The 48th Parliament’s first week has featured an extraordinary display of political upheaval everywhere except in the Labor Party. Michael Pascoe reckons that won’t last.
When Liberal shadow minister Dan Tehan is writing what should be Labor zingers about National Party steers, you know we are in for extraordinary political times.
With Barnaby Joyce and Michael McCormack undermining David Littleproud, the Nationals in general undermining the Coalition and the ghost of Angus Taylor forever hovering over Sussan Ley, faced as she is with an already dysfunctional Opposition and polling in the toilet,
the circus has come to town.
And then there are the Greens, a party that has the opportunity under calmer leadership to make the very best of holding the balance of power in the Senate, the chance to demonstrate it can be taken seriously as an adult in the chamber to make deals with the government and gain credit for shaping policy in the way the “Teals” attempt in the lower house.
But instead, new Greens leader Larissa Waters is in trouble over allegations that a “trans and queer cult” has taken control of the party, pushing environmentalism down the pecking order.
On the ABC’s 7:30 program on Tuesday night, Greens co-founder Drew Hutton made his case against the “cult” expelling him and dozens of others.
Given her chance to respond, Senator Waters either (A) was poorly prepared for the interview by not knowing any of the details of Hutton’s expulsion, or (B) was prepared for the interview by carefully not knowing any of the details of Hutton’s expulsion.
In either case, it was a very bad look that overshadowed what she would prefer to be talking about.
Labor above the fray?
Labor, basking in rising poll numbers on top of their fat parliamentary majority, is looking amazingly stable and set for a long, disciplined innings on the Treasury benches, right?
Or maybe not?
While the Opposition (i.e. Murdoch media) has been failing to strike a blow, when the biggest charge against the Prime Minister is that he spent too much time looking at a panda, there are problems brewing within Labor that the tight leadership group won’t be able to contain indefinitely.
They are Gaza and AUKUS. The membership is unhappy with both issues, as are most thinking Australians. The strain must eventually tell on MPs of having to toe the Albanese/Marles/Wong line on one hand and face their branch meetings on the other.
Gaza and AUKUS
The SMAge report ($) of 78 Labor branches passing motions calling for sanctions against Israeli entities and individuals is a sign Labor won’t escape turmoil.
It quoted Peter Moss, a co-convenor of Labor Friends of Palestine, saying the flurry of motions being passed at branch meetings across the country represented a groundswell of support among the Labor faithful for tougher action against the Israeli government. He expected more than 100 branches will soon have passed such motions.
Parliamentary discipline is maintained through carrots and sticks, the carrots of advancement, of jobs with higher pay; the sticks of banishment.
Ed Husic, freed from Cabinet solidarity after being dumped by factional games, is an example of how quickly a united front can crumble.
And then there’s AUKUS. As regularly dissected on this site by Rex Patrick and others, it is a disaster for Australia, for our defence and sovereignty.
The government can keep pretending all is hunky dory while secretly hoping the Trump gang saves us from ourselves, but the membership is not fooled.
Thoughts and prayers
The common factor in the Labor Government going all the way with the USA on AUKUS and going
no further than thoughts and prayers on Palestine is the appeasement of Australia’s mainstream media.
The usual suspects heap scorn on Labor for not being closer to Trump and for any sign of not supporting Israel. The unedifying spectacle of the Labor leadership three years ago traipsing off to Holt Street to sup with Lachlan Murdoch set a standard of not daring to take on Labor’s real opposition.
People generally go into politics with good motives. Some of that is on display in this week’s maiden speeches, most obviously that by Ali France.
How long principles can be maintained under the weight of toeing the party line is a matter of personal quality. When that party line is set by powerful media rather than the membership, at some point, the weight must become too much.
Michael Pascoe is an independent journalist and commentator with five decades of experience here and abroad in print, broadcast and online journalism. His book, The Summertime of Our Dreams, is published by Ultimo Press.