Producer one: “You’re lying to me! You’re lying to me!”
Producer two: “Yes! But hear me out!”
What Just Happened? by Art Linson
Whenever it’s announced that the target for something is zero, you know you’re being lied to — or sold a fantasy.
Scott Morrison announced a campaign on youth suicide, and said his government was aiming “towards zero”. There was no moral seriousness in the claim. Suicide rates respond unpredictably to government programs; a lasting reduction of 5% would be a great achievement. ScoMo’s desire may have been heartfelt, but only as an expression of his Christian beliefs that all can seek salvation in Jesus. But its unreality in the face of tragedy gave it an air of sleazy self-satisfaction. That is redolent of much recent conservatism, and accounts for many people’s dissatisfaction and even disgust with the right.
But now Labor is doing it too. And yet it is gaining somewhat less opprobrium; merely a mild childing, an air of disappointment. Yesterday Environment Minster Tanya Plibersek announced a new approach to environmental protection after years of torpor. This was welcome. Plibersek’s follow-up, claiming that the target was zero extinctions, was not welcome.
A noble aim that would be more inspiring if the Andrews Labor government was not busy allowing the Mountain Ash forest system of central Victoria to be torn apart because it won’t stand up to the Forestry division of the CFMMEU about how rapid the transition out of old growth logging should be, and the effect it might have on a few regional state seats.
The Andrews government and the union division defend such logging on the grounds that the trees are rapid growth, and rotation over decades means there is no loss. But that doesn’t take account of the devastating effect the process is having on species habitats — that of Leadbeater’s possum being the best known — or on the whole web across the central highlands, still damaged from Black Saturday.
This isn’t proper forest management, nor is it sustainable, nor is it “towards zero” extinctions. It’s a mix of cynicism and buck-passing. Plibersek already had form on this, tweeting heartfelt support for the recent Iranian protesters, to be gently and not-so-gently reminded that state Labor governments were bringing in two-year prison terms for the sort of civil disobedience that young Iranian women were committing.
This wasn’t as gauche as Morrison telling women protesters in Canberra they were lucky no one was shooting at them. But the uncomfortable fact is that Morrison wasn’t jacking up anti-protest laws, and Labor is. And this raises the hard-to-deny fact that Albanese Labor is getting a substantially free pass on a lot of stuff that is different in intensity, but not in type, from Morrison-era antics.
This is disturbing because Labor is getting away with substantial continuity on a range of issues –mandatory detention, First Nations incarceration, now the environment — with qualitatively less outrage than was applied to the Coalition. That leaves those on the sharp end of these policies in some ways in a worse position than they are under an explicitly hostile government. The smooth, efficient and compliant process that Labor is bedding down can completely obscure some of the horrors going on.
This is hardly new. When Tony Blair was elected in the midst of Cool Britannia, many thousands of exhausted activists slumped in deep relief, believing that some sort of British social democratic government was on the way, despite all the things Blair had “had” to say in the election. Ditto Bill Clinton in 1993.
But there is something more to it than being taken by surprise or running out of puff. Whereas attacking “the other” — and ScoMo’s about as “other” as most of us get — can be a source of energy and renewal, fully recognising the modified perfidy of Labor is a draining process of self-mutilation. The melancholy realisation for some is that they hated things ScoMo was doing simply because ScoMo was doing them — and they really hated him.
Now that our team’s doing it, the moral loathing drains away a little, or a lot. That’s not a great thing to realise about yourself. So it gets buried even deeper, and a silence descends. Or, faced with the double bind, in pure RD Laing fashion, of trying to get recognition from an alienated love object, you come apart yourself. This is clearly happening to many progressives, importuning Labor to come on, stop kidding around, be what you said you be. Party and pundits are caught in a bad romance.
So in those circumstances, the most assertive political act one can do is a bit of work on oneself to break the affective link, and challenge the party openly and based on the issues. Not something that can be done as a single act of thought. But not lacking in raw material as Sister Julie Colli-, sorry, Housing Minister Julie Collins’ enraging interview on Four Corners episode on homelessness on Monday night.
Collins was ever ready to talk of the national disgrace etc, etc of the extreme rental shortages and ghastly things it was doing to people’s lives. But when confronted with the Albanese government’s projected inadequate response — 30,000 new units over several years — she could only waffle on about “absolute priorities” and “firm commitment of government”.
One’s first reaction to this is to say, for God’s sake, no one expects Labor to have an answer to the housing crisis in four months or one term. Why not be honest and say that governments of all stripes — state, federal, Labor, Coalition — have let this issue drift for decades? Because of course the Albanese government is one of capital and national security first, and social welfare a poor second. And national security means blowing tens of billions, if politically necessary, on nonsense hardware commitments so as not to be outflanked on the issue by the right, or earn the ire of the armament manufacturers and their mouthpiece ASPI, to whose advisory boards old Labor hacks go to die.
The uncomfortable fact is that a lot of people hated Morrison, really hated him, because of his beliefs and because he appears to be, personally, a jerk — but also because of a certain manner and comportment of his, more common to the outer suburbs than the inner city. With DJ Albo in da house, and Tanya P on the cover of The Monthly, it becomes hard to maintain the rage.
But that’s when it must be redoubled and redirected. Labor has a cushion against a Coalition return in 2025, and is dominant in several states. There’s no political excuse for not blasting it full-force from the left when these ridiculous non-promises are aired. Just demand it makes a real effort to slow species extinctions rather than promising none, while allowing Queensland farmers to plane the state flat.
Just have state governments build some public housing in substantial numbers, not a dozen new apartments added by a private developer/party donor. Above all, no acquiescence to spin, simply because it’s our spin. Solidarity is one thing; a political suicide pact is quite another.
Are we cutting Labor too much slack? Let us know your thoughts by writing to letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.
hear HEAR!
I want to very much support your comments Guy. But I doubt that we will see much change in this Federal “Labor” government. They haven’t got it in them. The same goes for the state “Labor” governments (which, as you point out are also answerable to sections of the union movement). At the end of the day, the ALP is just as much in thrall to the plutocrats and the “Big-End of Town” as their sister party, the LNP.
I hope that the Crikey Labor Club members read your piece and are capable of absorbing your message. You have provided many compelling reasons why we should be highly skeptical.
The indigenous want a voice to Parliament, which is a waste of time and money. It is emotive, purely symbolic, touchy feely, which is why it’s is widely supported.
The populus needs a independent centrist humanist party to replace the ALP.
Two birds, one stone, our indigenous cousins take a lead role in setting up a centrist party which is a voice IN Parliament that can actually make a difference.
A centrist party sucks the marrow out of both the ALP and the liberals. We end up with the ALP as the Marxist left and the NP as the dinosaur right, getting to 50% of the vote together, and the bulk of the population in the centre supporting the centre. No symbolic voice, a treaty is sufficient, in our new republic.
Let’s get in with it.
ALP as the Marxist left…?
Can I have a snort of your gear?
They already are. At least one faction is.
you have no clue. Labor left is social democrat skandi style at best. Where do these bizarre ideas come from?
The little red book.
Fantastic, Guy. Your diagnosis is correct. Many progressives are so exhausted after finally getting rid of the last lot that they want to believe all is now well. But in reality, everything is just marginally less terrible. As you have outlined previously, any resemblance between Labor 2022 and a party of the Left is largely cosmetic.
So we need to go very hard indeed.
Not let them get away with allowing Scarborough (Woodside) and Narrabri (Santos) while aiming for the woefully inadequate 43% – by hammering the message that all that gas will be burnt overseas, so is NOT COUNTED in the 43% at all.
Hope the Greens will stare them down on public hearings as the norm for the NACC and see if they will get the Duttonites to pass it in the Senate instead.
ETC ETC ETC.
One extra point on the logging catastrophe. Vic Forests in part gets away with what it does by using a b-sh-t number of years for how long it takes for regrowth to “mature”. David Lindenmayer – forestry ecology world expert – savagely and repeatedly discredited by the logging lobbyists – has shown that it takes 80 years+ for a forest to mature – if the mixture of logging plus increased fire frequency don’t destroy it forever.
Even Labor tragics like myself realise only too well that our best strategy to ensure this new government does what it should do, is to elect more Teals and Greens to keep the pressure on (and the LNP rabble out).
Then obviously you are not a Labor tragic if all you can think of is for them to stay in power!
A true Labor tragic would want them to actually do things like dumping the tax setup and put in something that has nothing whatsoever to do with “trickle down” economics! Yes, they might get kicked out at the next election but at least they can say they tried. Or they can be like Roosevelt and turn the whole country around to back them 100%.
When I chat to modern economists – those that are trying to change the approach to how economies work – they all agree it is time for some really deep thinking about capitalism and not just tinker around the edges.
Unfortunately Chalmers and Albanese were both brought up on the belief that “trickle down” economics was the way and they have never changed.
As was explained in the recent ABC series on Australia’s Favourite Tree, immature ash trees take water from the landscape whereas the old growth trees create it.
The european Ash, Fraxinus, is exceptionally greedy of water and is a guaranteed dry place to sit beneath in the wet northern hemisphere forests – little but grass can survive around their root area.
The Australian tree, like the vast majority in this country, is a Eucalyptus and was called ‘ash’ because of its visual similarity.
It is no more thirsty than any other Eucalypt which is a water regulated species – growth rates vary wildly depending on available moisture.
In the years to come, the wild growth resulting from 3 La Niña years (if it ever ceases) will demonstrate why the species is called ‘widowmaker‘ as the overextended, heavily leafed branches come crashing down.
I despised the ex, not because of his religious beliefs but for the fact that he was a lying rotten scoundrel and the most useless, inept PM ever…allegedly.
Don’t be shy………
…….tell us what you REALLY think.
They inherited such a mess in every aspect of government that it will take them a term to get things back working as they should be: hiring public servants to process visas and passports, etc. and also getting the promises of reformed childcare, aged care, health care and the Voice done properly.
I think they are being sensible to deliver on their election promises while taking time to build consensus around the more complex issues. I like the way, for example, there was the most widespread consultation around the recent appointment of a new Justice to the High Court.
Being on the left, I usually feel totally frustrated with the misguided and glacial pace of reform, particularly the past lost 10 years. But I think that Albo’s pathway to a two term government is vital. In a very conservative society like Australia, I agree with Paul Keating: you only have a certain amount of political capital and you need to spend it wisely on one or two major things. Remember what Tony Abbott did to all the Rudd-Gillard reforms: completely wrecked them and the country.
So I and the rest of the left need to back off for now. Spend your time critising the Opposition, both Federally and state, business and unions as well as the establishment so that you are providing cover for this government to get on with working on governing. That’s something that hasn’t happened for ten years!
I think they should be supported on things like childcare, industry bargaining etc.
But they dont really need the support actually. Theyre doing fine in selling that stuff to the mainstream
If you fear the Coalition getting back because:
-the housing crisis will continue
-benefits rates wont go up
-fossil fuels expansion will continue
-state schools will lose out to rpivate schools worse every year
-refugee detention will be run like a prison camp
-first nations incarceration will grow and grow
-old growth logging will continue
-an unthinking US alliance will make regional co-operation impossible
well, uh, guess what….
–
For once, I agree.
Tony Abbott had total support from the main stream media.
Keating had a bi partisan ABC and Fairfax, and they are no longer exist now. (yeh, Rupert’s ABC is a carcass).
There is no two term alternative. Fix it now, or clearly they were the wrong choice for government.
Malcolm Knox summed up Albanese’s choices very well in an article a month or so back. Nobody liked it.
I agree with you. Morally, we all should choose actions which are likely to end up having a postive effect. When confronted with our recent conservative governments blasting them was entirely appropriate, because it was clear that they were irredeemable. In my opinion, to continue blasting after the disappearance of the deserving target is misguided. Guy writes powerfully but gives himself too much licence. Reflect on “of course the Albanese government is one of capital and national security first, and social welfare a poor second”. I know he’s written about this before, but in the absence of specific justifications it’s just loose and unhelpful. I despair at the AUKUS farce, and seriously wonder how Richard Marles can bring himself to proceed with it as though on some kind of autopilot. But I doubt the reason is that Labor is the party of capital, and the problem with AUKUS is that it’s vapour ware, to use an IT expression, and even it wasn’t it arguably is terrible for national security.
Bagging Morrison to the point of abusing him was a good idea because he was a lost cause. But we should not treat Albanese as a lost cause. I’m in favour of exerting maximum influence on specific items, with trenchant criticism where justified, but better if it’s constructive.
BTW why should one attack unions? Only if they are non-performing like my CPSU.