Crikey initially planned the Dossier of Lies and Falsehoods for March 2020. Then the pandemic hit and the publication decided it was a bad idea to call the prime minister a liar during a time of national crisis.
Then came 2021, and the challenges facing Scott Morrison and his government broadened to include the Brittany Higgins saga and the vaccine rollout disasters and, as we’ve learnt, when Morrison is under pressure his lies and falsehoods multiply. And so by May the project was ready to be revived.
Little did we know what was to come.
After French President Emmanuel Macron’s assertion that he doesn’t “think”, he “knows” Morrison lied to him, the dam seemed to break. Malcolm Turnbull told journalists at COP26 that Morrison had “lied to me on many occasions … Scott has always had a reputation for telling lies.”
Labor got in on the act, with Chris Bowen telling Insiders: “We know Scott Morrison is a liar.” The rest of the media caught on and questions about the PM’s relationship with the truth have become commonplace.
Now Crikey politics editor Bernard Keane has expanded Crikey‘s list into a book. He joined host Janine Perrett and Dr Simon Longstaff* of the Ethics Centre at last night’s Crikey Talks event to discuss the book and the culture that made it necessary.
Morrison, Keane said, is an unusual liar, even for a politician: “Most politicians tend to tell lies about their opponents, or their policies. Morrison is much more likely to lie about himself and his own behaviour.”
He dismissed the idea that Morrison actually believes what he said: “The guy is too smart and too self-interested to do that.”
Longstaff said that the “callous indifference for the truth” had led to a widespread cynicism that “eats away at the bonds of society like acid”.
“You simply cannot have informed consent [from the electorate] if it’s based on a falsehood,” he said. “We spend a lot of time talking about technical infrastructure … but there’s also a kind of ethical infrastructure that a democracy needs to have. The media, particularly journalists, need to relentlessly care about the truth.”
The role of the media in propagating political lies was a recurring theme.
Keane said it was partly due to a tension between the roles a journalist can fulfil: “A lot of journalists say their job is to report what is happening — so X says Y. But now there’s a tension between that traditional journalism and the demands audiences have for something more stringent in applying the truth.”
Looking internationally, Keane noted that lying was no longer seen as “any kind of negative” for politicians, but either a positive — as it was for supporters of Donald Trump — or a “charming feature of their political personality”, as it is for supporters of Boris Johnson.
This atmosphere developed, Keane said, in the aftermath of two events: the lies around the Iraq War, and the collapse of the global financial system. This bred a cynicism and indifference that had been accelerated by the outrage economy and echo chambers of social media.
So what hope is there?
Keane and Longstaff noted the reluctance of oppositions to effectively call out lying given the same accusation can so easily be levelled at them. (Mediscare, anyone?) Thus a huge responsibility falls on the shoulders of voters.
“Progressive voters may dislike Scott Morrison and his lies and may cheer when they’re called out, but what is their attitude towards lies and falsehoods from leaders on their own side?” Keane said. “And if you’re not prepared to aggressively call out the lies of the people you support, it really does undermine your case against the lies of the people you oppose.”
Keane conceded that he was slightly despairing about the possibility of reversing the trend towards callous indifference to the truth.
“I can’t see things improving unless people are willing to start connecting with their communities, making those connections directly, and try to rebuild politics from the ground up,” he said. “And that’s a long-term endeavour.”
Longstaff was more hopeful.
“One thing I’ve learnt over the years is that we should trust the Australian people — they are a lot smarter than even their leaders give them credit for,” he said. “Provided someone steps up and has a conversation with the Australian people about the kind of society we could be, I reckon they would grab it with both hands.”
*The list of attendees would be incomplete without mentioning Kenny the greyhound who spent the entire event lying (on the couch behind Bernard).
Could your journalists stop stating or implying that “Mediscare” is based on a Iie?
Readers’ replies to one article last week, concerning the removal of MRI scans from Medicare legibility for instance, or the consistent underpaying of medicare benefits, the removal of up to 300 procedures from consideration, all attest, to death by a thousand cuts: the same technique directed at the annihilation of the ABC or NDIS.
Try paying attention to readers’ comments: they’re often more informative than the articles.
Agree totally. Given the focus on politicians’ lies, it should not follow that mere denial of a claim that a party will do x or y should, of itself, end debate. If a party has “form” in a certain policy area, it would seem legitimate for an opposing party to raise the possibility that in government, said party might revert to form and (shock, horror) do what they said they wouldn’t. I have to concede that this cuts both ways, but ultimately, I see no real alternative to such matters being decided by the electorate, in which scenario a reputation for honest dealing by a leader would be a handy weapon.
Even without all the cutting of items from the Medicare schedule, the core premise of what has become known as “Mediscare” still remains completely true. It is a lie to say it was a lie.
It is unassailably true that the coalition government did intend to sell off the Medicare payments system. And at the end of the day, that is the guts of Medicare.
Medicare is not hospitals; it is not medicine; it is not doctors nor nurses. Medicare is the mechanism by which those things are funded by the state, so that the services are made available to the populace. If you sell off the payments system, there’s really not much left.
Bernard and Charlie and anyone else who uses the term “Mediscare” need to be forced to do battle for a legitimate payment with the privatized “Services Australia”. Let me see how long it takes for either of you to decide that the amount of the rebate isn’t worth the time it takes.
Everything that Labor was warning was going to happen when they privatized the payment section of Medicare, happens. And so, “Mediscare” was not a lie at all.
It is not just death by a thousand cuts, it is an active and aggressively so, process meant to deter as many people as possible from receiving the rebates they are entitled to.
Has anyone done any investigations into how many claims are not paid by Medicare?
I work for a specialist Obstetrician/ Gynaecologist who bulk bills pensioners, health care holders and a lot of people from the country who would never be able to afford the timely treatment they receive otherwise.He views this as his contribution to a society which educated him (scholarships).
We do not take the money from the patient and then tell them that should have the money back in their bank account within 2 days, because that is akin to smearing blood all over them and throwing them to the wolves.
We directly bill Medicare and then sometimes we end up fighting to get paid the rebate, for up to two years. These fights includes getting our local MP (Lib) involved and even with his help, it sometimes takes 2 or 3 re-submissions and occasionally we get a part payment.
We used to directly bill and then pay the surgical assistant, however, Medibank Private and NIB will not pay their part of the contribution to us on behalf of the assistant and so, these private health funds allow a doctor with no referral or actual medical relationship with the patient, to directly bill the patient for their services. (Go figure that one out, eh?)
The reason I mention 2 years is that once that debt is over 2 years old Medicare does not have to pay the account.
If Medicare does not pay an account, the private health fund does not pay either.
Surprisingly the private hospital account almost always gets paid.
I suspect that the federal government incentivizes the refusal of payment, of rebates, just as they incentivize “Breaching” recipients of Jobseeker payments and the cancelling of the old Aged pensioners benefits.
“Mediscare” was and is a prerogative and because it has become so pervasive in people’s language (Charlie and Bernard please note, this does mean you) it is difficult to explain just how bad Medicare and its privatized payment system “Services Australia” is and how badly paid Medicare rebates are, if they are paid properly and in the main they are not.
Services Australia needs investigation as to who actually owns and runs the privatized Medicare rebate system because they are monsters. Contacting them can take the best part of an hour by phone, Centerlink has been combined in the same offices and even if someone goes to the office and waits and waits, the person who may be able to help is never there on the day.
So, please stop it! “Mediscare” was and is real!
Stop the presses, here’s another Morrison whopper. He told Ann Sudmalis “I don’t want this job”. Yeah right – that probably explains why he and his christian mates organised such a devious double play to make sure he got it.
Now grab your knees and watch you bladder because, Ann Sudmalis still believes him, OH what a hoot!!!
I was most impressed by Kenny. Watching The Drum tonight, Billy (greyhound) and I were most impressed by the articulate Mr Keane
Billy sounds discerning 🙂
Was the webinar recorded? Is it possible for subscribers to watch?
The presentation was outstanding. Excellent moderation and guests – 110 out of 10 imo! Very worth a watch if a link goes up.