Abbott – “It’s a Matter of Trust”
Those with long memories will recall that Sir Robert Menzies said
that he had received, in the form of a letter, an official invitation
from the South Vietnam government to participate in the war against the
communist North. When the cabinet papers were released thirty years
later it was disclosed that no such letter existed. 521 young Australian
men lost their lives in a war that Menzies said was in our best
interests.
It’s a matter of trust.
Prime Minister John Howard went to war in Iraq based on information
he repeatedly said was true. That being that Iraq had weapons of mass
destruction.
It’s a matter of trust.
Recently in an interview he said he felt embarrassed when he had
found out that there were no such weapons. Not a hint of regret that, in
part, as a result of his decision 195,000 innocent people lost their
lives.
It’s a matter of trust.
Politicians in general place a lot in the trust of the people. Howard
went to many an election shouting the mantra ‘’who do you trust’’. Tony
Abbott, despite being a pathological liar, often invokes the ‘’just
trust me’’ principle as if he has some form of ownership on
righteousness when in fact trust is born of truth. A concept beyond his
comprehension.
Usually trust between people is formed by way of respect and a mutual
understanding that each can trust the other to be honest, one to one.
Put another way truth is a companion of trust and one cannot exist
without the other. Trust defines the validity of truth.
But in politics somehow there is this expectation that the collective should take the politicians good will, cart Blanche.
In matters of national security where the interests of state
supersede all else there is an obvious reason for secrecy. But it must
be a confidentially that is obtained by government by means of a
willingness to take the people into its confidence. They have to give
the people reason to trust them. That means providing enough information
to justify your actions.
It is not enough to say; “Just trust me”. There needs to be a
transparent, evidenced and justifiable case put forward to back
decisions. Otherwise the public cannot but be cynical that decisions are
politically motivated. It’s about making an unpopular government and
its Prime Minister more popular.
It’s a matter of trust.
On the subject of Climate Change the Prime minister, a known climate
denier, who a couple of years ago said it was just crap wants us to
trust his opinion on the subject over and above the facts provided by
98% of climate scientists. Just trust me. John Howard said he would
rather trust his instincts than science. I wonder if Abbott will be as
equally embarrassed when he finds out the truth of Climate Change as
Howard is about WMD.
The same of course can be said about immigration strategy. It got to
the point where Scott Morrison decided that secrecy was the best policy.
That the public had no right to know anything. Just trust me.
It’s a matter of trust.
Four polls taken after the recent National Security upgrade and the
decision to return to the Iraq war have thrown up remarkably different
results. The independent Morgan and Essential polls have retained the
status quo. That is that they have shown little variation in recent
months.
However, Newspoll and Reachtell, both show an out of character swing
to the Coalition. Newspoll of course is owned by Murdoch who is an avid
supporter of the coalition. In the Morgan poll the only group supporting
the government is the over sixty fives. They poll over all mediums
(they openly disclose their methodology) where as Newspoll only cover
landlines. So given that around 80% of Australians use mobile phones a
healthy degree of cynicism arises about Newspoll. They ask us to trust
their figures but do they find young people using land lines?
It’s a matter of trust.
Without seeming to be trivial even TV talent shows ask us to trust
them. Shows like X Factor ask us to take them on trust when they reveal
results without letting the viewing public know what the actual votes
are. This trust thing permeates itself throughout society. In
advertising, in journalism, medicine the law etc, etc. No wonder we
become cynical.
It’s a matter of trust.
In terms of trust, politics and its institutions, in the public eye,
have never been at a lower ebb. It is all part of the decline of our
democracy. Politicians like Christopher Pyne , and others, are seemingly
outraged when interviewers dare question their truthfulness. “I don’t
agree with the premise of your question” you will hear him say, “Just
trust me”.
TonyAbbott, before being invited, decided to commit to returning to Iraq.
No debate, no discussion no consultation. Just trust me. Then he decided
to raise the terrorism threat under questionable circumstances. There
was a likelihood of a terrorist attack. No evidence to speak of just
speculation. Then we had the raids with 850 police running around doing
something or other. All based on some social media chatter. Something
the agencies monitor on a daily basis.
This time however it required a media presence all because the PM
tells us we are under attack from someone but he can’t give us any
information. Just trust me. The problem is that no one does.
We are all just so cynical of the motivation behind his decisions.
Why the need for so many police. If we were really under threat why
alarm the public. Why would you knowingly incite people to take out
their anger against others? Why would you raise, with the politics of
fear, alarm bells in the community?
The timing of the raids and the manner in which they were carried out
seemed intent on whipping people into a frenzy of hysteria. It looked
like a manufactured spectacle.
The result is that the inflammatory language of the brain-dead comes
to the fore. People like Cory Bernardi, MPs Craig Kelly and Alex Hawke
all protesting the Muslim voice. Add to that mix the unflappable Jaqui
Lambie and the flames of ignorance are further fed.
You would only do it if it were to your advantage. If it enhanced the perception of you as a strong leader.
Thus far all that has come of this is that a few men are being
questioned and one has been charged with some minor offenses. Only time
will tell if it is just all bullshit and timed to coincide with the
government’s new National Security legislation which is designed to
further augment the power of a few.
After a year in power in which the government has proven its own
ineptness it is now asking us to trust it with new draconian powers to
thwart the risk of terror attacks.
And to make matters worse the opposition supports their every move unquestioned.
I have a healthy cynicism of our Prime Minister based not just on
ideological differences but an ongoing assessment of his character.
It’s a matter of trust.
You’d have to be joking.
Author’s note:
Whilst writing this piece an event occurred in Melbourne that has been
described as an act of terrorism. I recommend you read the transcript of
this interview.
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