Holding Our MPs Accountable because if the NACC Won’t, We Will

Join Us in Assessing MPs with AI Tools & the 8 Mechanisms of Moral Disengagement. Starting with Case Study 1: Tim Wilson

By Sue Barrett  

1. How can we effectively hold our elected representatives accountable for their actions?
2. What evidence can we use to verify that our MPs will honour their campaign promises?
3. How can we evaluate whether an MP’s words translate into tangible actions for their constituents?
4. What signs can help us identify when an MP might be misleading us or feigning concern?
5. How can we ensure our representatives prioritise community needs over personal or vested interests?
6. What tools or methods can empower us to monitor our MPs’ performance consistently?
7. How do we address discrepancies between an MP’s public statements and their voting records?

These questions are critical for ensuring integrity in politics, and this article, my first post in collaboration with Goldstein Watch and Democracy Watch, invites you to join us in answering them. If the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) won’t do its job properly, let’s step up and do it for them.

By using AI-driven prompts (see below), including Albert Bandura’s eight mechanisms of moral disengagement, we can empower communities to scrutinise their elected representatives and leaders – local, state, and federal.

I encourage everyone to share this widely on platforms like X, Bluesky, FB, Insta, linking to @democracywatchau.bsky.social and @DemWatchAU, and to invite public input to build a movement for transparency.

Below is a set of useful AI prompts anyone can use to assess their elected representatives, followed by a case study on Tim Wilson.

Useful AI Prompts for Assessing Your MP

Here are some effective AI prompts to evaluate your elected representative’s integrity and performance. You can input these into any AI tool (like Grok) with details about your representative’s actions, statements, or voting records:

• General Integrity Assessment Prompt:
  “Analyse the following statements and actions of [MP’s name] from [date range] to assess their commitment to public interest versus personal or party gain. Provide a breakdown of transparency, consistency with campaign promises, and evidence of self-interest. Highlight any red flags.”
• Policy Impact Analysis Prompt:
  “Evaluate the impact of [MP’s name]’s support or opposition to [specific policy, e.g., tax reforms] on constituents versus wealthy stakeholders. Use available data to determine if outcomes align with their electorate’s needs or favour specific interest groups.”
• Albert Bandura’s 8 Mechanisms of Moral Disengagement Prompt:
  “Assess [MP’s name]’s public statements and actions from [date range] using Albert Bandura’s eight mechanisms of moral disengagement: moral justification, euphemistic labelling, advantageous comparison, displacement of responsibility, diffusion of responsibility, distortion of consequences, dehumanisation, and attribution of blame. Rate each mechanism out of 100 (low score = high disengagement, high score = strong engagement) and provide an overall score, explaining how these mechanisms may indicate unethical behaviour or misrepresentation.”
• Community Engagement Prompt:
  “Review [MP’s name]’s engagement with constituents on [specific issue, e.g., housing] from [date range]. Assess frequency, responsiveness, and whether actions reflect community priorities or deflect responsibility to others.”

These prompts allow you to gather evidence, rate performance, and share findings with others. Let’s collectively hold our elected representatives accountable. Start by testing these with your local representatives at the Local, State, and Federal levels of government.

Case Study 1: Tim Wilson – Unveiling True Intentions Post-Election

Tim Wilson, the reinstated Liberal MP for Goldstein, and his distant cousin Geoff Wilson, a prominent fund manager, have swiftly reunited to oppose Labor’s superannuation tax reforms since his narrow May 2025 victory over Zoe Daniel (by a 175 margin or 88 votes after a recount). This focus on superannuation, targeting accounts over $3 million, is the most obvious area where Wilson’s true intentions have emerged post-election.

His June 19, 2025, X post about impending taxes on family trusts and electric vehicle drivers frames these reforms as threats without evidence, echoing his 2019 franking credit campaign. Recent X activity shows him soliciting donations to fight Labor’s changes, even during the recount, signalling a rapid shift to financial self-interest.

Wilson’s election promises – safer communities, affordable housing, and dropping inflation – appeared designed to win votes rather than deliver results. Since reclaiming Goldstein, he’s prioritised fundraising and opposing tax reforms, with little mention of these election promises. His LinkedIn posts promote economic battles over local needs, and his overreach into the finance portfolio, despite it not being his domain, continues to stir Liberal friction. Other post-election concerns include his silence on cost-of-living pressures and climate action, with superannuation remaining the clearest example of his agenda.

Wilson’s current shadow portfolios as Shadow Minister for Small Business, Industrial Relations, and Employment offer scope for broader engagement. While he promotes small business through free-market advocacy (e.g. past AFR columns) and has a ‘background’ in employment oversight (e.g., leading the Economics Committee), specific 2025 actions are limited. His interest in climate/energy (e.g. net-zero by 2050, PhD on carbon credit futures) and home ownership (#homefirstsupersecond) persists, but these are overshadowed by his superannuation focus.

Mechanisms of Moral Disengagement: Rating Tim Wilson

Definition: Moral disengagement refers to the psychological process where individuals, including politicians, justify or rationalise unethical behaviour to avoid feelings of guilt or taking responsibility. In the context of assessing elected representatives, it involves tactics such as downplaying the harm of their actions (e.g. misrepresenting tax reforms), shifting blame to others (e.g. government policies), or using vague language to obscure intent (e.g. “family savings tax”). Albert Bandura’s eight mechanisms: moral justification, euphemistic labelling, advantageous comparison, displacement of responsibility, diffusion of responsibility, distortion of consequences, dehumanisation, and attribution of blame, help us identify when an MP might be disconnecting their actions from ethical standards, making it a vital tool for evaluating their integrity and accountability.

Using Bandura’s eight mechanisms, we rate Wilson out of 100 (low scores indicate high moral disengagement, high scores reflect strong engagement) based on his public actions post the 2025-election:

• Moral Justification (20/100): Framing tax reforms as attacks on savings lacks evidence, suggesting a self-serving narrative to protect wealth.
• Euphemistic Labelling (25/100): Using “family savings tax” softens the reality of targeting tax loopholes, obscuring intent.
• Advantageous Comparison (30/100): Comparing reforms to extreme outcomes deflects from their fairness, seen in his X posts.
• Displacement of Responsibility (20/100): Blaming Labor avoids accountability for his opposition’s vested interests.
• Diffusion of Responsibility (35/100): His campaign with Geoff dilutes individual culpability, evident in their joint efforts.
• Distortion of Consequences (25/100): Downplaying reform benefits ignores its potential to ease workers’ burdens, clear in his rhetoric.
• Dehumanisation (40/100): Portraying reform supporters as threats subtly dehumanises the debate, a subtle tone present.
• Attribution of Blame (20/100): Shifting fault to Labor sidesteps his role in opposing equitable taxation.

Overall Score: 27/100. This low score indicates significant moral disengagement, reflecting a pattern of prioritising personal and elite interests over community welfare.

Past Behaviour Predicts Future Behaviour

This assessment aligns with insights from my recent article, A Reflective Assessment of Goldstein’s MPs Through the Lens of Moral Disengagement (Election 2025 – Ethical Reflections on Our MPs – past and present – and Democratic Duty, May 10, 2025), which evaluated all Goldstein MPs including Tim Wilson. The article found Wilson’s past conduct, such as supporting Robodebt, shifting from renewables to nuclear energy, and using polarising rhetoric like “teal elites” during the 2025 campaign, consistently reflected low moral engagement, with mechanisms like moral justification and dehumanisation evident in his public records (e.g., The Canberra Times, 3 May 2025; The Australian, 20 April 2025). This pattern, contrasting with the high moral engagement of former Goldstein MPs like Ian Macphee and Zoe Daniel, suggests that Wilson’s current superannuation focus and fundraising efforts may foreshadow future prioritisation of personal or elite interests over Goldstein’s values of integrity, climate action, and equity, underscoring the need for ongoing vigilance.

The Paradox of Wealth and Need for Reform

Frank Mols’ (@f_mols) research on the paradox of wealth highlights how affluent individuals, like the Wilsons, resist taxation reforms despite benefiting from societal stability, driven by perceived entitlement. Kos Samaras argues a wealth-based tax system could transform Australia, shifting burdens from workers to asset holders and securing loyalty among younger generations locked out of prosperity. This aligns with Labor’s hinted reforms, as detailed in a June 21, 2025, Guardian article (accessed at 10:07 AM AEST today), where Treasurer Jim Chalmers signals changes to family trusts and superannuation to fund income tax cuts and bolster the federal budget.

Wilson’s Recent Moves and Goldstein’s Future

Since his May 2025 victory, Wilson has used LinkedIn to rally against tax changes and appeared at the AEC recount, prompting local scrutiny. His X posts frame him as a Goldstein champion while fundraising aggressively, yet his focus remains on wealth preservation, not local issues. This disconnect fuels calls for more oversight, linking his actions to broader integrity concerns tracked by Democracy Watch.

Critical Perspective

Wilson’s heavy emphasis on superannuation, a non-shadow portfolio issue, raises questions about whether he’s leveraging it for personal or political gain rather than addressing his designated responsibilities. His past overreach (e.g. franking credits inquiry breaches) and current fundraising efforts suggest a pattern of prioritising issues that resonate with wealthy constituents or ideological allies, potentially neglecting broader electorate needs like small business support or employment stability.

The lack of visible action in his shadow roles could indicate either a strategic delay or a focus on leadership ambitions (e.g. leadership tilt in May 2025), as noted in media speculation. In summary, while Wilson promotes small business, industrial relations, employment, climate/energy, and home ownership to some extent, his post-2025 election activity is dominated by superannuation opposition. His shadow portfolio work appears underdeveloped in public discourse, suggesting a selective focus that may not fully serve his Goldstein constituents.

A Call for Transparency and Fairness

The Wilsons’ tactics in misrepresenting reforms and leveraging personal gain undermine public trust. Labor’s tax reform push, building on Ken Henry’s 2009 review and Allegra Spender’s white paper, aims to address structural deficits and inequity. As the Guardian warns, vested interests like the Wilsons will mount a vicious backlash.

Australians deserve a tax system that prioritises fairness, not privilege. It’s time to hold Tim and Geoff Wilson accountable for their devious strategies and advocate for a generational shift in taxation policy, starting with community-led assessments of our representatives.

You are welcome to share this via @democracywatchau.bsky.social and @DemWatchAU platforms and any other platforms, tagging local media and MPs. Encourage readers to rate their MPs using the provided prompts, fostering a grassroots integrity movement. This data-driven critique can drive political accountability and support fair reform.

You know what to do.

Onward we press.

About Democracy Watch

Democracy Watch is a citizen-led initiative dedicated to ensuring Australia’s elected representatives including Federal MPs, Senators, State & Local representatives, deliver on community priorities: integrity, climate action, equity, common good, cost of living, and social cohesion. At its core, it uses Albert Bandura’s eight mechanisms of moral disengagement to objectively assess representatives’ actions, exposing rationalisations of unethical behaviour without bias. Through active scrutiny, we can maintain transparent, evidence-based records of current elected representatives’ votes, statements, and engagement, alongside historical records of past representatives. Democracy Watch unites communities through inclusive engagement, empowering diverse groups including youth, seniors, multicultural communities, to participate in oversight. As a scalable model, it provides a blueprint for electorate-specific “Watch” initiatives (e.g., Goldstein Watch), fostering a national movement for transparent, accountable democracy.

Core Principles

• Objective Scrutiny: Apply Bandura’s eight moral disengagement mechanisms to monitor current elected representatives and assess past representatives’ records, ensuring impartial alignment with community values.
• Transparency: Maintain clear, accessible records of current and past terms, exposing moral disengagement or electoral irregularities with evidence-based clarity.
• Inclusivity: Engage diverse communities to ensure scrutiny reflects all voices, uniting electorates around shared goals.
• Accountability: Demand that current representatives meet residents and answer for their actions, while holding past MPs and Senators accountable through historical records.
• Scalability: Create a replicable framework for all 150 electorates to adopt, driving systemic change across Australia.

Outcomes

• Transparent, real-time records of current elected representatives’ performance, assessed for moral disengagement, informing voters for future elections (e.g., 2028).
• A historical archive of past representatives’ records, objectively evaluated for ethical conduct, enabling long-term representation trends.
• United communities empowered to shape democracy through inclusive, bias-free scrutiny.
• Systemic electoral reforms (e.g., real-time donation disclosure) driven by citizen-led inquiries.
• A national network of “Watch” initiatives across all 150 electorates, amplifying objective accountability.

More details coming soon.

This article was originally published on Sue Barrett

Also by Sue Barrett:

 

Dear reader, we need your support

Independent sites such as The AIMN provide a platform for public interest journalists. From its humble beginning in January 2013, The AIMN has grown into one of the most trusted and popular independent media organisations.

One of the reasons we have succeeded has been due to the support we receive from our readers through their financial contributions.

With increasing costs to maintain The AIMN, we need this continued support.

Your donation – large or small – to help with the running costs of this site will be greatly appreciated.

You can donate through PayPal or credit card via the button below, or donate via bank transfer: BSB: 062500; A/c no: 10495969