laurie oakes perkin award 2010 columns

8/7/2019 Laurie Oakes Perkin Award 2010 Columns

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34 Herald Sun, Saturday, July 17, 2010 heraldsun.com.au

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EDITORIAL

Gillard in searchof poll position

LAURIEOAKES

Julia Gillard will go into an

election campaign with the

bitterness and duplicity she

thought had been covered up

now on open display

THEREis notidywayto knifeaservingprimeminister. Youcant doit without gettingbloodonyour hands. JuliaGillard is noexception.

It is hardly surprisingthatshe doesnotwant totalk aboutwhathappenedthatnight,just overthreeweeksago,whenshe confronted Kevin Ruddin

hisoffice.Thedetailsof anyassassination

areugly.Betterto shroud theminsecrecyand moveforward, as Gillardlikes to say.

That iswhymy questionattheNationalPressClub abouttheleadership dealthat Ruddthoughtsheaccepted andthen renegedonwas inconvenient.

Gillardwantedpeople toforgetabouthowshecame tobe PrimeMinisterandfocuson what sheproposedto dointherole.

Instead,she willgo intoan electioncampaignwiththe bitternessandduplicityshe thoughthad beencoveredupnowon open display.Andthatisbadnews forthe Government anditsre-electionprospects.

Itgives TonyAbbott andtheCoalitiona messageof disunityto useagainstthe Governmentin whatisshapingas a verytightcontest.

Morethanthat, eventhoughRuddspopularitydwindled inhis finalmonths inoffice,thereis significantvoter concernabout theway hewasbroughtdown.

TheLiberals believethey cantap intothisand useit againstLabor,especiallyinRuddshome stateof Queensland.

Thesensitivitybeingshown byLaborstrategists suggeststhey sharethe viewthat theissue isa dangerzone forthenewPrimeMinister.

Thetalk thatsurfaced yesterday,suggesting Ruddmay be dudded onhiswishto holda senior Cabinet positionina re-elected GillardGovernment,willnothelp either.

Gillardsown statements do notindicateshe hasany plansto breakherpromiseto themanwhosejob shetook.

IhavesaidthatKevinRuddwillserveas a senior minister in a re-elected GillardGovernment,she saidyesterday. Iwillhonour that commitment.

Butshe willnot nominateForeignAffairs,the postRudd clearlywants.

Andthereare persistentmutteringsatsenior levels of theLaborParty thattohavean embittered formerPM in

Cabinet would befolly.Nowthat keyLaborpower-brokers

haveconvincedthemselves thatRuddisto blamefordetailsof hisJune23meetingwith Gillard beingleaked to me eventhough at leastthreeotherpeople werebriefed on theproposeddeal theargumentsagainstgivinghima placeat theCabinet tablearebecomingmore strident.

Shed beraving madto have himanywherenear Cabinet,a seniorpartyfigure saidyesterday. Itwont happen.

If Gillardcomesaroundto thisviewafterthe election assumingshe wins itwillbe a simplematterforhertoofferRuddthe kindof ministryhecannot possibly accept.

Rudd canhardlybeblamed ifhe feelsangry at themoment.To justify theleadershipchange, Gillardand hersenior ministershavetrashedmuch oftheformerPMs legacy.

Theyhavealsousedhimas a

convenientscapegoat for everythingthatwent wrong,as thoughnone of

themwerepart of theGovernmentwhenhe wasin charge.

Politicsis a grubby,thanklessbusiness.God knows whyRudd wantsto stick around.

GillardsNational Press Clubappearance wasintendedto be herelectionlaunchpad.

Theidea wasthat shewould presentherself as cautiousand responsible,layouther economicmanagement

credentials,reassurevotersthat shewould runa fiscallyconservative

administration,and thendash tothepollsthis weekend.

I threwa spanner into theworkswiththerevelationof Rudds offerat theirmeetingto standasidevoluntarilycloser to theelection if opinionpollscontinuedto showthe Governmentfacing defeat.

Gillard,I understand,describedtheproposalas sensibleand responsible.Shemayhaveseen this assimply astagein tryingtopersuadehimto stepdownthatnight,butthereis nodoubtRuddtook it as agreement.

ThisgivesAbbottanotherattacklineforthe campaign: if RuddcouldnottrustGillard, whyshouldvoters?

Thatwill atleast helpAbbottcountertheproblemof hisadmissionon The7.30Report that hedoesnotalways tell thetruth himself.

WhetherGillardinitiallyagreedto thedealor not,though, theopinionof mostpoliticaloperators would be thatshewassmart torejectit intheend.

ALEADERin so much troublethat

heis thinkingof throwingin thetowel within weeks isprobably

finishedanyway.Andif Rudd wasthemainimpediment

to theGovernmentwinninga second

term,lettinghimstayon a whilelongeroutof sympathywould havebeenplainstupidwith an electionimminent.

NowGillardwill behopingthat firingtheelectionstartinggun willachievewhatthe PressClubappearance didnot,by concentratingthe minds ofvoters onthe future.

Thatdoes notmean theGovernmentis across theline.In fact,someshrewdjudges inthepartythinkit will stillfallshort.

Labor goesinto theelection withdisappointingopinionpoll ratings,largelybecauseof thenew PMsinepthandlingof theproposalfor an EastTimor asylum-seekerprocessing centre.

ButGillardshouldgivethe partyabetter chancethan Rudd,whohad losthiswayin recentmonths aslongassheis nottooweigheddownwithbaggagefrom herleadership coup.

Laurie Oakesis politicaleditor forthe Nine Network.Hiscolumn appearseverySaturdayinthe HeraldSun

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162Victorian deaths in 2010, compared with the same day last year.

ELECTION

2010

Leaders mustshow the wayPRIME Minister Julia Gillard and Oppo-sition Leader Tony Abbott must pledge

themselves this election to present poli-cies, not platitudes, give facts, not spin.They will be talking to an electoratethat

remains largely unconvinced about theircredentials and will be in no mood fortime wasting.

These are two leaders who reached theirpositions by default: Mr Abbottby a singlevote in a bitterly divided party room andMs Gillard after a coup mounted by theALPs factional bosses.

Sadly, thus far there has been little butrhetoric and point-scoring.

Labor promises financial responsibilityand stands on its record of surviving theglobal financial crisis with Australiaseconomy in better shape than most.

Forits part, theCoalition says Labor hasgrossly overspent and only a changeof government can give the nation econ-omic stability.

Who to believe?There is already a sense in the electorate

that we are being rushed to judgment.The term an Australian government hasinoffice beforeit must againgo to the pollsis too short. It could have been four years,but a referendum failed when the majorparties could not agree the last time thequestion wasput to voters.

T h e s a meneed for a bi-partisanshipa p pr o a c h t os om e o f t hemost signifi-c a nt i s su e sf a c i ng A u s -tralia are pres-e nt i n t hi selection.

B u t t h e yhave found the same failure to co-operateby Labor and the Coalition.

The most divisive issue is what to doabout asylum seekers and illegal boatarrivals. While the Government and theOpposition disagree, they appear closerthan they might think.

The Prime Ministers solution of a re-gional processing centre for refugeesseems little different from the Howardgovernments Pacific solution.

But still they argue. TheCoalition says itwill takedirect action on climate changeby asking industry to reduce its carbon,while the Gillard Government says it willpursue a carbon tax, but has not putforward any detail.

What was designed by L abor as atakeoverof nationalhospital fundingfailedto achieve anything near that.

Like the minerals resource rent tax, itremains a compromise or a cave-in.

Julia Gillard, as education minister, de-livered on a national curriculum and asPrime Minister has tossed in a subsidy on

school uniforms as an election sweetener.But where are the policies on national

infrastructure, water and energy.The electorate is tired of the political war

o f w or ds . M ea nw hi le , t he w ar i nAfghanistan drags on.

As still more Diggers die and arewounded, neither party appears ready toset a timetable for withdrawal.

We pride ourselves on being a stablecountry with a growing economy and anexciting future.

Labor and the Coalitionmusttell us howthey intend to secure that future.


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30 Herald Sun, Saturday, July 24, 2010 heraldsun.com.au

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EDITORIAL

Gillard ushers inthe era of farce

LAURIEOAKES

The sad truth is we have

a couple of political

pygmies heading the

two major parties

SO JuliaGillardsanswertoclimate change isto setupthebiggestfocus group inhistory.The politicalconsultantsscriptingLabors election

campaignmustbe wettingthemselveswith delight.

Nothingcouldillustrate moreemphaticallythe hollowness of modern

Australian politics.The Liberalsare notmuchbetter.TonyAbbotts cowardiceand

completelackof conviction onindustrialrelations policydeservesnothingbut contempt.

Thesadtruth iswe have a coupleofpoliticalpygmies headingthe twomajorparties in thiselection.

Bothhavesmall ambitionsfor thecountry.Bothare afraid tolead.Boththinktheycan contheirway intoThe Lodge.

Gillardsproposal fora 150-membercitizens assemblyto tryto reachconsensus onclimatechangeand thecasefor a carbonprice is thewackiestidea tocomealongin quitea while.

Kevin Rudds farcical2020Summitlooks sensibleby comparison.

Theveryreason wearegoingto thepollson August21is toelect a150-membercitizens assembly.It iscalled theHouseof Representatives.

WhatGillard proposesis to insteadoutsourcewhatshould bethe jobof

Parliament toa group of unelectedpeople, chosen onthebasisof theelectoralrolland census data byanindependentauthority.

SHEis saying,in effect, thatParliament as aninstitution nolongerworks.

Also,by promisingthather citizensassemblywould be genuinelyrepresentative of thewiderAustralianpublic,she implies thatthe Parliamentis not.

Shemaywell beright onbothcounts,butsurelythe answer is to reformParliament not setupotheradhocbodies totake overits role.

Heres a thought.Maybewe could getGillardsmysterious independentauthorityto pickour MPsand saveourselves thetroubleof havingelectionsat all.

Itis anabsurd approach,andthePrime Ministermust knowit. Shetakesusfor fools.

As doesAbbottwith hisout-of-the-bluecommitment notto touch, inthe

firsttermof a Coalitiongovernment, theindustrialrelations legislationLabor

hasput in place. Since he replacedMalcolmTurnbull as Liberal leader,Abbott hasbeen attackingLabors

workplace laws,claimingthey woulddestroysmall business.

As recentlyas mid-May,in hisBudget replyspeech inParliament,hewaspromising totake theunfairdismissalmonkeyoff theback ofsmall businesses.

Suddenly,aftera shadow cabinetmeetingon theeve of theelection beingcalled,he announces thatthesesamelawsshouldbe given afair go.Business,he says,includingsmallbusiness, deservescertainty.

Whenhe changedpositionon anemissionstradingsystem, Abbottadmittedto MalcolmTurnbull thathewasa weathervane.

Spookedby animminentelectionandthe ghost of WorkChoices,he hasproved it again.

Butthe harder Abbott pushed hislineduring theweek,the lesscredibilityithad.How canany government seriouslypromiseno legislative changeunderanycircumstances insuch a crucialarea asIR?

Abbott really stretchedcredulitywhenhe started extendinghis promisebeyond oneparliamentaryterm.

Hereis an example:ABBOTT:Thelegislationwill not

change.JOURNALIST:Butthe regulations

might?ABBOTT:Nottoday,not tomorrow,

notnext year, notin three years time,notin 10yearstime.

Theresult isthat,in animportantareaof FederalGovernment responsibility,thealternativeprimeministerhas nopolicyexcept toswearoverand overagainthat hewontdo anything,ever.It

isa ridiculousposition.Smallwondernobodybelieves it.

Rudds critics used toclaimhe wasapolitician drivenbyspin,buthe wasaleader of substancecompared withhissuccessor, if herbehaviour so farin thecampaignis anyguide.

Beforethe climatechangeannouncementwe hadGillardspopulistpromiseson populationandherrepeated statements thatwe shouldtakea breathand nothurtletowardsabig Australia.

Itturnedoutto benothingbutwaffle.It wasnot aboutimmigration,she said;norwasit aboutthebirthrate. Cananyonethink of anythingelsethatcontributesto populationgrowth?

THEreasonthe Prime Ministercameoutwith this tripeis that thespindoctorshave toldher that,in the

public mind, populationis linked withthedreadedissueof asylum seekersarrivingby boat.

Talkaboutpopulation andthepunterswill think youre talkingabouttheboats.

WhenGillard wasasked on radiotosayspecificallywhather populationpolicy is,she replied:Weregoingto beguidedin thiswith expert panelsworkingwith us.

Moreadvisory panels. Shades of theclimatechangecop-out. Another non-

policy.Another fudge.In herspeechyesterday,Gillardhad

thetemerity to compareher approachonclimatechangewiththeintroductionof Medicare.In fact,thecontrastcouldhardlybe greater.

There wasno phony citizensassemblysetup asan excusefordelayandinaction then.

Gough Whitlam andhealthministerBillHayden showed determinationandgutsin devisinga nationalhealthinsurance schemeand fightingfor ituntil theygot it throughthe Parliament.

It wasdismantled bythe Frasergovernment,but thenBob Hawke andhishealthminister, NealBlewett,foughtthe battle again andputMedicarein place againststrongoppositionfromthe Coalition.

Agreewith themor not,we hadrealleadersin politicsin thosedays.Notjust pygmies.

Laurie Oakesis politicaleditor forthe Nine Network.Hiscolumn appearseverySaturdayinthe HeraldSun

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ELECTION

2010

When trustis not enoughAFTER the first week of political cam-paigning, it is obvious that Prime Minister

Julia Gillards words before she called theelection are holding true.Unfortunately, it is a truth thatbeliesher

message.I will ask for the Australian peoples

trust to move Australia forward, were thewords of the new Prime Minister.

After her failure yesterday to announcereal policy on climate change, it appearsthat relying on peoples trust to getLabor re-elected is the main plank in MrGillards election platform.

As each day of the campaign passes, itbecomes obvious that Labor intends toneutralise any-thing contro-versial. Trustm e, s ay s M sGillard, thenavoids the de-t ai l. F o r i n-s t a nc e , h e rplanon climatechange isto ap-point a citi-z e n s a s -s e m bl y t obring about anational consensus, and a climate changecommission to supposedly inform the citi-zens expected to reach such a consensus.

The citizens assembly sounds likesome-thing borrowedfrom theFrenchrevolutionbut without the use of the guillotine,unless theLabor Party usesthe parliamen-tary device of the same name to kill offdebate after winning the election.

Not that Opposition Leader TonyAbbott has laid down anything more thanwhat he calls direct action in encourag-ing industry to regulate its own emissionsand a promise of a green armyto combatenvironmental issues.

Ms Gillard should stand for more thanjust a commitment to win this election.

The same can be said of Mr Abbott. He,too, has avoided any backlash to theCoalitions belief in labour market deregu-lationby simplyavoidingtheissue. Hemustthink that if he were to discuss it, he mightrisk losing more marginal seats to Labor.

The election campaign is beingtrivialisedby both parties. Neither appears preparedto put its real position before the people.Thebiggestrisk,wrote Herald Sun nationalpolitical editor Phillip Hudson, was takenby Ms Gillard when she kissed a baby. Thebaby, he said, might have screamed.

Out of boundsFOOTY fans have been benched by theAFL in its negotiations over televisionrights from 2012.

Matches will start later on Saturdays,leading into the network nightly news. Itwill be good for TV ratings, but not for fansat theground whowill seematches begin inmid-afternoon and finish in the dark.

As reported in todays Herald Sun, it willbe ball up at 3pm. The traditional 2.10pmstart will be no more.

Monday night matches will be a problemfor families. A late night on Monday is apoor start for children getting up to go toschool on Tuesday.

Television has made watching footballmore accessible to thousands of fans, butthe AFL needs to remember that lookingafter its supporters is just as important aslooking after the TV networks.


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heraldsun.com.au Herald Sun, Saturday, August 7, 2010 33

EDITORIAL

Rudd hands PMacrucial lifeline

LAURIEOAKES

Labor would never have

dumped the Rudd we saw in

action on Thursday. But that

Rudd was AWOL for too long

AN extraordinaryaspectof thiselectionis that wehadto waituntilthe campaignmid-pointforone of theparticipantstolook prime ministerial.

Andwhen it happenedit wasneitherofthe partyleaders.Julia GillardandTonyAbbottare stillbattling to projectthestrength andauthority weexpectof

a prime minister.It wasKevinRudd, emergingfromgallbladdersurgery,who showed themhow.His mediaappearanceannouncingthathe would answer Laborscall forhelpand campaignfor thewomanwhoknifed himwas masterly.

It raised anobviousquestion. WhywasRudd incapableof performing likethis inthelastsixmonths ofhis primeministership?Onlyin hishealthpolicydebate withTonyAbbott didhe looklikethe Kevin 07votersbelieved theywereelectinglast timearound.

Forthe restof theperiodbetweenAbbottstakeover ofthe Liberalleadership andGillardmounting hercoup, Ruddwas pretty hopeless.

Toa considerableextent,he broughthisfate on himself.Laborwould neverhave dumpedtheRuddwesaw inactionon Thursday.Butthat RuddhadbeenAWOLfor toolong.

Caucushad concludedthattherealRuddwas theindecisive,gobbledegook-spoutingfigure theelectorate wasstartingto treatwithderision.So it is ironicthat theotherRuddshould returntothefrayin theveryweekthat hissuccessor alsoadmittedto dualidentities.

THEtightlyscripted, insipid,almostlifelessGillardwho blewthe firstfortnightof thecampaign was

not,she would haveus believe,therealJulia.

TherealJulia, apparently, is thefeistier,smarter,braverversionthatLabor MPsthoughttheywere gettingwhentheydumpedRudd.

Sonowwe havethe real KevinandrealJuliacampaigningtogetherandLabor morale,for themoment,has beenlifted. But itis,whenyouthinkaboutit,a quite ridiculous situation.

GillardknifesRudd becauseshe saystheGovernmenthas lostits way.Sheandotherministers thenuse theoustedPMas a scapegoatfor every mistake,eschewingall responsibilitythemselves.

There is much joyful dancingonRudds politicalgrave.

Butthe ghostof theassassinatedleader haunts theelection campaign,

andvotersinhis home stateresentthewayhe hasbeen donein. Gillardscampaignfalters. So sheswallowsher

prideandsendsoutan SOSaskingtheblokewhose jobshetooktocometo herrescue.It is politicalpulp fiction.

Gillardhad little hopeof saving theelectionwithoutRudd,but managingthesituation fromnow on is clearlyfraughtwith peril.

If RuddovershadowsGillard onthecampaigntrailand theelectioncontinues tobe abouthim,Labor willbenobetter off.In theimmediate sense,though,the former PMsdramaticinterventionwas a plus.

Gillardbadly needed a circuit-breakerthat wouldallowattention tobefocusedonthe CoalitionandwhatanAbbott prime ministershipmightmean.

Rudds attack onthe Liberal leader wassavage andeffective. Thequestion nowis whetherGillardcan buildon that.

Ruddwas right whenhe warned thatAbbott looked likeslidingintoofficewithout scrutinywhileall eyeswereonLaborssoap opera.

Yet,if therearequestions abouttherealGillard andthe realRudd,the realAbbott is aneven bigger mystery.

A fascinatingpieceof audio went uponthe webrecently a radio interviewgivenby Abbottin 1979 whenhewaspresident of the SydneyUniversityStudentsRepresentativeCouncil.

TheyoungAbbottcallsfor cuts ineducation funding, onthe groundsthatthiswouldforce universitiesto crackdownon what hecallstrivial andideologicalcourses,especiallyin thearts and economics faculties.

Abbottthe studentpoliticianalsosayshewouldliketo seeoverallnumbers atuniversity reduced.

Andhe tells theinterviewer: WhileI

think menandwomenare equal,theyarealsodifferentand I thinkits

inevitableand I dont think itsa badthingat allthatwe alwayshave,say,more womendoingthings likephysiotherapyand an enormous numberof womensimply doinghousework.

Abbottwouldarguethathis viewshave changed over time.He toldme justlastweek: Thats what peopledo whenthey aremature.Theyare capableof

growingandchangingin responsetochanging circumstances.Andhe isright,of course. But, asthe

poet says, thechildis fatherof theman.Itis notveryhardto recognisethe

makings of todayswould-be primeminister in that 21-year-oldversion.

A propensity for mind-changing,though, is the characteristicthat standsoutmostin themodern Abbott.He hasbecomethe ultimatepoliticalpragmatist,capable of dumpinganybeliefor policythatmightbe electorallyinconvenient.

TAKEclimate change. Abbottwrotea newspaperarticle urgingtheCoalition tovote foran emissions

tradingscheme,then told ruralLiberalsclimatechangescience was crap,explained that awaybyclaiminghedbeentryingto persuadetheman ETScompromisewas thewayto go,andfinallyseized the Liberalleadershiptokilloffjust sucha compromisenegotiated by MalcolmTurnbull.

Abbottpromised notax increasesandnonew taxes,thenwithina monthannouncedhe would imposea newtaxlevyon bigbusinessto financeagenerous paidparentalleavescheme thesameschemehehad earliersaidwould happenoverhis deadbody.

On immigration,Abbott announcedatthe start of thecampaignthataCoalitiongovernment wouldhalve theannualintake.

Butin May2008, hed boasted:One ofthe Howardgovernments greatest butleast recognisedachievementswas torehabilitate the immigrationprogram,increasing numbersto recordlevels.

Andjustlast Januaryhe said: Theresnoreasonto think that Australia hasafixed carryingcapacity.My instinctis toextendto asmanypeopleas possiblethefreedomand benefitsof lifein Australia.

Politicians, likeus,are allowedtochangetheir minds.Abbott, however, isa serialmind-changer. Or,morelikely,hehas adoptedGraham Richardsonsmotto Whateverit takes.

LaurieOakesis politicaleditorfor theNine Network.Hiscolumnappearsevery Saturdayin theHerald Sun

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Jail but notfiring squadSCOTT Rush, the young Australian ondeath row as one of the Bali Nine drug

smugglers, may find that the man hisfather says could have stopped him maystill prove to be his saviour.

Retired Australian Federal Police com-missioner Mick Keelty was blamed byRushs father for the arrest of his son inIndonesia five years ago.

Lee Rush told police in Queensland hisson was going to smuggle drugs intoIndonesia in thehope theywouldwarn himnot to try.

Butthe Australian Federal Police passedon the infor-m a t i o n t oI n d o n e s i a np o l i c e w h os t o pp e d t h ethen 19-year-old Rush (pic-t u re d h e r e)w h e n h estepped off theplane with sev-eral kilogramso f h e r o i nstrapped to hisbody. But as re-p o r t e d i ntodays HeraldSun , a l et te rwritten by for-mer AFP com-missioner Mick Keelty in Rushs defencem ay h el p i n a f in al a pp ea l t o t heIndonesian courts this month.

The lettersaysRushwas acting as a drugcourier, but there was no evidence tosuggest he was one of the organisers, orthat he had been involved in drug smug-gling before the Bali trip.

The AFP has since been told by Aus-tralias Home Affairs Minister to considerthe impact of passing on such informationto countries that apply the death penalty.

If Scott Rush and the other Bali Nine

drug smugglers had been arrested beforethey left Australia this would have meantthey were tried in Australian courts.

The Herald Sun, while condemning drugtrafficking in the strongest possible terms,does not condone the death penalty andhas maintained this position when otherAustralians havefaced execution overseas.

The best outcome forScott Rushand theother Bali Nine drug smugglers sentencedto death is that they are sent back toAustralia to serve out long jail terms.

Theydeserveto bejailed, but theydo notdeserve to die.

Surgery warningLIPOSUCTION carries a risk and 26-year-old Lauren James died because of it.

Like any invasive surgical procedure, it isnot as simple as buying new clothes to fityour new body.

A coroner found yesterday that MsJames went back to a Melbourne clinicthree days after having liposuction.

But doctors failed to recognise that thepain she was suffering was caused by life-threatening complications.

Australians are travelling to othercountries in increasing numbers to takeadvantage of cut-price surgery combinedwith a holiday.

However, they should recognise thatwhat seems the most simple operationcarries some small risk wherever it isperformed.

laurie oakes perkin award 2010 columns

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