Tag Archive for 'Tony Abbott'

The reception and implementation of the National History Curriculum

Published
by
Mark
2 weeks, 3 days ago
in Culture, Education, History, Howardia and Politics
. 26 Comments

A while back, Kevin Rudd proclaimed the history wars over. He may have been right, at least insofar as the combatants left on the field are looking decidely ghostly; witness the non-event of the launch of Keith Windschuttle’s latest tome. Yesterday’s grapeshot over the history curriculum will, likely, not be followed up by another offensive – the Coalition, and the usual suspects, will move on to criticising the government’s health announcements.

Yet the influence of the Howard-era battles remains – and its most significant legacy might be the fact that history is embedded in the national curriculum at all. This is a major shift from its folding into SOSE (Studies of Society and Environment) at P-10 levels in many states.

In an interesting piece for Crikey today, Tony Taylor looks at the reception and implementation of the history curriculum: Continue reading ‘The reception and implementation of the National History Curriculum’

Rudd’s health policy

Published
by
Mark
2 weeks, 3 days ago
in Federal Elections, Government, Health and Politics
. 63 Comments

Kevin Rudd has released his health policy at the National Press Club.

Essentially, it encompasses a phased takeover of responsibility for activity based hospital funding by the Commonwealth, with 30% of GST revenue to be diverted directly to hospitals. Funding would flow to individual hospitals, with local authorities being funded to treat individual patients, and the establishment of national standards of care.

Primary health care will become the sole responsibility of the Commonwealth.

Politically, it buys the Commonwealth a possible fight with the largely unpopular state governments, and appears to short circuit the state health departments, leaving them with residual functions for the less glamorous administrative functions of hospital systems. It also incorporates the local focus Tony Abbott has championed, with flexibility for clincal and funding decisions to be made at hospital or regional level. The Commonwealth would become, in effect, a regulatory and activity based funding body, rather than ‘taking over’ hospitals, but the threat of a referendum remains.

Subsequent announcements between now and the election will focus on extra beds, doctor and nurse training, support for GPs, and the introduction of electronic patient record monitoring.

The AMA is supportive; the Coalition opposed.

Detail of the National Health and Hospitals Network Plan can be found here.

Update: Bernard Keane observes at The Stump that the plan comes with a snappy slogan – “funded nationally, run locally”.

Update: Melissa Sweet analyses the announcement at Croakey.

Update: The transcript of Kevin Rudd’s Q&A at the Press Club is now available here.

Rudd unwhacked

Published
by
Mark
2 weeks, 4 days ago
in Elections, Media, Politics and Polls
. 61 Comments

Newspoll came in last night with essentially a status quo result, with both parties one point up on primaries (and the 2PP changing one point down each way to 52-48 because of a measured fall in The Greens’ primary.)

I doubt that Kevin Rudd ever expected the ‘whacking’ in the polls he trumpeted. Rather, this was part of the rhetorical structure of the weekend of apologies – convincing the public that he’d already taken his medicine, and that they should think again about the government’s virtues (which he, and Ministers, have used the sorry-fest to remind everyone of) and think harder about the Coalition. A very similar line has been working wonders for Gordon Brown of late.

In other words, rather than offering the proverbial commentary on the polls, Rudd’s remarks are part of a set piece of political manoeuvring aiming to draw a line in the sand, and to establish a contrast between the government’s new policy announcements (the national curriculum and health) and the opposition’s negativity. That’s potentially quite an effective play when everything we’ve seen of of Abbott et al over the last few weeks has been pure opposition.

Incidentally, I’d repeat the point I’ve made a number of times before – among all sorts of other influences, commentary on the polls has an underlying and perhaps unexamined premise that a Liberal majority is the natural state of affairs. Otherwise, it’s hard to explain the narrative of trouble and crisis when Labor is still comfortably ahead. It’s as if the Coalition ever overtaking Labor spells doom and destruction for the Rudd government. It would not. It’s worth underlining the fact that governments are often behind in the polls, and come back to win elections. John Howard frequently appeared headed for defeat in each electoral cycle after his first win.

Trevor Cook provides a useful reminder another point of comparison – to the Rudd opposition of the late Howard years.

Speaking of which, those who talked about Howard’s comments and policy changes around the time of the Aston by-election in 2001 were making the better comparison than the chorus of ‘Beattie reborn!’ songsters. The difference, of course, is that Howard appeared headed for a genuine whacking in early 2001, while Rudd is sitting pretty.

While we’re talking polls, I’d also recommend a squizzy at Possum’s fascinating tables on the Essential Research questions about the assessment of leaders’ attributes.

Tony Abbott’s Ideas Summit

Published
by
Mark
3 weeks, 2 days ago
in Politics
. 103 Comments

Business Spectator reports:

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott will hold an ideas forum on Friday in much the same vein as Kevin Rudd’s famed 2020 summit.

But he insists it will be more than a glorified photo opportunity.

The roundtable is set to feature some high-profile Australians, such as former defence boss Peter Cosgrove and indigenous leader Noel Pearson, who will lend their views on future public policy.

Mr Abbott wants to take on the government intellectually, and told coalition colleagues they must be willing to fight the “battle of ideas”.

Each contributor has been asked to come up with no more than five big ideas to shape Australia in the medium- to long-term.

Unlike the 2020 summit, there doesn’t appear to be an opportunity for citizens to have input. So, perhaps, we can fill the void. What ideas should Tony Abbott consider?

Pink batts politics

Published
by
Mark
3 weeks, 4 days ago
in Ethics and Politics
. 80 Comments

As the opposition continues to increase the noise level of the Peter Garrett pursuit beyond any decibel levels Midnight Oil ever generated, it’s worth pausing to consider whether there’s a chance that their campaign might be counter-productive.

Tony Abbott’s relish in articulating slogans such as “electrocution denial” belies his purported concern for those who tragically lost their lives. Similarly, claims that roof insulation is the nation’s greatest threat – ‘worse than terrorism’ – are hyperbole of the most absurd kind.

Abbott’s opposition, as pledged at the outset, is wholly characterised by oppositionism. There’s a perceptible difference between holding a government accountable and delighting in getting on the political front foot. Abbott’s constant mantra that ‘the mood is turning’ may turn out not to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, but rather evidence of his own obsession with winning at all costs. Oppositions always run the risk of getting over-cocky, and looking driven by the logic of the political contest rather than the public good. Abbott, in particular, is prone to that risk, and it should be worrying for him if the perception develops that he’s primarily motivated by his own political aggrandisement.

Whether or not this is one of those moments remains to be seen. But I suspect that the longer it’s prolonged, the more defences such as ’should the health minister resign over medical malpractice?’ (despite the spurious nature of the analogy), and indeed the better argument that shonky bosses bear direct responsibility, may start to have an impact in the public mind. It’s not as if a lot of people haven’t encountered problems with substandard building work, for instance. And this line is one Abbott himself invited with his irresponsible ranting about ‘industrial manslaughter’.

This issue will be resolved not on its merits but on its politics. But the opposition needs to keep the focus on its merits not on its politics, for it to be good politics. Their own frenzy of wild abandon may shine the light back on their own motives and bona fides (or lack thereof).

Update: A number of commenters on this and another thread have referred to some interesting stuff from Possum, so I’ve created a dedicated thread for discussing his insights.

Torquemada in Lycra

Published
by
Kim
3 weeks, 5 days ago
in Federal Elections and Politics
. 32 Comments

Tony Abbott, we’re told, is “real”. Able to mix with the battlers (just like Joe Hockey, another product of the North Shore Jesuit Fathers, and just like yet another, Barnaby Joyce, the accountant in the Akubra), he’s “authentic”.

Kevin Rudd is real too. He really is a wonky, nerdy bureaucrat. Perish the thought that we would want to vote for someone who knew something about policy?

But why is it assumed that the persona doesn’t mask something else? Could Tony Abbott be the one spinning a web of symbolism? Wasn’t George W. Bush the candidate we’d rather have a beer with?

[Rhetorical questions in the mode of KRudd.]

Now, I haven’t read Tony’s tome. Be interested to hear from anyone who has. But, Geoffrey Barker has, and he wrote this in the Fin Review today:

Continue reading ‘Torquemada in Lycra’

Abbott takes a stand in defence of private health

Published
by
Mark
3 weeks, 5 days ago
in Federal Elections, Health and Politics
. 24 Comments

This week in Parliament Labor will gain another double dissolution trigger, as the Coalition has vowed to stop changes to the threshold for the private health insurance rebate. Labor will be keen to draw a parallel between this move and Abbott’s tenure as Health Minister, arguing that less money will be available for public hospitals. The ALP will also no doubt utilise Barnaby Joyce’s previous equivocal comments on the measure to ram home the point about fiscal indiscipline from the opposition.

Kevin Rudd’s health policy is likely to be the centrepiece of the government’s plan for re-election.

Meanwhile, writing at The Age, Kenneth Davidson provides a very good argument for not subsidising the private health insurers at all.

Too much information, Tony? Open Tony Abbott oversharing and exhibitionism watch thread

Published
by
Mark
4 weeks, 1 day ago
in Media, Politics and Sexuality
. 110 Comments

What is with this dude?

Tony Abbott bemoans lack of sex on campaign trail

* Speaks candidly about sex life
* “One of life’s greatest pleasures”
* “Almost impossible on campaign trail”

If you dare, you can “read more about sex-starved Tony Abbott at The Examiner”.

Hat tip to a Facebook friend for the question in the title of the post.

International climate change policy after Copenhagen

Published
by
Mark
1 month ago
in International, Media, Politics and Polls
. 43 Comments

Last night on Lateline, Ross Garnaut pointed out to an apparently taken aback Tony Jones that 57% support for the ETS – as a major reform – was actually extremely impressive. Today in New Matilda, Ben Eltham rightly says that “the Government is not in nearly as much trouble as many believe. It leads in the polls on nearly every issue that matters, including preferred prime minister.”

The clear implication is that this isn’t the impression people would form if they went by the coverage and commentary in the Australian media.

Similarly, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Copenhagen spelt doom for any concerted international action on climate change (despite the fact that the Coalition’s policy is still tied into setting emissions targets, no matter how ineffectual it would be; and that it also provides Liberal moderates some leverage if the Abbott truck hits an electoral blackspot). There’s been nary a word published about the targets that states agreed to submit post-Copenhagen. It’s as if the event’s only significance was its ramifications for Australian domestic politics.

The Economist links to The Sustainability Institute’s interactive Climate Score Card, which enables a picture to be drawn of the probable impacts on average temperature of the various nations’ commitments. The paper also points out that:

countries can express their intentions in different ways, and that many have provided two or more levels of commitment: a low one that they say they will pursue regardless, and one or more higher ones that they will try for if enough other countries are also going high.

For those whose horizon is wider than the prism of the Australian partisan debate, the whole thing, as they say, is worth reading.

Abbott and Murdoch

Published
by
Mark
1 month ago
in Media and Politics
. 38 Comments

The News Limited papers have been pounding Stephen Conroy for having met Kerry Stokes while holidaying in Colorado, prior to the Rudd government’s hand out to free to air tv stations. [For the record, Conroy denies the two events are linked or that there's anything improper about his meeting.]

This afternoon, Crikey broke the story that Rupert Murdoch met Tony Abbott while he was in Australia for his mother’s birthday celebrations.

Bernard Keane writes:

There’s now a simple test for News Ltd – whether it covers Abbott’s meeting with its proprietor in the same way as it covered Conroy’s, and whether it demands the same details of Abbott as the Sunday Telegraph demanded of Conroy – what was discussed and what hospitality did Abbott enjoy from Murdoch?

And, most of all, was there a deal made between the two for favourable coverage?

Those are good questions, though it’s a bit hard to imagine how Abbott’s coverage in The Australian could be any more favourable than it is already…

Update: Trevor Cook on Stephen Conroy’s defence of the licence fee decision.

The politics of risk and uncertainty in an election year

Published
by
Mark
1 month ago
in Economics, Europe, Federal Elections, International, Markets, Politics and Sociology
. 36 Comments

Writing in Crikey yesterday, Guy Rundle described the Greek imbroglio as the second wave of the Global Financial Crisis:

So let’s try and make it as clear as possible — the second wave of the 2008 GFC has begun, and Greece is where it started from. The first wave was prompted by the collapse of a series of private investment banks, starting with Lehman Brothers. The second is starting with the deep problems occasioned by the indebtedness of sovereign nations using the broad security of the euro, to be entrepreneurial with their budgets. That’s entrepreneurial in a political sense — thus Greece’s centre-right New Democrats left the nation’s finances unreformed as a way of giving the illusion that the wave of post euro-entry prosperity was solidly backed. Instead the country has simply wildly over-borrowed from its future.

That much is Greece’s problem primarily, and Europe’s secondarily. It becomes a global matter when the degree of exposure of the global banking system becomes clear — hot on the heels of the last crunch, and with nothing resembling a real recovery in-between.

Writing in Crikey today, Bernard Keane concluded that things may not be as rosy as we’d thought in Australia:

The euphoria that Australia has avoided a recession is now giving way to the realisation that as the Government’s stimulus withdraws, there are real questions about just how strong the private-sector growth needed to replace it is.

And the threat from overseas, and particularly the impact of sovereign debt and sluggish economic growth on financial and currency markets, has placed a big question mark over external demand.

Continue reading ‘The politics of risk and uncertainty in an election year’

“The poor will always be with us”; Abbott’s Brutopia

Published
by
Mark
1 month ago
in Authoritarianism, Philosophy, Politics and Sociology
. 149 Comments

It must be ‘write an op/ed for Fairfax about something a political leader said to me’ week. First, Nina Funnell, and now Michael Perusco:

I was in Canberra last week and had the opportunity to ask Opposition Leader Tony Abbott whether a government under his direction would continue with the Rudd government’s goal of halving homelessness by 2020. His answer was no.

In justifying his stance, Abbott quoted from the Gospel of Matthew: ”The poor will always be with us,” he said, and referred to the fact there is little a government can do for people who choose to be homeless.

Perusco, the Chief Executive of Melbourne’s Sacred Heart Mission, goes on to refute Abbott’s claim that homelessness is a choice, and to underline how vital action in this area is.

It’s instructive to compare Abbott’s remarks, which he presumably didn’t think would end up in The Age, with this piece of puffery from Senator George Brandis in The Australian: Continue reading ‘“The poor will always be with us”; Abbott’s Brutopia’

Do the polls support the political narrative? Or; how to build a commentariat-bot

Published
by
Mark
1 month ago
in Federal Elections, Media and Polls
. 69 Comments

I’ve previously highlighted Dennis Shanahan and Malcolm Colless as barometers of the new new political narrative (‘Rudd in trouble! Gloss comes off! Action Man Tony Off To Vigorous Start!’). Michelle Grattan provided another twist on the mechanics of constructing such a story on the weekend.

Rudd’s political style, whether his prolixity or his obsession for control, was always destined to be viewed more harshly when the politics became tougher.

Eventually it might work, but it’s not so far, because Abbott, blemished as he might be, is seen as ”authentic”, just as people are starting to ask ”will the real Kevin stand up?”…

But the dynamics have changed, the government is worried and the public, for the moment, seem to be hoping the underdog makes it a contest.

There’s lots, lots, more, and in fact the whole piece is something of a mind dump rather than a considered analysis. But what’s worth highlighting is the elision between “the public” (referenced anecdotally), the polls (alluded to) and “people”. The story is largely written in the passive voice beloved of such authoritative pronouncements – stuff just happens, and it’s unclear who thinks that it has, and who has been doing the doing. Who is doing the viewing of Rudd in the para I’ve excerpted? What is this destiny?

What it really adds up to is a picture of the commentariat-bot at work.

Not everyone is as artless as Alexander Downer, claiming to detect a sea-change in public opinion on the basis of random airport encounters, quickly morphed into “people think”, and “people say”, but the underlying illogic is the same. Public opinion has changed because the commentariat says it has. The absence of much hard data, or even reference to such data as exists, only serves to highlight the constructedness of the narrative.

For a corrective, one might try Possum.

Continue reading ‘Do the polls support the political narrative? Or; how to build a commentariat-bot’