“No cuts to the ABC or SBS,” Tony Abbott repeatedly insisted before the last election. And he was a man to keep his promises, come what may. “It is an absolute principle of democracy,” Abbott had said in 2011, “that governments should not and must not say one thing before an election and do the opposite afterwards.” In an election debate with Kevin Rudd last year, Abbott confirmed this approach — he would keep all his promises and delay the return to surplus if need be.
Now the national broadcasters face $300 million in cuts, with the ABC to lose at least $50 million a year for five years, a cut that will wipe out the additional funding provided to the ABC by both the Howard government and Rudd/Gillard governments over the last decade.
That many in the Coalition want to target the ABC for its perceived bias is well known, as is the enthusiasm for the government’s ardent supporter, News Corporation, for the destruction of a public broadcaster that competes very effectively with News Corp across a range of platforms. But the insouciance with which the Prime Minister has broken this promise — along with so many others — in the 14 months since being elected is surely one of the problems behind the government’s poor public esteem and dire polling. Voters’ trust can be a fragile thing for even the most skilful politician, but Abbott seems almost to have gone out of his way to flagrantly breach his pre-election undertakings in a way even the most disengaged voter must surely have observed.
Perhaps one of the reasons why the government’s constant focus on national security and foreign policy has failed to prompt any significant improvement in its polling is because those issues require voters to trust a national leader. And Abbott seems to have squandered whatever trust voters may have ever had in him very quickly indeed.
Again, Abbott’s word is his pond.
So where is the outrage from the shock jocks and the ‘Toneliar’ jibes.
Had nothing to do with Gillard being a woman, and certainly nothing to do with her being the first politician ever to go back on a pre-election commitment.
Again Crikey et al can’t distinguish between what their heroes do and what their bete noirs do.
When Gillard changed her mind after the Election about a promise she’d made in the Campaign it wasn’t a lie; but when she looked us in the face and said she hadn’t made that promise, THAT was a lie, regardless of whether she was a female a male a Martian or anything else. Even my worst students could understand that better than seems to be the case with all too many posters.
I find it hard to believe that anyone is surprised that Abbott has regularly broken promises. It’s a tradition; however, Abbott has excelled in this area. And that is the only area he has excelled.
DEar Norman Hanscombr @ 3
One must admisre your diligent support of this the most dishonest and essentially corrupt prime minister this nationa has evere had to endure.
As the Bible teaches us first remove the motre from your eye when it comes tos distinguishing lying.
For a start even the Murdoch Press acccepted what was called the Carbon Tax was technically not a tax but even accepting that it was Gillard also promised a price on carbon. If she had not done what she did then that would have been a broken promise.
When she made the statement she never envisioned the balance of power as it was. In keeping one promise she broke another
Anyway…If you can count and then it is one repeat ONE broken promise ( and even then not on a technicality)
Abbott has lied incessantly many many times.He had no intention of keeping those promises hence his is a pathological liar
So tell me would you rather be punched fifty times or tapped once lightly on the wrist.
I don’t expect you to have the courage to answer the question as it would require you to face the truth.
If I was Bill Shorten I would annopunce a policy of voting againste everything whilst Abbott is PM on the basis that is is impossible to negotiate with some one who is chronicall dishonest and cannoit be relied upon.
Abbot has introduceda degree of partisanship and sheer hostiliity on a sustained basis that has damaged democracy and broken long standing conventions. Parliament works best when there is a degree of cooperation. Abbott has been rewarded by obliterating this. He should not continue to be rewarded. He will destroy the Liberal Party.
Remember right at the start in 2007 when Rudd was negotiating after the election for a Carbon Price with the Liberals who then came out and said even if they struck a deal they would not necessarily stick to it.
Try and live in the business world with that lack of ethics and integrity