What on the HC forum? Without them visiting this site wouldn't be so entertaining. What i used to tell the youngsters I coached is, respect the opposition because without them you wouldn't get a game.
As I've written before i don't care about his private bonking. What annoys me is the wanton disregard for taxpayers money and pollies public behaviour displaying hypocrisy.
Anyway an interesting contribution from an ethicist.
............the scandalous behaviour by the Turnbull ministry in its cynical manipulation of language to distort the plain meaning of the Ministerial Code of Conduct.
No wonder our society feels ashamed of those who serve in politics. That it has come to this is not just a scandal. It is a tragedy.
In helping Mr Joyce evade responsibility, our government has put yet another nail in the coffin of Ministerial (and personal) responsibility. Our Prime Minister and Cabinet have made it clear – personal obligations extend no further than obeying the strict letter of the law. If there is a loophole, exploit it. If the regulations are silent, then do whatever you feel like. Forget issues of ethics, of integrity, of basic decency. Exercise no judgement. Do not hold yourself personally responsible. Just comply. Just meet the minimum legal standard. Just don’t get caught.
No wonder our society feels ashamed of those who serve in politics. That it has come to this is not just a scandal. It is a tragedy. The practice of politics was originally conceived to be a noble calling, the arena in which a citizen might work to build a good society. How tainted has that ideal become?
Do our political leaders really not understand what their example is doing to the nation? Do they truly have no idea of the corrosive effects of their hypocrisy? They rail against the rest of us for not being accountable for our actions, they hold our feet to the fire. But never, not ever, if it is one of their own… unless, unless there is not a nanometre of wriggle room left to be exploited.
No wonder we have so many laws and regulations in this country. A society led to believe that principles do not matter only has the strict letter of the law to rely upon. So, as life becomes more complicated, as the loopholes and exceptions multiply, so the legislation and regulation expands to fill the ever widening gap. It is unstoppable – because nothing else counts.
That is the lesson taught to us by political leaders from across the ideological spectrum.
That is the public scandal of the Barnaby Joyce affair
