakers in a ministerial face-off the Prime Minister described as a “come-to-Jesus moment”.

    _The West Australian _understands that Trade Minister Andrew Robb is furious that his proposal to open up northern Australia to international airlines was dumped by Cabinet colleagues yesterday in his absence.

    It is understood Mr Robb, who is having a back problem fixed, believes his proposal has been misrepresented inside the Government and fell victim to vested interests in the airline industry

    https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/28315436/cabine-split-amid-come-to-jesus-moment/

    Robb’s back problem – his doctors have, allegedly, been unable to detect any signs of a spine.

  7. 3 June 1982:

    Heaps of UN activity going on.

    (The majority of this coming off the secure telex I don’t bother to read. The Foreign Office will tell us if there’s anything important.)

    More Fleet bombardment.

    As we approach Stanley the professional core of the Argentinian Army is being encountered. They wound two Harriers doing ground attack. Both judged by their pilots as unsafe to land on the aircraft carriers. They are ditched at sea and the aircrew recovered.

    The RAF has another go. Result is the Vulcan bomber runs short of fuel and has to land in Rio.

  8. Maybe it’s so she can distance herself from all the argy-bargy about leaks. Bananas would be my top suspect, that damn pink phone is constantly in her hand. This morning she denied she had anything to do with leaks. Some might believe that.

  9. In Shellharbour, the next local government area north of Kiama, break and enter offences were down 26 per cent over the last 24 months. Domestic violence-related assaults, however, were up 17 per cent.

    The domestic violence statistics come just weeks before Lake Illawarra Family Violence Support Service, a domestic violence service operating out of Lake Illawarra police station, is due to be rolled into an existing service.

    The service will no longer have resources to continue work at its current capacity.

    http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/3121174/spike-in-illawarra-thefts-domestic-violence/?cs=300

  11. l2

    [Robb is furious that his proposal to open up northern Australia to international airlines was dumped by Cabinet]

    Robb can be as mad as he likes.

    Until enough money is made available to Customs, Immigration and Quarantine to provide staff on the ‘deck’ the practicality of just ‘declaring’ “X” airport as ‘International’ is just a publicity pork barrel stunt.

  13. Classic!

    Labor has been having fun down in the chamber this morning. The House is considering the government’s small business tax break from the budget. This is the measure the prime minister has been saying all week needs to pass right now. This is why we couldn’t do same sex marriage this week – because the tax relief was super urgent.

    The Labor leader Bill Shorten made his second reading speech supporting the mesaure. Then he moved that the vote be put immediately.

    The government is currently voting against voting on its own measure. Let me repeat that. The government is voting against urgent consideration of a measure it has been charactering as urgent.

    http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2015/jun/03/julie-bishop-denies-leaking-cabinets-citizenship-debate-politics-live

  14. kk

    Invercargill today – Maximum 8C, pissing down with rain and 40klms winds …

  15. Julie Bish’ denies “leaking”….

    Lahdies don’t do “leaks”…men ; the horrors!..go for; “a leak”…Lahdies “attend to their twaalet !”

  16. Talc does a press conference on the NBN mentioning ‘Conroyvian’ as many times as possible.

    The first question from the Press is on Cabinet leaks. 😀

  17. Turnbull has a press conference on the NBN and goes back 2 years on how bad Labor was. Then no questions asked about he NBN by the MSM and Turnbull waffles on and on and on.

  20. The leaker was wearing a piece of modern technology which is why there was so much detail in the leaks – everyone is innocent of leaking because whomever was wearing the device did so unknowingly.

  22. Maybe it’s so she can distance herself from all the argy-bargy about leaks. Bananas would be my top suspect, that damn pink phone is constantly in her hand. This morning she denied she had anything to do with leaks. Some might believe that.

    Given her closeness with Rudd, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was the leaker, but we’ll probably never know for sure.

  24. Allbull dismisses bravado. I wonder what he is thinking about HoJo’s current performance.

  28. Bill Shorten was at the NPC for Rosie Batty’s address. Where was the Minister for Women?

  32. so is the PM proposing that dual citizens who terrorise their partners/spouses be stripped of their dAustralian citizenship?

  33. Abbott says there was no reason to pass their own bill today because the senate isn’t sitting. That’s the official excuse and we will be hearing it until our ears bleed.

  34. The monkey is totally out of his tree

    2m ago
    05:27
    Bill Shorten.

    Q: On Sunday the prime minister referred to leaks from cabinet on national security as false reports. But today the minister for industry said, ‘There has certainly been some very accurate statements made in newspapers in relation to discussions that were had in cabinet. Prime minister, who is telling the truth? You or your minister?

    The prime minister is back, via Labor’s tedious obsession with the beltway, to the government’s very clear policy on citizenship. (The one we haven’t seen in detail yet.) He’s back with yesterday’s raising of guns and knives.

    Tony Abbott:

    Anyone who lifts a gun or a knife to an Australian because of who we are has forfeited any right to be considered one of us.

    http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2015/jun/03/julie-bishop-denies-leaking-cabinets-citizenship-debate-politics-live#comments

  35. Katharine Murphy explains why the government voted down their own bill – apart from it being a Labor motion, that is. They want to drag out debate so every government MP can make a pretty (pretty boring) speech.

    A normal person may ask, if the government has been saying “clear the decks to get this measure passed”, why it would vote against getting the measure passed?

    Well, that’s simple. A bunch of government MPs want to speak to the bill in order to circulate the speeches in their electorates telling small business how much the government loves them. One must be seen to love small business. You can’t get credit for good deeds if no one sees you doing good deeds.

    Oh, and it would throw the chamber schedule into a degree of chaos. Chaos, exhibit A

    http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2015/jun/03/julie-bishop-denies-leaking-cabinets-citizenship-debate-politics-live

    6 times PM has demanded Labor vote for small business measures. Shorten today said OK, let's do it now. Government votes against his motion.— Malcolm Farr (@farrm51) June 3, 2015

  41. Usually these online polls give a list of names to be ranked. Pell probably wasn’t on the list.

  43. How can abbott stand up in parliament and say this stuff when we all know his decades-long record of violence against and sexual harassment of women.

    Mr Shorten asks Mr Abbott to recommit to work together to combat family violence.

    Mr Abbott says he is “very pleased to join with him” and hopes all members will “link arms across the chamber” to deal with the issue.

    “As the brother of three sisters and the father of three daughters I find any violence against women and children absolutely abhorrent,” Mr Abbott says.

    “Overwhelmingly this is a problem of male perpetrators against female victims. This is not a women’s issue, it’s a men’s issue, it’s a national issue.”

    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/the-pulse-live/politics-live-june-3-2015-20150603-ghffgi

    He had those three sisters when he was punching the wall beside Barbara Ramjan’s head, when he was charged with indecent assault and when he was abusing female students at Sydney uni. He had those three daughters when he was smirking about violent remarks made about Julia Gillard by his allies. He was a father, brother and husband of women when he inappropriately touched indigenous author Ali Eckerman while she was having breakfast in a cafe.

  45. leone

    What irritated me after Abbott’s outburst of “empathy” towards the victims of violence, is the newsreader (Greg somebody) summarising QT. Said, WTTE, that there was bi-partisan and unity between the two parties. Not completely true. Shorten wants to provide money but Abbott believes in “values”. Rosie has a big fight in front of her.

  46. gigilene
    I’d go further than ‘values’. I’d say Abbott is interested only in illusion and smoke and mirrors. He doesn’t give a stuff about female victims of domestic violence. What little money was allocated to dealing with domestic violence in the budget will go to PR and advertising companies. Abbott wants a talk-fest and lots of pointless ads, he wants to be able to say ‘look what we are doing’ although he is doing nothing at all.

    Just as a refresher, so we can look beyond Abbott’s lies and see just how disinterested this government is –
    http://www.smh.com.au/business/federal-budget/budget-2015-government-failed-domestic-violence-test-20150513-gh0iav.html

  48. What we’ve seen today, and in fact for the past couple of weeks, is the ALP being very politically smart. It’s a good sign, and a bit unexpected. It wouldn’t surprise me now to see the ALP finding as many ways as possible to keep the LNP on the back foot between now and whenever the election is called, so that the LNP are too tied up in their own image to be thinking of ways to wrong-foot the ALP.

    Some smart cookie in the ALP has figured out that the political war is won mostly on image, and that if they can just keep posing questions about how the LNP are running the country, or at least exposing the inconsistencies in obvious ways, that even with a media running interference it’s going to be hard for the electorate to miss the point.

    Put it this way: the idea that the ALP are holding back the small business legislation is now dead as an attack point. That’s one less trick the LNP/media complex can employ.

  49. Aguirre

    I agree with you, except for the fact that the msm is mute on Labor turning the tables on them, they are more interested in running Gillard/Rudd stuff.

  50. And just by the way, if the ALP can keep this up, I doubt the political media will be able to resist joining in the fun. I’ve always thought the LNP were too stupid to play these games if the ALP decide to fight fire with fire. For a long time the ALP have been focussed on good policy, presenting a sober face to the electorate, actually being the ‘adult’ government. There’s just a hint now that they’re interested in a PR battle. If they really want to play it, the LNP are dead in the water.

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