Towards the end of Tony Abbott’s prime ministership, it was clear that the business community wasn’t happy with him. The relationship was so dire that they’d even convened a summit on reform in Canberra from which politicians were banned, so it was no great surprise that Malcolm Turnbull’s ascension to the top job was met with relief from business leaders.
But that relief has turned into something disconcertingly close to fawning.
In a speech delivered at the Business Council of Australia’s annual dinner last night, president Catherine Livingstone, who is also the chairwoman of Telstra, said the Prime Minister had introduced a new sense of optimism in the country.
“You have given us the permission to have conversations about things that matter to people, and helped, through your own example, to make those conversations positive,” she said.
Turnbull, in having responsibility for the National Broadband Network, had significant experience in complex systems, the chair of the company that was partly responsible for making the NBN difficult to implement told the Prime Minister. She also said Turnbull had “extraordinary credentials” for launching an innovation agenda in government.
As with much of his prime ministership so far, it’s very hard to know if this is true until Turnbull announces some substantial policies. With the Prime Minister saying “everything is on the table” with tax reform, and with the Business Council pushing for a cut in the company tax rate, we expect to see many more interest groups buttering up our Prime Minister in the coming months.
Turnbull should pay heed to the Latin phrase “Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes“, or “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts”. He should be wary of business councils speaking fondly of him.
How long can the not Tony honeymoon last..? Are we going to be agiled nimbley all the way to polling day..?
Anyone who cares to look on Whirlpool at the NBN forum, will pretty quickly see that Turnbull has massively fucked up the largest infrastructure project Australia has ever seen.
If the business community doesn’t get what it wants, then the honeymoon will definitely be over.
If the bottom 20% on the socio-economic ladder get shat all over to achieve the former, then the honeymoon SHOULD be over!
But Mr Wonderful will have just about every journalist in the country agreeing with what ever the government does, so the latter seems more likely.
Outcome – proof that no one cares what happens to those on the bottom of the ladder, and the honeymoon will continue.
Go figure!!
The phrase would be more accurate as ‘beware of gifts bearing Greeks’ and the current gifthorse with T Rex teeth is the relief of the Abbottrocity’s absence.
The flesh rending will begin if SilverMal does not deliver what the BigAr$ed end of town demands.
Read the label.