The official line on Dan Tehan’s Sunday morning attack on Daniel Andrews, and his subsequent humiliating withdrawal of it, is that the education minister spoke out of turn and was told to pull his head in by an anguished Scott Morrison. That story was quickly briefed out to journalists in the wake of Tehan using Insiders to attack Andrews for a “failure of leadership” and taking a sledgehammer to education.
The alternative version is that Morrison and his office put Tehan up to it, but the ensuing backlash forced them to throw Tehan under a bus — especially with news of a school infection in Victoria emerging, with immaculate timing, shortly after Tehan delivered his spray.
It’s perfectly possible both versions are correct, though — Tehan was encouraged to give the Victorians a touch-up, but went too far, especially when he got personal and attacked Andrews, who remains popular with Victorians despite his ludicrously draconian lockdown measures.
Either way, it’s clear that politicians are chafing under the political equivalent of the lockdown. For two months, politicians have had to suspend normal partisanship. First ministers have had to work together with their counterparts from different parties in the rolling COAG meeting that is “national cabinet”.
The lack of parliamentary sittings has removed a key forum for political dispute. Opposition frontbenchers have had to walk a fine line between holding the government to account and needless whingeing; in any event, the spotlight is on those making decisions, not on alternative leaders.
The success of Australia in suppressing infection rates has further muted criticism. There’s been more hostility coming from op-ed columns than from political opposite numbers.
Like the rest of us, some politicians have evidently been itching to get back to business as usual, and end this enforced and unnatural period of bipartisanship and good will. But there’s been a dearth of contested issues over which to argue. Schools have thus been shoehorned into other ideological issues: the role of unions, and the perceived need to get the economy moving again versus total risk-aversion toward infection.
Gladys Berejiklian couldn’t resist the urge to criticise education unions, suggesting the NSW Teachers Federation wanted to keep children at home indefinitely. The attack was straight from the Liberals’ anti-union playbook, but there was also an element of truth in her accusation.
If politicians have struggled with refraining from normal politicking, so have teacher unions. The NSW Teachers Federation has constantly criticised Berejiklian throughout the crisis, and attacked proposals for a return of students; other state unions have campaigned for parents to keep their children at home in defiance of advice from health experts.
The Victorian teachers’ union used the crisis to, predictably, demand more funding. Scott Morrison was attacked by teachers for “devaluing” them, for noting that people were going to work in supermarkets, where the risks of infection are much greater.
The continued lockdown-versus-economic-growth debate has also settled into a traditional ideological divide: by and large — though not without exceptions — the right wants an end to lockdown because of the economic impact (and Freedom!) while the left wants continued lockdown because every life is important (and Science!).
Meantime the science behind the open schools debate has become increasingly murky, with the key study on which the government and open-schools advocates relying on increasingly disputed both by other studies and evidence of classroom infections and repeated instances of school closures.
But that’s also countered by evidence of the impacts on children, especially those from more disadvantaged backgrounds, from missing school or online learning for an extended period. And hundreds of thousands of kids across the country actually want to go back to school.
Tehan’s brain snap suggests that careful consideration of the merits of competing studies is likely to give way to politicking and traditional ideological positioning on all sides, and just as soon as participants think they can get away with it. We’re still a few weeks shy of that point.
The most likely is that this minister, or those who pull his strings, decided to do a bit of Trumpian blame shifting then found out it didn’t play well with Australians.
The result was what he deserved.
Pathetic is it not?
Politicians seeking political gain over public interest – including public deaths.
Govt (LNP) organised Australian Nation . . . but totally inept, or devious, at organising themselves?
OPEN PARLIAMENT. TRANSPARENCY – ACCOUNTABILITY.
Tehan brain snap? Indeed. He has demonstrated time and time again that he does not have the intellect to be a Government Minister. He is as dumb as a Wuhan bat poo.
Tehan doesn`t have a brain to snap, he comes across as a banjo-playing hillbilly from the deep south every time he opens his mouth.
I loved the length of the pause between the rant and the retraction.
Just long enough to take his foot out of his mouth.
… And Morrison’s foot?
Out of his ar*e!
Pontifical uselessness here or by Morrison or by Tehan is irritating. Tehan is useless, deficient, a blot, a laughing stock to make us cringe; he should be minister for Ignorance. Berejiklian the muppetty misfit is widely regarded by supporters as a temporary crutch, hardly better than her repulsive predecessors. This virus plague is making some think more, others speak more, with little good being done easily; few agree on any or every measure or lack of it. Like everyone, I have ideas as they arise on issues for decision, but.., who hasn’t?
You want pontifical uselessness?
Keane always delivers.
We have too many in government, in office, in conservative ranks, in finance, banking, retail, mining, advertising, media and online exaggerated bullshit who are not worth a pustule of pig’s pox. Our future on this one planet, our at large home, is threatened by the extreme greedy stupidity of those who selfishly wield power and indulge in blinkered self focus, wilful egotistical self lubricating enlargement, and sheer greed.
Gladys Berejiklian is top value in my observation, which is from the ACT. She proved that, among other occasions, with her leadership during fires. Daniel Andrews and Gladys showed us how bad the Feds are. It is/was not Hawaii that exposed Mr Morrison; his thinking and that, such as it is, of his government is just deficient. Now they are mimicking and repeating Trump’s election campaign: why support a foreign leader’s campaign: any foreign leader? as for abusing China that reflects their 19thC thinking which produced the invasion of China and it is shameful that Australian poliiticians are still being condescending to the Chinese. China and its people deserve our deepest, sincerest admiration and respect. We should tolerate what we disapprove of and admire their many grand achievements. An old saying about the plank in my eye comes to mind. Or, we are not perfect, we Aussies.
This Federal government is really really bad and as been so for the last seven years. I feel nothing but contempt for Morrison and his bunch of dead wood. He is as shifty as a shit house rat and as dangerous as a Wuhan bat. I don’t trust him for one minute.
I’ve always (like 40 years) been critical of the value of the states and have always thought we should abolish them. I have now changed my mind. I have seen the light.
All the states and all their leaders have done a fantastic job during the bushfire/pandemic episodes. But sure, there have been mistakes along the way. Dan and Gladys in particular have been the real leaders of our country during this time. Thank god we have states
So keep up the good work Premiers – we need you.
What we also need soon is a federal election. This government can’t be allowed to be in charge of the path out of this. Contrary to what some think, they have stuffed up many aspects of the pandemic response very badly. That’s another post….
Tell you what, Bernard, if the current lockdown measures are so needlessly draconian, then why hasn’t parliament resumed yet? If its safe for front-line workers to return to normal, than what makes our MP’s so special that they can stay on full-paid leave until August? Lead by example, I say.
I suppose Keane’s “predictably” implies that Victorian Teachers are, tediously, as usual, asking for more money for state schools and that the request can safely be ignored, simply because it’s been made before or because, obviously, government schools are clearly rolling in money; the only reason they’re not building huge libraries is that they can’t be bothered.
Victorian state schools are short of funding: the Education State teachers’ pay is the lowest in Australia; workloads have increased drastically over the past decade, to the extent for instance, that increases in student numbers per class, and numbers of students for whom teachers are responsible has greatly increased, with no increase in salaries or time allowances and increased incidence of teacher burnout and less teacher time available for each student. This has helped the government budget because the permanent teachers driven out can be replaced with graduate contract teachers whose insecure employment means they can be harassed, bullied and exploited without fear of complaint. Federal funding of course is directed to private schools who have the option of rejecting troublesome students, not to the government schools which educate them.
Regardless of all this, the AEU in Victoria has conspired in these reductions in teachers’ working conditions so if they are saying more money is needed, things must really be bad.
Honestly, I don’t see why Keane doesn’t count himself among the union bashers: he seems to do a pretty good job of it. Is Crikey becoming more right-wing these days or is this just my imagination?
In answer to your closing question; Nup.
I dunno, I’m seeing more third partying of unions as being something other than the workers, and some pretty reliably right wing anti-union tropes and rhetoric.