Wayne Swan gets lippy
- Share
Hasn’t Treasurer Wayne Swan found his voice this past fortnight?
He of the poison pen, fresh from slamming former foreign minister Kevin Rudd as “a man of great weakness” (among other dirty words) last week, has performed a bit of a K-Rudd move himself and filed a piece for The Monthly magazine. But this is less about quoting Bonhoeffer, and more about channelling Wayne’s newly-found rage towards a different set of targets — specifically, the filthy rich. Those who seek to wield political influence, that is …
Swan is taking it up to Australia’s answer to Russia’s oligarchs. Our mining giants and those that unquestioningly support and parrot their line, that is: “The combination of industry deep pockets, conservative political support, biased editorial policy and shock-jock ranting has been mobilised in an attempt to protect vested interests.” He continues:
“Politicians have a choice … between standing up for workers and kneeling down at the feet of the Gina Rineharts and the Clive Palmers …
“… To be blunt, the rising power of vested interests is undermining our equality and threatening our democracy … We see this most obviously in the ferocious and highly misleading campaigns waged in recent years against resource taxation reforms and the pricing of carbon pollution. The infamous billionaires’ protest against the mining tax would have been laughed out of town in the Australia I grew up in, and yet it received a wide and favourable reception two years ago.”
We like that the Treasurer is getting lippy, but given the success of that “infamous billionaires’ protest”, launched off the back of a flat bed truck, it’s a case of too little too late. After all, if these “ferocious and highly misleading campaigns” actually work, then it’s hardly going to discourage our hard working, salt of the earth, billionaire Aussie miners.
That minor quibble aside, it’s hard to argue with Swan’s contentions. Just witness Palmer’s bizarre display yesterday in what initially seemed to be an announcement of his intention to launch a second football (soccer) league as just the latest salvo in his ongoing dispute with Frank Lowy and was later watered down to some kind of “watchdog”. Palmer dominated last night’s news cycle with that little thought bubble, in the same week he bragged about his 68-0 success rate in court cases. (As The Power Index reported yesterday, he used to list “litigation” as a hobby in his Who’s Who biography.) Because he can. So too, Rinehart is a fan of clogging the courts, as she continues to gag the media from reporting on her small family spat, all while buying into that same media, of course. Because she can.
They all can. The billionaires of the mining boom can all afford to buy and sell us 10 times over, which essentially is meaningless — until they start thinking they can.
Combine their penchant for politics with media outlets suffering from plummeting revenue and therefore vulnerable to takeovers (combined with depleted resources to scrutinise the powerful less and less), a public who despite living in the information age seems even more amenable to swallowing a line and defamation law that suggests you can sue anyone if you just have the money. It’s these factors, not just the cash, that means the mining boom is ensuring these people are getting richer and more powerful with every minute, whether they’re launching a media takeover, a think tank, a football club, a High Court challenge, or laying on the couch.
Sound off Swan, somebody needs to. Then again, as Bernard Keane recites today, you could start backing up the big words by getting serious about lobbying reforms. Just a thought …
Finally a politician who is prepared to stand up for fairness, at the risk of falling victim to the problem he has highlighted. I was disgusted with Gina and Co’s ability to effectively buy popular opinion about the mining tax through throwing lots of money into ads that somehow convinced people that sharing SOME more of the SUPER PROFITS amongst the wider community was going to cause the employment levels in Australia to drop. (Companies are about maximizing profits. They cut jobs to the minimum whether they pay SUPER profits tax or not. Look at QANTAS and the big four banks. They are cutting jobs without any super profits tax. If you want the facts about the mining industry read the Austalia Institute’s report on it. If anything sharing these profits a little more fairly will create jobs by giving non-super-wealthy a little more money to start small businesses). I think Mr Swan needs to add Rupert Murdoch to this list of people with too much influence over politicians. So come on Gina and Co, give a little more back to the country that contains in its soil the elements you dig up and sell. Or at least wear some blush next time you are on the back of a ute wearing pearls so it can at least look like you are a little embarrassed by your greed.
The World’s Best Treasurer (alleged) could’ve separated some serious megabucks from the 0.01 per cent if he hadn’t folded on Rudd’s sensible RSPT proposal. It was his prime chance to stick it to the over-endowed. Opportunity lost.
Actions speak louder than words, Swannie. Is that a hollow ringing we hear…?
This feels like a case of Better Late Than Never.
And you mob can stop giving them oxygen. its the press that prevented them neing laughed out of town.
Witness a moron in a coloured jacket that was fresh out of a packet and he has never been underground. The man is a clown but got all the press.
Witness big tobacco getting positive press. Witness big banks getting positive press.
witness anybody speaking out about them being pillioried by the press.
There was a time when the press did its job too instead of big moneys job; and surprise surprise, still made money.
The whole problem for Wayne Swan’s argument is of course the same elitism that arises from the power of money is the precisely the same elitism that is has arisen in the Labor party as a result of political power.
“Labor Politicians have a choice … between standing up for their constituents and kneeling down at the feet of the Gina Rineharts and the Clive Palmers …
“… To be blunt, the rising power of vested interests is undermining our equality and threatening our democracy … We see this most obviously in the ferocious and highly misleading positions of Labor politicians caving into campaigns waged in recent years against resource taxation reforms and the pricing of carbon pollution. The infamous Rudd sacking as a result of his attempt to introduce a mining tax would have been laughed out of town in the Australia I grew up in, and yet it received wide and favourable nods of approval two years ago and again just recently so that the current leadership could protect the watered down version of these taxes to look after their billionaire buddies.”
In the same way as the NSW Labor party protected, strengthened and fed off elitism in its years in power and so goes the Australian Labor Government.
O diddums, where were these fine fighting words when the mining tax was mooted and so quickly diluted?
Bad luck for Australia that Labor has so effectively rewarded such egregious behavior by delivering a serving Prime Minister’s head on a platter.
Wayne, Julia, Bill, Greg, Simon, Don, David you are all pathetic lickspittles.
Better late than never IMHO. Now all he has to do is keep up with the mouth and perform the legislative slam on them in the final round. It may cost a few million of our tax payer dollars to convince the majority but that would be money well spent.
Could the newly emboldened and apparently world’s best treasurer be encouraged to do what Peter Costello couldn’t bring himself to do?
A bit rich (excuse the pun) when the mining boom has contributed such strong industrial growth and created so many jobs, not to mention the obvious association the mining boom had on Australia avoiding a heavy GFC crunch (but of course no one of the ALP or its supporters would ever dare associate such a thriving capitalist market such as mining with perfectly-timed success).
And it’s only a threat to democracy if you don’t believe in capitalism. I guess it’s their obligation to challenge possible change that may compromise economic growth and jobs? They have the voice and the power. One with such power (as with journalists) have a loyalty to the citizens, and work under the assumption that people can govern themselves. THAT is democracy, not threatening those citizens that have the power to drive change. That seems the opposite to democracy?
Now, feel free to disagree with me here.
A higher cost of living equates to higher spending for a company
To maintain a profit, a company obviously has to balance out the amount it’s spending with the amount that’s coming in.
Record profits happen with good business management. Job loses happen when costs are high and productivity is low. Would you people prefer the banks to NOT have a profit? And what about the mines? Shall we shut them down? I mean, they’re simply making too much money… *sigh*
Wayne Swan’s success is a direct consequence of Australia’s booming industries, thriving capitalism, of which he and his government wants to compromise, all in the name of “working families”, which is really just a blanket for their “gimmie gimmie gimmie” agenda.
The “working family” moto is the biggest piece of shit tripe I’ve ever heard in my life. We’re all “workers” and we all work hard. Compromising industrie and challenging growth is going to turn those “working families” into “reliant on the state families”. But that’s what you all want, anyway. What happens when the coffers run dry?
If you have the power to make a difference, do it. If you have the platform, use it. They create entire industries with thousands of jobs.
And it’s only a threat to democracy if you don’t believe in capitalism. I guess it’s their obligation to challenge possible change that may compromise economic growth and jobs? They have the voice and the power. One with such power (as with journalists) have a loyalty to the citizens, and work under the assumption that people can govern themselves. THAT is democracy, not threatening those citizens that have the power to drive change. That seems the opposite to democracy?
@ Prestia
I don’t agree with you at all.
Unfettered Capitalism leads to oligarchy, not democracy.
Wayne’s problem is with people who have the means to stifle change and progressive reform to further their own positions of power.
These people are not wealth creators as the Wabbott claims, other than wealth for themselves. It is about time businesses saw their role in a holistic sense as a contributor to the public good as a whole, rather than some simplistic notion that shareholder concerns are the be all end all.
You talk about ‘reliant on state families’ but forget it is businesses which turn to the state to bail them out whenever they’re in trouble. But that’s what you want isn’t it, The state at the beck and call of business?
G Reinhart doesn’t want to share the wealth with her own offspring let alone the rest of the Nation! The threats and the public sobbing by these slovenly obese parasites, that mining investment/exploration would go offshore if a super profits tax was introduced was deplorable! Many jobs in the Mining Industry that have been ‘created’ are for below average wage 457 visa workers. The Howard years of not investing in the youth of this great country, not subisdising apprenticeships and putting tertiary education out of reach of the average Australian left a deep, deep hole in the skills of this nation. Meanwhile the high Australian dollar, a direct result of the Mining Industry, has crushed every other Australian business trying to export or manufacture.
Really very lame excuse for a timid government. He seems to believe he was right with the original mining tax but didn’t have the courage to stand up. The whole point of democracy is that Governments lead, and get elected to do what they say they are going to do, or at least to follow some sort of understood philosophy. But modern labour has little relevance in Australia now. The article confirms this, as it can only use US figures to point out the rich poor divide, even after ten years of “conservative” rule. To then say he HAD to back down on the mining tax because of a few wealthy miners is really embarrassing.
Labour really is irrelevant, and this article more than any captures it perfectly. He can’t seem to decide whether he believes in everyone being economically equal, or in the notion of people “getting ahead”. The ambiguous “fair go” seems to sometimes mean “getting rewarded” and sometimes being “economically equal”. Which one is Labour?
If we focus purely on the major personal tax policies of the last three years it reaffirms the timidity of this government.
All the major policies have been the same. They target the upper middle class, be it with a carbon tax, flood tax, super changes , private health insurance. And yet earning up to middle incomes, that is rewarded - in fact you pay no tax, even up to $77000 for a dual income family. Why? Timidity. Upper middle income earners ( those that declare tax at over $100000 and less than $250000) are a small voting force- they can be hung out to dry. Even though they are the last taxpayers left, and increasingly pay more than 70% of all income tax, itself the biggest income source of government.
The days of grinding poverty, serfdom, and aristocracy are over. Even after ten years of Howard. Yet Labour continues to march to the same tune. Punish those who try to get ahead. Preserve the world view of the poor being victims of capitalism in need of rescue from rapacious materialists. Australians are over it. I see conservative politics becoming increasingly entrenched. No one believes this fable anymore- the children in the mines aren’t there anymore, indeed people are falling over themselves to work in mining.
Just read this analysis of Packers new Casino move.
Let’s see which boxes he checks.
* Shock Jock Approves - Yes
* Demands tax breaks - Yes
* Demands changes to laws - Yes
* Gets Government onside and cheering him on - Yes.
* Bullies opponents - Yes
* Expects everyone to agree just because he has influence and money - Yes
* Wants special exemptions for pokies just after getting Federal Parliament to run away from reform because they will make him a lot of easy money - Yes
http://www.smh.com.au/business/packer-ups-ante-with-barangaroo-as-crown-jewel-20120302-1u85a.html
If you want proof that Swan was right, you need go no further than Barangaroo.
Go the Wan Goose!
However, fine words butter few parsnips so perhaps you could get one of your staffers to rummage through the archives and resubmit for legislation the original RSPT?
Oh look, porcus aviatrix!
Cashed up and don’t like a Government Policy? No worries! If you have ten million or so to spare all you have to do is fund a campaign of disinformation and the Government will soon fold. You basically need to tell the punters that the policy you don’t like is their problem. Your claims don’t have to be plausible let alone true. You’ll have a good chance of free support of most of the media, especially News Limited and the Shock Jocks. The Coalition is normally on the side of money and won’t be a problem for you once they take power.
Good for Wayne Swan, although I’m afraid it’s too little too late. The lesson that will be taken from the Rudd/Gillard era will be that no one can take on any moneyed interest and hope to prevail. I find this very depressing.
Sadly for all of us, their is more truth than fiction in Swans comments.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but when wealth allows ones opinion to be thrust on everyone else through the media, the question arises. How rife does this behaviour need to become before the people demand action.
The sidlining of lobbyist legislation is a good example of inaction.
For mine, that politicians (our ‘only’ representatives accountable to us) should be routinely targeted/denegrated/abused is a manufacture of the deliverers of news that facilitates venting, justified or not. The casualty of this relentless focus also allows the deliverers to avoid scrutiny under a white knight illusion. Most importantly it puts excessive pressure on our elected officials to compromise when, at times ought not to occur.
Am I the only one who has noticed the crass rudeness and lack of respect shown by some journalists, many with life experience of 5 minutes or less, affronting our leaders on a daily basis?
Mr Head, Do`nt forget the mastermind behind the negativity and the perfecter of lies and spin, and the employer of the trash that parades as reporters these days, also owns 75 % of the press in this country; and while he hasn’t been caught yet, (his words not mine), paying off politicians, police and other corrupt officials and purposely king making favourable or complicit governments; we have the press telling us that they don’t need to be regulated. Um…. yeah, sure.
The article is very interesting and seems rational and right in its conclusions. So why did the Labor government not have the courage to stand up to the filthy, poisonous rich and take the Mining Profits Tax to parliament? Why can’t it see that backing down, the minute legislation appears to be threatened, is cowardly. Make a stand guys and gals! Let the shame of rejection lie on the shoulders of the Noalition.
No Oldfootyhead. You’re not alone. It’s time the government developed a spine and stood up to media rudeness. The Prime Minister recently did and got an apology from a Murdoch rag. Inagine that! Mind you when they do, the media bounces back with the Lindy Chamberlain treatment. They’re gorillas.
Maybe Mr Finkelstein has a point! “He believes self-regulation has failed to deal with irresponsible reporting. And recourse to other measures, such as legal proceedings, takes too long.”
Just watch the irresponsible, hysterical, inventive newsmedia throw their hands up on this! But they earnt it when they threw away ethics and the need for truth. And then there’s what’s happened in the UK. No where else of course.
Big Business as in Philanthropy….. ok …… when the ‘media’ prints a translation of business euphamism’s ( you know …. ), when ‘capitalism at all costs’ is denounced forcefully, when business people scream ‘more business freedom’, when ‘self regulation’ is bagged (hi Humans!) for what it does not achieve ……… , I could (and should) go on, when these and more appear in msn , I’ll know that the ‘media’ is healthy for all …….. I buy the ‘australian’……. just to keep up on the Scams………… no Cheers, from me………..
You bet it is “class war- class war” that the rich have been fighting and winning for ages. Time for Labor to stand its ground on a “fair go” and not run for cover again.
I see this as the ALP setting the battle lines for the next election. They have for too long been seen as abondoning the ordinary people and now is the time to start turning public opinion. Rinehart and Palmer are easy & deserving targets with personality flaws that make them unlikeable amongst the broad populace who don’t get a direct cut from their billions.