Trust Deficit

As Prime Minister Gillard speaks to the media about her conversations with Craig Thomson and Peter Slipper, the first questions are inevitably about the possibility of an early election.


I've seen tweets over the past days and weeks, suggesting that our current federal politicians - the whole lot of them - is the worst group of Australian politicians ever. I can't disagree with the sentiment. No wonder there's so much blah in the electorate. It's almost impossible to find anything to relate to, much less admire, in the representatives we elected.


I can see that this government has produced some outstanding results, but the message isn't cutting through. They've also delivered some solid gold, fur-lined ocean-going political failures, and they continue to dominate the news cycle.

An opportunistic minority government with unstable leadership, an obstructionist opposition, an ever-increasing pod of independents and a largely tolerant news media have encouraged the voters to disengage. We're in a perpetual motion negativity machine, and we can't break free. 


Conventional wisdom (and Rupert Murdoch) suggest its time to eject the warp core and call the election that isn't due for more than a year.


I'm a fan of at least listening to the unconventional wisdom...or perhaps in this instance, I'm just more cynical than most. My dissatisfaction with Canberra is not partisan. I'm disappointed by both sides, so going to an early election, which the Coalition would win, would be replacing one set of underachievers for another. 


I want some of that hopey-changey stuff that President Obama promised back in 2008. Why is there so little of that in Canberra in 2012? 


Instead, we've had months of Craig Thomson' credit cards, years of JuLiar, and a week or so of Peter Slipper's bizarre behaviour with CabCharge dockets and young male staffers although it feels like longer.Speculation about the ALP Leadership just won't stop, and Kevin Rudd's name keeps bobbing to the top like ice in XXXX; it's better than warm beer, but only as a last resort.


Although the ALP has been in power less than five years, there's a richly curdled legacy of School Halls, Pink Batts, the Carbon Tax "lie", the Malaysian Deal, the ADFA Skype scandal, the unReformed Pokies laws and the legendary Faceless Men.

And yet, if we did go to an early election, what would we get? A Prime Minister (Abbott) whose been a brilliant attack dog for the Liberal party, but is as about as unpopular as the Prime Minister. The Coalition's Shadow Finance team is a running joke under the heading Team Acalculia*,  and there's Malcolm Turnbull, who probably doesn't believe his own party's platform on the NBN. There's Theresa Gambaro and her view than new Australians lack courtesy and deodorant, and Scott Morrison, who had issues with us footing the bill to fly children across the country to attend the funeral of their parents. The Coalition's greatest strength is Julie Bishop's death-stare.


The unknown quantity is the core of Independents, mainly former Coalition members: marathon speech maker Oakeshott, farmer Windsor, anti-Pokies Campaigner and former spook Andrew Wilkie, stood-down Speaker Slipper, Bob Katter and his Magic Hat (and his new Katter's Australia Party that lives there) and now Craig Thomson. Unpredictable is an understatement.


What disturbs me most about the current situation is it's fragility. The Government has been functional, but every new ripple is a threat, and every deal to reduce the risk has consequences. 


Prime Minister Gillard is correct to say that Australia is a strong country, with a strong economy, but our government is constantly at risk and under pressure, and that weakens us all.


Twenty four hours ago, I would have protested the call for an early election. The Government is part-way through a legislative agenda. Despite this, today's bombshell has shaken my position and my trust. 

Slip Sliding Away

After arriving back in Australia this morning, Peter Slipper this afternoon stood aside from his position as Speaker of the House. It was the right thing to do.

Mr Slipper's self-imposed suspension is only in force until the conclusion of the criminal matter - the allegation that he misused government issued CabCharge vouchers. It's a journey Slipper is familiar with, having been there in 2010. That scandal resulted in Slipper repaying tens of thousands of dollars in illegitimate travel expenses to the Commonwealth. The current CabCharge allegations are a criminal matter and are being investigated by Federal Police.

In the matter of James Ashby's allegations of sexual harassment, Slipper is maintaining his innocence.

Much has been revealed since I wrote yesterday's blog post. Some of Mr Ashby's past has been revealed. Rather than being an idealistic young political operative with hopes of one day running for office, as I had pictured,  Mr Ashby is a former FM radio announcer, and most recently, worked in PR for a commercial strawberry farm on the Sunshine Coast. Ten years ago he was convicted of making threatening calls to a rival radio announcer. It's likely that his exposure to the political sphere has been minimal.

We've learned more about Mr Slipper's past too. Apparently, Canberra insiders close to the Liberal Party have been aware for years of a rumoured video featuring Mr Slipper and a youngish man. I'll leave you to fill in the blanks. To paraphrase an old school friend of mine, when Tony Abbott said to Julia Gillard after Slipper gained the Speakership "he's your problem now", he knew what he was talking about. 

And none of it makes any difference.

CabCharge notwithstanding, for Mr Slipper, charges of sexual harassment are just the start of what's to come. He's a married man in his early 60s with a high profile. He's an ordained priest. He has few friends in politics or media. Regardless of how the charges play out, this mud looks like sticking. Moreover, as Peter Beattie said today, he has no credibility left.

If the allegations are true, he's far from the first federal MP to indulge in some extra-curricular relating. Craig Emerson and Julia Gillard "hooked up" about ten years ago. Dr Emerson was married with three children at the time. Even now, there's at least one member of federal parliament who's making whoopee with someone he shouldn't. When these types of indiscretions become public, there's an appropriate amount of tsk-tsking, but as Julia Gillard has proven, it's not a career-limiting activity. 

The difference is "harassment". Prime Minister Gillard and Dr Emerson were "involved". The current MP who is enjoying himself with a member of his staff is doing so with her consent, as far as I know. No-one was bullied, pressured, abused or hurt in the making of those affairs. (The hurt comes later.)

The Australian Human Rights Commission website tells the story:

In 2009 – 2010, 21% of all complaints to the Australian Human Rights Commission were under the Sex Discrimination Act, and 88% of those complaints related to sex discrimination in the workplace. The wide use of new technologies such as mobile phones, email and social networking websites creates new spaces where sexual harassment may occur.

I hope, for everyone's sake, that the allegations of sexual harassment against Mr Slipper are not true. If they are true, let's at least use this opportunity to drive the message that sexual harassment is not acceptable. Ever. 

Something About Slipper

Speaker of the House and former Liberal Peter Slipper has been accused by a relatively new male staffer, of sexual harassment. In a single, terse tweet,  Mr Slipper denied the accusation, despite reports confirming that Slipper's accuser has provided emails and text messages as evidence.

Since Sydney's Daily Telegraph lead with the story after midnight this morning, media has scrambled to get at the facts, but faster than a Zyrtec, attention has screamed from salacious accusation to blame game. It doesn't seem to matter whether Mr Slipper is guilty; this is politics and therefore, someone is to blame. 

On Sky News, vintage Liberal politician Bronwyn Bishop described the allegations as "a bombshell", and "an enormous disappointment". Ms Bishop has obviously known Mr Slipper since she was elected to federal parliament in 1994, and she  emphasised that that allegations against Mr Slipper were a complete surprise.

 Yet according to Ms Bishop, the worst crimes are the ones of Prime Minister's own making. The eternal cloud that hangs over Labor's Craig Thomson and and his finances during and after his time with the HSU, and now the allegations against Mr Slipper, (including new charges relating to his use of Cabcharge vouchers), are being wilfully ignored by the PM. Ms Bishop claims that the charges against Mr Slipper reflect badly on the parliament, and it's up to the Prime Minister to take action.

Bronwyn's partly right; it doesn't look good. Having said that, in the list of things that reflect poorly on this parliamentary term, this is just another example of alleged bad behaviour.  The climate inside the chamber of this hung parliament is caustic. Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's regular censure motions were a counterpoint to former Speaker Harry Jenkins' rumbling calls for OoorDah!  The number of members ejected from the chamber - "sin-binned" - for bad behaviour is an insult to the constituents they represent.

This parliament deserves its reputation for bad behaviour which is, more often than not, led by Opposition front-benchers. How does that reflect on the parliament, Ms Bishop?

Late last year, Slipper's promotion to Speaker and his departure from the Liberal party was accompanied by strident calls from within the Queensland LNP that Slipper was planning to undermine LNP candidates in the recent State election. Peter Slipper was not well liked within his own party. In fact, the Liberal Party wasn't his first choice anyway.

Mr Slipper was originally elected as a member of the Nationals, then later as a Liberal, leaving the party behind in late 2011 to accept the role of Speaker and serve as an Independent. Timing is critical with today's accusation: Mr Slipper's accuser was hired after Slipper quit the Libs. This can't be spun as a Liberal failure.

Still, I doubt I'm the only punter who is wondering about Peter Slipper. He's in his early sixties, married, and his previous 'scandals' have involved overenthusiastic use of travel allowances, and unenthusiastic support for party politics. Not a hint of anything personal.  

In addition to his career in politics, Mr Slipper is also prominent within his religion. In 2008, while serving as Deputy Speaker, he was ordained as a priest of the Anglican Catholic Church in Australia. Its not the first time a man of the cloth has occupied the Deputy Speaker's chair: Presbyterian Minister Philip Lucock, was the Country Party Member for Lyne, and served as  Deputy Speaker for every Coalition Prime Minister from Menzies to Fraser. Of course, being a cleric doesn't prevent anyone from indulging in unsavoury sexual activity.

This looks bad for Peter Slipper. There are, apparently, documents proving the existence of suggestive emails and texts. Slipper isn't speaking to media, and carries his history under a cloud. There's just something about this man that attracts negative attention. It could be dangerous for the Gillard Government.

Equally dangerous is our tendency to jump to the nearest, juiciest conclusion, rustle up a quick round or two of the blame game and make political hay. Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has called for the Prime Minister to take swift action, for Mr Slipper to be stood aside. This potentially damaging tale is proof that Gillard will tolerate unprofessionalism to maintain her skinny status quo.

But nothing has been proven. This parliament is less about achievement and more about accusation and speculation. That's not good for anyone.