Behind the paywall

Greens by a head in the Silly Season Handicap

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STEPHEN LOOSLEY

11:00PM DECEMBER 28, 2021

The silly season is well and truly upon us and it’s that time of year when nonsense can easily trade in the media vacuum as being newsworthy. Fortunately, the Australian Greens have stepped up to the crease with all the elan of a tail-end English batsman.

The policy initiative in question is as simple as it is absurd. Ban horse racing, declare the Greens. An empty, bold statement which does little other than occupy the headlines.

This declaration says more about the Greens than it does about either horse racing or the electorate. They are narrow casters seeking to communicate with a sliver of the electorate of usually 10 to 12 per cent of voters. Not for the Greens is there ever a requirement to achieve an outright majority of voters. They reside comfortably on the periphery.

Green voters really deserve better.

It falls to the major parties – the Coalition and the ALP – to win majorities. Admittedly this is usually through the marshalling of preferences. However, the magic majority on the floor of the House of Representatives can only be won if the voters at least glimpse more than the occasional slogan or gesture of self-satisfaction.

This is one of the distinguishing realities in Australian politics. Unlike certain of their European counterparts, the Australian Greens are not a party of national government. Nor, by choice, are they likely to be.

As a matter of fact, precisely the same observation can be made about the rash of independents now appearing on the political landscape prior to the 2022 federal election. Overwhelmingly, they are figures of protest and posture.

Just ponder for a moment the impossibility of putting 80 independents – from One Nation and the United Australia Party to the Greens and other “jack-in-the-box” candidates – into an 80-seat majority in the House. As Bill Clinton might observe: “That dog won’t hunt.”

This is not to argue that third parties and independents do not have a certain value in our democratic system. They do, and by and large their presence in both byelections and general elections serves to punish the major parties when they lose contact with the electorate. Tony Abbott’s defeat in Warringah is confirmation of this basic truth.

Another classic example occurred just recently in the UK in a byelection in North Shropshire. This is a seat which has been held literally for centuries by the Tory Party. A combination of sleaze and illicit partying in and around 10 Downing Street caused the conservative vote to collapse after the incumbent MP, Owen Paterson, resigned rather than accept parliamentary sanction over a breach of lobbying rules.

Labour, sensibly, ran dead. The Liberal Democrats emerged as the main challengers to Boris Johnson’s government and Helen Morgan won comfortably. Here lies the great danger to the Morrison government with the eruption of independents in safe seats.

Tactical voting, where Labor stands back, could see several Liberal MPs in trouble.

The problem is that neither minor parties nor independents routinely confront the uncomfortable and inconvenient in politics. In recent times too, the major parties have been less than forthright, especially during the pandemic. This should be a source of considerable disquiet in the Australian electorate.

Looking at the outstanding Australian prime ministers for the past three quarters of a century, it becomes evident immediately that significant leaders rise beyond the mediocre by telling their own constituency what they must hear in the national interest.

A few examples suffice. John Curtin did this on conscription in 1943; six years later Ben Chifley used the military to break a communist-inspired strike in the mines. Bob Menzies endorsed “Black Jack” McEwen forging a trade treaty with Japan in 1957, despite dreadful wartime memories. Bob Hawke and Paul Keating confronted core supporters, including affiliated trade unions, as they modernised the Australian economy, dropping tariff regimes and opening the country up to foreign banking and competition. John Howard showed similar courage on gun control in the wake of the savagery of the Port Arthur massacre.

Unfortunately, it’s been quite a while since this measure of courage has been apparent in Canberra. The reality is the electorate actually appreciates political leaders being candid.

This is the defining principle for governments of consequence. They are prepared to risk the loss of their base on issues vital to Australians as a whole. This is painful and it is challenging, but it represents the spine of governing Australian democracy.

The sweeping populism that now tarnishes Western politics from Eastern Europe through the UK and North America long ago reached our shores. Kicking the can down the road on difficult issues is not just an art form in the US congress. Far better, to paraphrase Jack Kennedy, that we should be prepared to do things because they are hard.

The dictators fear their own people more than anything else. It is truly appalling when democratic politics fails this test, as with politicians who cannot concede that they lost an election. Minor parties play in the margins of failure. This is why the Australian Senate has become a continuing game of billiards and bastardry. The bar room scene in the first Star Wars film comes to mind when some pathetic Senate exchanges are recorded.

There needs to be considerably more pressure upon the major parties, both conservative and Labor, to lift their game. This applies not only in candidate selection but in requirements for more robust policy making. The indulgence of an Adani caravan can be left to the Greens. But as smug narcissism goes, the caravan was living proof that Luis Bunuel was absolutely right about assumed superiority when he made the movie The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972).

The political problem which emerged for Labor, however, was to be found in the attempted fudge of policy on coalmining. This was damaging.

True, sometimes minor parties provide welcome amusement. An old friend of mine, senator Bob Bell of Tasmania, was an Australian Democrat with a marvellous sense of humour. He told me a tale of being ambushed one Easter when a senior Democrat had made an announcement and left Bob to explain the details, without warning. Invited on to radio, the hapless senator was asked to outline just how the Easter bunny was to be replaced by an authentically Australian Easter bilby. This was brilliant timing for every Australian youngster who was a fan of Peter Rabbit.

A good laugh is welcome in politics. But hard-headed realism is needed more. Watch for the people who argue policy about the essential. Hopefully, there lies the next government.

Stephen Loosley is a former ALP senator and national president of the party.