Hear that? You could hear a pin drop. Isn’t it lovely?
One of the notable things about last week (setting aside the gratuitous Kevin Rudd is baaaaack speculation, that is) was that for two, make it three, blessed days, politics was for all intents and purposes about policy.
How novel. It was oh so quiet that you could hear the sighs of relief emanating from some members of the press gallery …
Laurie Oakes: “The calm and constructive tone, and the surprising amount of agreement that emerged, lowered the political temperature. That was at least partly a result of Tony Abbott being sidelined. The opposition did not take part and so became irrelevant…”
Shaun Carney: “It was, in small part, what once upon a time could have been regarded as a normal week’s business in national politics. Even Opposition Leader Tony Abbott added to the nostalgic glow by raising the possibility yesterday that he would consider supporting the government’s proposed local content rules.”
And our own in-house wonk Possum Comitatus was like a kid in a candy store, rolling around in delight at the marvellous spectacle of “debate informed by professional knowledge, professional experience and professional conduct”.
But all good things must come to an end … and our one gleaming moment of sanity ends tomorrow, when parliament goes back in session.
Some pretty significant pieces of legislation are on the table, but don’t expect that to lift the level of debate in question time to loftier heights. We may be a little glass half empty here, but nothing suggests that the usual round of overblown accusations, ridiculous assertions and flat out falsehoods won’t start up again.
If only politicians could be trusted to acknowledge that, as Possum lamented last week: “Not everything about government is about electoral politics.”
Fetch your first 12 weeks for $12
Here at Crikey, we saw a mighty surge in subscribers throughout 2020. Your support has been nothing short of amazing — we couldn’t have got through this year like no other without you, our readers.
If you haven’t joined us yet, fetch your first 12 weeks for $12 and start 2021 with the journalism you need to navigate whatever lies ahead.
Peter Fray
Editor-in-chief of Crikey
Leave a comment
The interesting question is what would it take for the Parliament to look like that serious policy discussion. Here’s a few suggestions – not actually sure if they would work;
1. Question Time be removed as an order of business on every day, only have it once a week.
2. Require a White and or Green Paper to be introduced and debated before any legislation can be introduced – so get the debate about policy through before drafting.
3. Create the possibility for Senate Committees reviewing legislation to co-opt non-Parliamentary members. Require reports to be unanimous (or super majority like 75%) to be called the official Committee report, and anything else to be called an ancillary report.
4. Introduce standing orders that allow a member to be challenged for stating a falsehood – with an appropriate independent judgement and decision thereon. If we think it good enough to require the media to be covered by a complaints scheme then maybe MPs should be too.
Why is it that every time Kevin Rudd does anything, the media (including Crikey) comes down on him like a ton of bricks? Personally, I can forgive him for most of his activities and public appearances because of what was done to him last year by Gillard and her fellow travellers. Let’s face it, according to almost every poll published in the last six months, he is the only one in the current government who can stop the devastation for Labor which will be the next election.
Regardless of what the media has to say, the majority of voters think Kevin Rudd is the way to go. What gives you, or any other media outlet, the right to tell us we are all wrong?
Gillard is a disaster!!
It is an awful reflection on the disgrace that is our current political scene that a short, highly technical and ultimately futile, forum is regarded as a glimpse of a bygone Golden Age of worthy people having sensible debate.
And tomorrow a return to the usual circus, conducted by overpaid inadequates with a trust rating below used car salesmen.
Poor bugger, my country.
CML, What the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party did to Rudd last year was tough, but it had to be done. The right people did it, that is, those people who had to work with him, the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party.
It is not the choice of the public at any election who should be Prime Minister. The post of Prime Minister is not mentioned in our constitution.
I did not vote for Rudd as PM. That was not an option on my ballot paper. I voted for a Labor member.
I don’t pine for Rudd as PM. I’m happier with Gillard. But, it’s not my choice to make.
CML
Rudd was the strongest factor in his own downfall. The fact that he stepped down rather than face the embarrassment of a spill says a lot. Even Gorton had the sense , integrity ? to cast the vote that meant he was no longer PM . Rudd kept getting on the media saying he would work harder but I wanted him to work smarter not harder. Polls mean nothing when the question asked is hypothetical regarding leadership. Polls on policy or public perceptions about safety have more meaning. Hockey was doing well in the wanna be stakes and look how often he has shown himself to be lacking since. Abbott won leadership by one vote because of Hockey who wanted Turnbull if not himself. Grecian started the rot knowing there was nobody who would vote for him so was a trojan horse of sorts. Did Minchin put Andrews up to it ?