It’s hard to deny
that lobby groups in Australia have grown increasingly powerful and
strident over the past few years. We have only to look back to the
success of the recent mining tax and poker machine reform campaigns
to see that all it takes to defend the indefensible is a wad of cash
and a platform to shout from.
Sadly, these tactics
have gradually infected our political arena. Now more than ever
before, the politics of denial and obliteration have gained
ascendancy, and the implications are dire. “Whatever it takes” is
the new catchcry emanating from Canberra and echoing around the
country via a media body that has grown fat on sensationalism and
conjecture. Facts, it seems, are optional and easily ignored.
Consider poker machine
reform, an area I have followed closely since the 2010 Federal
election. From the moment this became a possibility, the industry
swung into action to protect its bottom line. Australia’s clubs,
hotels and casinos formed an alliance behind Clubs Australia (itself
no more than a mouthpiece for Clubs NSW) and turned up the blowtorch.
Nothing was safe.
There was hysteria and
outrage about the possibility of fingerprinting poker machine
patrons. There were strong assertions that gambling problems were
symptoms of deeper issues and that the machines themselves were
blameless. There were predictions of nationwide carnage with hundreds
of venues to close and thousands of jobs to be lost. There was the
“It’s Un-Australian” campaign and following that, the “Won’t
Work Will Hurt” campaign that specifically targeted individual MPs
and encouraged their constituents to vote them out of office.
All in all, it was a
relentless and coordinated attack where the end was all important,
and the means were whatever it took.
Of course, this was
only the first phase of the campaign. Once it proved successful, with
the proposed reforms being watered down to an industry-friendly
shadow of the original concept, the second phase began. Suddenly
Clubs Australia began describing themselves as “champions” of
reform, working tirelessly to help Australia’s problem gamblers and
leading the way for the industry to do what was right. Politicians
who insisted on pursuing stronger measures were called posturing
bullies with relevance issues, and described on more than one
occasion as “roadblocks” to the “real reform” that Clubs
Australia was responsible for.
First the attack, then
the revision. It’s well known that history is written by the
victors.
Now consider the Craig
Thomson situation. From the moment the allegations of financial
impropriety against Thomson surfaced, he has been in the Coalition’s
sights. As more details emerged and talk turned to prostitutes and
forgery, the scrutiny intensified until it became an all-out attack
on the personal character of the man. Nothing was sacred; and no
matter what he did or said, everything became proof of his supposed
guilt.
Tony Abbott, as the
leader of the Coalition, has been the instigator of many of these
attacks and has encouraged others in his party to follow suit. There
can be no doubt that the prolonged assault on Thomson’s character
in Parliament has been undertaken with Abbott’s blessing;
ultimately he is responsible for the actions of his party.
The more salacious
things got, the more focused the attack became. Thomson has yet to
face a court of law with regards to any of the allegations that have
been made against him, but that hasn’t stopped the deluge of
outrage and accusation, the calls for him to stand down or be sacked,
the progressive assassination of his reputation. The press gallery
has hung on every word; more than that, they’ve adopted the
hysteria as their own and found him guilty... not as charged, but as
implied.
Thomson's banishment to
the cross-benches did little to alleviate the onslaught. Even his
hour-long address to Parliament earlier this week was turned into
supposed proof of his guilt. This torrent of recrimination has been
sustained for so long and so vehemently that now fears are being
raised about Thomson’s state of mind; his recent public statement,
including the question “Is this about trying to push someone to the
brink?” strengthened those fears.
End of phase one; time
for phase two.
Suddenly Abbott is
deeply concerned for Thomson’s well-being. Suddenly he’s blaming
Prime Minister Gillard for putting her interests ahead of those of
her embattled MP. Suddenly he's calling on Thomson to resign
not because because of what he's allegedly done, but to take the
spotlight off him.
''The best thing for
everyone, to take the pressure off him, to take the pressure off his
family, would be for him to leave the Parliament,'' Abbott told the
media, blithely ignoring the incontrovertible fact that he himself
was the architect of the campaign against Thomson.
First the attack, then
the revision.
The Coalition has
seamlessly adopted the same tactics that Australia's lobby groups,
the “vested interests” have employed to great effect. No tactic
is too low, no target off limits, and small considerations like the
law and the Constitution are merely guidelines to be ignored at will.
What's terrifying is that this battle-plan of bullying and faux
concern will more than likely see the Coalition voted into office
late next year... again, it’s well known that history is written by
the victors.
Australian politics was
headed for the basement; somewhere along the way it got stuck in the
lobby. Canberra will never be the same.
