An unpopular federal government would have us believe the Australian electorate has unexpectedly become ill-tempered, impatient and punitive. That good governments at state – and possibly soon federal – levels are being kicked out for capricious and bewildering reasons. I’m surprised at their surprise: what on earth did they expect?
For more than a decade, voters have been badgered and alarmed by both sides of politics: if your pockets aren’t bulging with money, the government’s a dud; if cost of living is high, the government has failed you; if interest rates can be counted on more than five fingers, this lot is incompetent; if you’re paying taxes and you don’t like it, kick the mob out.
Aided and abetted by some extraordinary and inflammatory media on radio and in print, voters in Australia have been made alarmed and cynical about virtually every aspect of public life. These commentators are so mistrustful of the basic pillars of democratic society that their views border on the anarchic: public servants are lazy and incompetent and sucking up your taxes; the judiciary is out of touch and releasing marauding criminals onto the streets; politicians are crooks and not to be trusted … except for the leader that the media blowhard in question supports, of course.
What did the politicians expect? Keep telling the population the government’s a bunch of crooks and at some point the people are going to think you mean all of them – including the government you lead or the one that’s the same political stripe as yours. Worse, keep scaring the people about their economic situation and keep failing to take the bold and difficult steps on reform that this country needs and you will teach the voters that prosperity should simply fall their way. When prosperity doesn’t, expect the backlash.
I have to keep from laughing – no, sorry, I mean crying – when I hear commentators say of the shock Queensland election result that any hope of long-term reform in this country is lost due to voter impatience: the voters simply won’t stick with you long enough to let you get the job done. What did they expect? And anyway, what long-term reform? What government of recent times has had anywhere near the spine needed to take on that task of education, persuasion and consensus-building?
The fault lies not just with the Coalition. Federal Labor fell at the first hurdle when Kevin Rudd’s “greatest moral challenge” legislation on climate change was voted down by the senate, and the then PM squibbed a double-dissolution election to back his policy and belief; Labor fell again when it commissioned former Treasury head Ken Henry to write a reform blueprint for taxation in this country but then failed to implement it – bar one or two suggestions.
The partisanship in this country is now so divisive that I don’t imagine any political party would be able to build the consensus needed to take the voters with them on a difficult journey of reform. Voters have been repeatedly told to demand and expect low taxes and low interest rates but also First-World-level health, education and welfare, and nobody has had the guts to explain the two sides of that ledger just don’t add up.
No wonder they’re grumpy. No wonder they’re impatient. No wonder they kick you out after three years. Dear members of Parliament … what did you expect?
