Just three years ago, the Liberal National Party occupied the seats of the Australian Parliament with an extraordinarily gifted ministry, with university parchments and accolades proudly adorning the walls of their offices.
Leading this remarkable group were three Rhodes Scholars: Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull, and Angus Taylor, alongside two ministers from Oxford – George Brandis QC and Josh Frydenberg, who also held a master’s from Harvard. The impressive roster included seven MBAs, two MPAs, and four PhDs, with additional qualifications from Cambridge and Yale. Notably, Christian Porter stood out with four degrees as a backbencher.
Among their ranks, three were medical doctors, including Dr. David Gillespie, a gastroenterologist and farmer. The diversity was further enriched by teachers, bankers, journalists, engineers, and skilled tradespeople, showcasing real-world experience in stark contrast to the Labor benches filled with union officials and political consultants.
Angus Taylor, a prominent figure among the new MPs of 2013, came from a farming family in Nimmitabel and had a successful career as a management consultant before starting his own business.
With at least 30 lawyers and five ex-police officers like Jason Wood, who served in organised crime and counter-terrorism, the government was well-equipped with individuals of notable competence.
When we consider the Abbott government’s early challenges, it’s essential to recognise the high calibre of those on its benches – dedicated servants of the public driven by a genuine desire to make a difference. Except “the times, they were changing,” and conservative parties worldwide were moving further to the right, and these men were moving with it.
Despite the educational assemblage, they failed badly in their governance. Not only did they fail, but they achieved very little in societal transformation except for creating division in the community. The supposed brains, led by Abbott, were defeated because they were also Luddites. Extraordinary transformations were always beyond them because change never flowed in their blood. Climate change is but one example. Look where it has gotten them. Now, they are just a bunch of hacks with meaningless qualifications.
Since then, we have seen an exodus of those sympathetic to change in their party. Those of the middle ground within the LNP still saw the need for a government with a Menzies soft touch for the common good.
However, the move to the far right started overseas with the advent of Ronald Reagan, who saw a faith-based society and Margaret Thatcher, who saw only individuals making their way.
Inevitably, even predictably, Australian conservatives followed the far-right down the road of American conventional blindness, indoctrinating its citizens with lies, division, racism and immigration. Those in the Liberal ranks who still held the Liberal values of Menzies eventually gave way to the right-wing persuasiveness of Howard, Abbott, Morrison, and now Dutton, completing a swing to the far-right of conservative values that they have divided the nation and the conservative parties.
The loss to the party of people of a more temperate persuasion would be just as predictable and inevitable. Turnbull, Fletcher, Birmingham, Leesor, Reynolds, Entsch, Coulton, Ramsay and Gillespie, Alexander, Andrews, Drum, Hunt. Irons, Smith and Porter were moderates to some degree or another.
This particular form of conservative transformation should not be confused with the tumultuous brand of change advocated by Donald Trump. His methodology embodies a dramatic distortion, best described as a chaotic fusion of authoritarianism, amplified by a powerful surge of modern-day narcissism, all delivered with his unmistakable flair and fervent zeal.
Nevertheless, what emerges from American politics usually stands at the urinal of our Parliament House toilets, prostrating itself into our form of the body politic and whatever is leaked generally comes to pass.
Tony Abbott, when he came to be leader of the Liberal Party, allegedly said (and I paraphrase); “It’s not the system which is the problem; it’s the people who inhabit it occasionally.”
He implied that Labor was devoid of any real advantages, relying solely on a cadre of advisors, ex-unionists, and researchers, accompanied by a host of bureaucratic figures. This assembly was merely a reflection of the LNP’s own line-up, lacking the vibrant support and grassroots strength needed to truly compete.
I’m discussing specific changes in a general sense here, but because it has many faces, it’s impossible to do so.
Allow me to put it this way: We often rebel against change, clinging to the comforting illusions that offer us a sense of security. In our quest for stability, we mistakenly believe we can freeze moments in time, hoping to preserve what brings us comfort. Yet, the truth we must confront is that change is woven into the very essence of our lives, an indelible thread that shapes our experiences and drives our evolution.
Continued tomorrow …
My thought for the day
Often substantial and beneficial change comes with short-term controversy, but the pain is worth it for long-term prosperity.
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The Australian conservative politicians mentioned herein are not gifted at all in applying some learning and training, with experience and a sense of judgement, to the tasks as required, not much at all. One must be better, not indulgently fantasisingly self romancing and self awarding. In reality, they were up to shit usually, but no-one could have told them the truth. Posing, hearing their echoed wonderful offerings, just being magnificent in pose and in voice, this lot failed all, them, the duty.
Well, John one change that has rippled through the Conservative ranks since the spawning of Dutton is the policy brainfart, be it a referendum to empower politicians to strip dual citizens of their Australian citizenship to facilitate removal from the ‘wide brown land’. Or a barely thought through nuclear rollout that nobody can come to terms with due to a massive lack of pertinent information. Then there is the strident move to supermarket ‘divestment’ which nobody understands but which Dutton assures us will save ‘Mums & Dads’ from the vicious cost of living onslaught brought about by the Labor government.
If you thought it was convenient to buy a freshly baked baguette from Wollies or Coles or a bunch of flowers or a newspaper watch out as Spud decides whether this is market domination.
I was quite alarmed to hear this morning that as soon as the election is called (following the budget next week apparently) the Liberals will announce some ‘substantive’ policies which could mean that Spudley will promise an Australian on Mars during his first term; ideally Spud will be the astronaut selected.
Thanks Terry, something to think about. What might come next. A non thinking computer.