I’m taking another dig at Canberra today, but let me make one thing clear. I’m not taking sides. If you’ve followed my blogs you’ll know I’ve made equal use of my left and right boot. My agenda is two-fold. 1. I’m a shit-stirrer and I like to take shots at people in power when I think they deserve it. 2. Our ‘fair and equal’ democracy is an illusion, and the better we understand that the better we can take the power we need into our own hands…
It was a funny week in politics (which was nice because sometimes I think the best thing to come out of Canberra is the comedy).
And the government PR whizzes and spin-doctors must be throwing their hands up in despair. The Liberal party seemed hell-bent on painting itself as the party of top-hats, horse-drawn carriages, and class-based entitlement this week. They’re their own worst enemy (though I guess it’s lucky someone’s taken that job on. The Labor party are as ineffective in opposition as they were in government).
First up was the Attorney-General (effectively the top law man in the country), saying that “people do have a right to be bigots, you know.”
It was one of those rare unscripted moments. When a politician was speaking freely, and off-the-cuff.
Bad idea.
The point he was trying to make is actually something I’d agree with. That is, some people believe things you don’t like. Part and parcel of living in a free country is that sometimes you have to hear about it, and you should put up with it.
But context is everything. And when you’re trying to unwind legislation against vilification (having ideas is one thing, using those ideas to hurt people is another) it’s not a good look. Even more so when the motivation for unwinding the protections is because Andrew Bolt found himself on the wrong side of the law.
If you’re looking for a poster-boy for free speech, a champion for people to rally around, Andrew Bolt isn’t it.
And so it was into this context that Brandis’ unscripted comments slipped out. But you don’t get a second chance in politics. Labor saw the gaffe for what is was, fired word down from the Senate to the House of Reps, and Tanya Plibersek was then asking the PM if he agreed with his attorney general that people have a right to be bigots.
And with that, the ‘framing’ was set in stone. The legislation was now completely about defending people’s (especially rich, white radio shock-jock’s) right to be bigots.
It’s hardly a glorious cause. There’s no public support for bigotry. No Royal Society for the Protection of Bigots.
The Coalition saw the writing was on the wall. They could either set themselves up as the champions of bigots everywhere (not a great look), or they could roll over.
They rolled over.
Ah politics. Another triumph of style over substance.
They also rolled over (at least temporarily) on the FOFA (Future of Financial Advice) reforms, for similar image issues I reckon.
I’ve written about these appalling reforms before, here. Basically, the original legislation removed conflicted remuneration from financial advice. The government planned to bring it back.
So basically, if you went to a financial advisor, and they said they were giving you general (rather than personal) advice, then they could flog you any crap they were getting commissions on, and wouldn’t have to tell you about it.
The banks pay their “distribution arms” (as they call them) a cut on any products they sell. So your advisor’s getting your money, but he’s also getting paid by the banks to sell their products.
You can see the “conflict”.
Imagine you take your car to a mechanic. He tells you that, generally speaking, you need a new radiator. He doesn’t tell you that this week he’s getting a 20% cut on every radiator he sells.
If it’s not criminal its certainly unethical. In financial planning, it’s standard practice.
Now I’ve been pretty hard on financial advisors in these blogs. But I’ve got to tip my hat to the Financial Planning Association. Their Head, Matthew Rowe, was on the ABC during the week saying that they rejected conflicted remuneration, and that the government’s reforms were a “retrograde step” that weren’t “in the best interests of consumers.”
Bravo Matthew.
Now there’s 18,000 financial planners in Australia. 10,000 are FPA members. That means there’s still at least 8,000 dodgy bastards out there.
But if the FPA was against it, who was for it?
The banks.
It pretty much looked like the banks wrote the draft changes themselves. They want to protect their ‘distribution arms’.
But the changes were put on ice this week. Why? Because they were being driven by Arthur Sinidonis, who’s since had to step down to answer some pretty serious questions at a corruption inquiry (about his links to some corrupt Labor MPs! – see what I mean?).
Corrupt minister ignores consumers’ best interest to push through reforms that favour the banks.
Again, awkward.
Another awkward moment that went pretty much unnoticed in the week, was the appointment of the ‘international advisory board’ to the Murray banking inquiry.
I’ve noted before how ridiculous it is to have the former head of the CBA heading an inquiry into banking. You don’t put alcoholics on the liquor licensing board. The international appointments raise the same eyebrows.
Chief among them is former Westpac CEO David Morgan (what a fresh perspective he’ll bring), and CEO of Convertible Quantitative Strategies, Sir Michale Hintze.
Who?
Well Banking Day, that radical leftie rag, had this to say about him.
Michael Hintze… provided £3.7 million in funding to the Tories, including donations and soft loans between 2005 and 2011. He earned the sobriquet “Godfather of Tory donations” from one Labour MP.
The MP, John Mann, was quoted in the Daily Mail in 2011 asserting that Hintze was “putting his money behind the key people in the party very deliberately. People never give money for nothing. They want something in return, they want influence.”
Michael Hintze is a hedge fund boss and where he wants influence is over financial regulation,” Mann alleged.
Sounds like a great choice for the job. Eminently qualified.
And all this in the week where Tony reintroduced the cute, antiquated notion of Knights and Dames.
Champions of the banks, the bigots and the landed gentry..?
How are they going to spin this one?
Robert Dyson says
Abbott now thinks he is Kevin Rudd in that the Knights & Dames thing seems to be decision making made without party consultation.
Tom says
Robert, You have hit the nail on the head!!! But it’s not only in his recent dictatorial decision making, that he has been ignoring any Cabinet discussion!!! All those stupid, awkward policy decisions made while in Opposition were sudden, ill-thought-out, completely private, off-the-cuff “thought bubbles” made by Tony, on his own, on the run, without any consultation in the Party Room (or even in Cabinet). With the Leader of the Opposition having irresponsibly shot his mouth off in public, the rest of the Party had a fait accompli situation on their hands. In order to regain the Government benches, they had to appear united. Their leader, their megalomaniac, autocrat, “Misogynist trying to hide his flawed character, by over-reacting” tyrant had drummed into them that no hint of dissension would be tolerated. He continually bullied them all into submission – grown adults cowering before him!! It makes one cringe to think that they are now the Government – YES Prime Minister!!!” (It was a breath of fresh air to hear George shoot his mouth off. It seems he may not be totally a lap dog!!!) So in the interests of perceived unity, they all had to fall in behind the guy whom they had elected as a temporary, sacrificial, stop-gap leader, for the first few hard years of the anticipated long road back – remember how they had been changing their leader each time they washed their underpants? They’d do the same with Tony after a couple of terms in Opposition. The “real” leader would be appointed when the coast looked clear, away down the track. Evidently, they had underestimated the potential effectiveness of John’s Doberman attack dog.
Now Poor old Joe, who earlier had thought he would be in the top job by this stage, has the unenviable job of trying to fund all those indiscreet promises. Having pilloried Julia for saying, prior to the election, that “There will be no Carbon Tax under a (Labour) Government I lead”, Tony knew that he would not be able to use John’s convenient distinction between “core & non-core promises”!!!
Incidentally, the political commentators, led by Murdoch’s lackeys, conveniently forgot about the circumstances under which Julia’s statement had been made. The Opposition were gloating over their success at having defeated the Government’s efforts to introduce a Carbon Trading Scheme (CTS) and they goaded Julia, saying that instead of continuing with the more complex CTS, she would lower her sights and settle for a much simpler “Carbon Tax”. That was when she was forced to reiterate her insistence that she would not do that – rather, she would continue to bring in a CTS, as distinct from a Carbon Tax. The plan for the CTS had always had an introductory phase during which a price would be paid on Carbon, prior to the full “Trading” program. At that stage, Julia was not anticipating any accord with the Greens, who subsequently would force her into extending that introductory period. Julia’s subsequent failure to prevent that initial phase of the CTS from being publicly referred to as a “Carbon Tax” probably cost her her job. Now, we wait with bated breath for the Government hatchet men to stick their knives into Julia over her involvement with a Union slush fund. I’m sure they are still out to get her – and drag her reputation through the mud. Their spleen knows no bounds. They are the Party born to rule. It’s their birthright!!!
Lacking any original policies or real plans for the nation, (of their own), they need the smoke screen of tearing down anything associated with Julia’s Labour Government. The sooner they stop being so petty and get out of their “Opposition Mindset”, the better for the poor old citizens who pay their salaries. We desperately need an effective, visionary Government, But I’m not holding my breath. They’ll just sit on their hands, Paying for Tony’s intemperate promises, while blaming their predecessors for their own lack of ideas and drive. John had long held visions of introducing the GST & Work Choices. Tony has nothing!!! He is an attack dog, not a real leader. He is in the position by default. It is not only women missing from the Cabinet – It is ideas as well!!! Any hint of any idea is quickly quashed because, firstly, only the Big Bully is allowed to have ideas, (and everybody must appear hold on to that perceived unity); and secondly, because of Tony’s spending commitments and his getting rid of so much Tax revenue, Joe cannot afford to spend. Unfortunately, in their eyes, the success of a Government is measured solely by the fiscal statistics. The well-being of the cultural nation, of the poor of the nation, of the magnanimity of our nation towards those suffering all play very minor roles and are beaten into insignificance by an obsession to produce a surplus. Had Joe been Treasurer during the GFC, we would undoubtedly have gone into recession. No doubt about it!!! It’s very unfortunate that Labour was so profligate. Whereas things were handed out for free, most of the public would have been quite prepared to go 50/50 on the cost, or receive say a $200 subsidy towards roof insulation. I’m sure the Treasury could have suggested reasonable Government contributions, which would have stimulated the economy without such massive national borrowings. We do not expect Government handouts – but we’re quite prepared to accept them when we can. It would be foolish to reject them.
All that time in Opposition, was completely squandered by the Coalition . They could have had their back room boys and think tanks designing policy for developing the nation. As Labour has said, they had plans for getting into Government, but no plans for governing. Only now are they getting research done – to report back away in the future. Instead of planning, they relied on Tony to blurt out some half-baked thought-bubbles, at a chocolate factory or during some of his many fluoro & hard-hat photo ops. I for one am very disappointed with both mobs. As my sister complained just prior to the recent Tassie election, “What a choice!!!” Is adversarial party politics the only viable model? Born leaders and good managers can do so much better for themselves in business – so they leave Politics to those with less in the way of mental endowments.
Mel says
Great observations Tom! 😉
Attack-Dog-Abbott only ever cared about having the letters “PM” installed after his name. Now that he has to be the “grown up”, the best ideas he can fetch are buying planes & playing Knights & Dames (our own born-to-rule “Game of Drones”?.. 😀 ) while cancelling every forward-planning educational & scientific mechanism in the country. Economically, we are told we’re hanging by a thread & it will be a tough-budget road ahead, right guys?
You know, because we just CAN’T AFFORD to have nice things, Australia…
…Except for DOZENS of semi-useless strike fighter jets – because every broke-budget-emergency-crisis-failing economy NEEDS those, at the cost of billions of dollars that we CAN apparently afford – as long as your Grandma doesn’t need a pension, or aged care in future!..
Tighten those belts, Commoners & Peasants – Joe & Tony need you to fund their CONservative interests & their big, new, shiny, war-toys!
#LNPfiscalfailure
Jack says
I caught up with the new series of Robin Hood on one of the free to air stations, as I watched the new Sheriff of Nottingham all I could think of was Tony Rabbott, his favourite past time is cutting people’s hands off. Robin Hood reminded me of little Billy the Younger(Robin will be turning in his grave).
I was addicted to Robin Hood back in the 60’s Richard Greene was so good.
I can’t wait to see Friar Tuck in the next episode, I hope he reminds me Of Clive the Fatter and Little John, I hope he reminds me of Pyne the Whiner(I just couldn’t see him or Joe Hockey as Sr Guy of Gisbourne) a nasty piece of work, on second thoughts that is Pyne the Poodle. Maid Marion was Julie Bishop to a tee, she gave Robin some absolute death stares, but I’m sure they’ll be making up soon much against Sir Guy’s malevolant lustful intentions.
I hope you were able to follow, Sunday arvo’s about 2pm, tune in and see who you can see, I just remembered Allan O’Dale is very Barnaby.
jack says
THE LNP are an ignorant rable of a joke, Tony Rabbott is even dumber and more ignorant, he makes Pyne the Whiner looking positively Rapier like. Malcolm has morphed into a GUTLESS wonder.
Tony Rabbott will go down as our worst PM ever; unless Putin or Dame Gina somehow came to power, what a double that would be?
Perish the thought.
More power to Clive the Fatter.
Peter says
Jack,your analytical powers are obviously non-existent.The rabble always amuse me when they can’t handle words with more than one syllable ,
Ken. says
Peter, talk about the pot calling the kettle black. You are obviously an LNP and understand him quite well or you wouldn’t get so upset. Everyone is entitled to his opinion without acting like a fascist.
Peter says
Tom and Ken,whos’ upset? With the unbelievable drivel coming from you two following the disgrace of Rudd the duddd,and little Miss Pinochinose,it will take Tony twice as long to fix the mess than it took Howard and Costello to un Whitlamise the country.
Ken says
The difference in Labor and Liberal, is the way they raise revenue. One lot distributes the Countries wealth to the most needy. The other distributes it to the least needy, full stop. Like the 2nd last Lib Gov’s Treasurer, Costello, Treasurer tried in vain to save up pensioner’s increases, to fund their own retirement super. But that great man Keven Rudd got in and up set the Apple cart. Even Laurie Oakes admitted K.R. saved us from the G.F.C. By the way, Whitlem was the best P.M. Australia has ever had, but anyone would be wasting their time arguing with a Coach of an opposing team.
Tom says
Small thing AMUSE small minds!!!
Erdogan says
You seem to be very well opiniated with in some cases with limited knowledge or information. I quote your wording here:
“Now there’s 18,000 financial planners in Australia. 10,000 are FPA members. That means there’s still at least 8,000 dodgy bastards out there.”
Do you mean, if you are a member to FPA, you are not a dodgy planner. This is non sense. Majority of FPA members are employed by banks. FPA is a membership association and not a regulator. ASIC is the regulator. Please do your homework before making sweeping statements.
Good luck
Ralph Berry says
That’s only partly right Erdogan, The FPA insist that their membership do not accept leading or trailing percentages for products they recommend. This means that you have a better chance of not being ripped off by an FPA member. That said there will always be people out there trying to get your money away from you so trust but verify is the name of the game.
Eileen says
Erdogan, you’re funny!
I heard a very interesting discussion on the radio one evening about financial planners. They tend to give ‘middle of the road’ advice, so that you won’t make as much money as you could have done, (with riskier investments) but you won’t lose too much either.
If you shop around for another advisor, (or compare with advice your friends may have been given) there won’t be too much difference in the outcomes. That way you think your guy’s doing okay, (as does your friend).
Let’s face it, it’s all a gamble and some people are willing to take more risks. If you’re that kind of person, then you should be given that advice, (ie; riskier investments) and if not, then the lower risk option may be for you.
jan says
You covered every point perfectly – I just hope the Libs are reading this – and taking note
Jack says
OK, arrest me for speed typing and not checking my typing, I’ll put more pressure on the second syllable from now on.
You Peter need to get a life, are you from the LNP??? ROFLMAO
Peter says
Jack,I know you lead with your Left.I’m a southpaw.Nothing wrong with the life I’ve had pal…
Luke says
People have a lot to say about politics. Both parties are as bad as each other… But it is easy to find faults in both sides of the argument, that’s why journos have a lot of material… And people are influenced by the media
Four times bitten five times shy. says
I’ve discovered a fail safe way of how to become a millionaire, and I offer it to all out there for the price of a brass razoo.
So how do you become a millionaire?
Well first of all you make yourself into a multi-millionaire, and then you entrust you wealth into the hands of a financial planner.
And then just wait.
Trust them like you’d trust a politician!
Ken. says
To anyone believing a newspaper’s head lines. A moron is someone who can’t read between the lines of a newspaper. Politicians in particular when in power. What’s the bet the present Qld. and Feds only last one round.
Andrew says
You bag the politicians…. completely fairly, as they are and will always be a rabble in it for nothing but personal gain and the right to tell people how to live their lives.
Yet you trust them to make laws around free speech. No laws will do just fine for me thanks.