THE MOCKER THE AUSTRALIAN 1 AUGUST 2024
Australiansalso deserve a prime minister who is honest and upfront. Picture: NewsWire /John Appleyard
According to Anthony Albanese,he heads a government so rich in talent we should feel “blessed”.
“I think that we couldproduce, say, a second or third cabinet that would be stronger than the shadowcabinet”, he boasted on Sunday.
He could be half-right. Isuspect unbeknown to Albanese, the Labor caucus has since the inception of thisgovernment secretly been conducting an experiment along these lines, beginningwith those least competent. If so, it is truly a case of a prime minister beingfirst among equals.
That we are blessed issomething we shallow and ignorant types have trouble recognising, butfortunately Albanese was happy to educate us. Things are going swimmingly well,you see. His government, he insisted, is “the most experienced incoming Laborgovernment in history”. It is also “very stable” and “good”. So stable and goodhe has had to reassign many of his ministers after just two years in the job.
Former IndigenousAustralians minister Linda Burney’s move to the backbench is a plusfor Albanese. He does not wish to remind the public of his farcical attempt toentrench a race-based activist group in the constitution. Her departurefurthers his fictional narrative that he did not foregohis political capital in the referendum result, the corollary being that shealone bears responsibility for that divisive debacle. Onya, Linda.
Not all ministers will bereassigned. NDIS minister Bill Shorten still has the portfolio from hell, aposition he must loathe nearly as much as he does his leader. He has goodreason to. Consider Albanese’s response when asked why he taken so long toabolish the self-indulgent republic portfolio.
“The portfolio wasappointed first under the previous Labor leader,” he said, true to form. “It’ssomething that I inherited.” This is the same Albanese who said just daysbefore the 2022 election that Australians “deserved a prime minister whoaccepts responsibility – who doesn’t always look for someone to blame”.
NDIS ministerBill Shorten has the portfolio from hell. Picture: NewsWire / Jeremy Piper
Australians also deserve aprime minister who is honest and upfront. Just like Albanese promised when helaunched his election campaign in 2022, saying he would “always tell itstraight” if he got the top job.
We know how that turnedout. Asked why he was reassigning the hapless Andrew Giles, Albanese’sprevaricating verged on imbecile as he tried to defend his factional ally andformer immigration minister.
“Because there’s areshuffle,” he said. “What you do when there’s a reshuffle is that there is achange that then has a knock-on effect.”
There were “issues” inimmigration, Albanese conceded, but they “go back to when the former governmentwas in office”. Here we go again. The previous government, particularly the doingsof Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, had created a “mess” for Giles and formerHome Affairs minister Clare O’Neil, he insisted.
Let’s unpack that. If wefollow Albanese’s reasoning, it must be Dutton’s fault that O’Neil and Gilesfailed to prepare for an adverse decision by the High Court in the case ofNZYQ. It was Dutton’s fault that Home Affairs subsequently released 150immigration detainees, including murderers, drug traffickers, and sexoffenders, without supervision on O’Neil and Giles’s watch. It was Dutton’sfault that Giles issued Direction 99, which required decision-makers and appealtribunals to consider an individual’s community ties when consideringrevocation of a convicted criminal’s visa, thus resulting in pedophiles and other sex offendersavoiding deportation.
ImmigrationMinister Andrew Giles. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman
It must also be Dutton’sfault that a delegate of Giles authorised this year the removal of an anklebracelet from a former detainee who then allegedly a month later viciously bashed an elderly Perth grandmotherand her husband during a home invasion. It was Dutton’s fault the Albanesegovernment, despite having had the legislative wherewithal since December, hadnot as of May lodged a single preventive detention application targeting thosereleased following the NZYQ decision.
Replacing O’Neil and Gilesis Tony Burke, a minister with prior experience in immigration. Like EnergyMinister Chris Bowen, he held that portfolio when Labor was last in government.As the opposition pointed out, 83 unauthorised boats arrived during the 80days he occupied that office. It is a sensitive topic for him.
If wefollow Albanese’s reasoning, it must be Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s faultthat O’Neil and Giles failed to prepare for an adverse decision by the HighCourt in the case of NZYQ. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman
“Their first attempt tohave a go at me on policy is to provide just the most horrificmisrepresentation you can imagine,” he told ABC’s Patricia Karvelas this week.
Burke was an activeimmigration minister all right during the second Rudd government, but you haveto wonder whose interests he was advocating. When incoming prime minister TonyAbbott announced a Coalition government would proceed with turning back peoplesmugglers and their vessels, no-one was more outraged than Burke, saying itamounted to “unilateral action”. If anything, he was offended on Indonesia’sbehalf.
“Those issues have beenmade patently clear that they consider them breaches of their sovereignty,” hesaid tartly. That said, it has been 11 years since he made those remarks, andhopefully Burke now understands his priority is the sovereignty of theAustralian border, not that of Indonesia.
TonyBurke was an active immigration minister all right during the second Ruddgovernment. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman
As for those charming MiddleEastern men who marched on the Sydney Opera House last year to celebrate Hamas’s massacre of Israelis,Albanese is on to you. He has announced Peter Khalil will be his Special Envoyfor Social Cohesion.
Now you might think thatspecial envoy is a grandiose title for a pointless position, but that is notthe case. As Albanese explained, what he has done is to “put in place peoplewho can give thought to things,” which sounds remarkably visionary. And ifthere is one thing Albanese desperately needs, it is someone to think for him.
If anything, the PrimeMinister should consider creating more positions to advise him. I would suggesthe begin with a special envoy for coherent sentences. Next, a special envoy forgrowing a prime ministerial backbone. That would be followed by a special envoyfor dumbing down complex briefs.
A special envoy forencouraging Albanese to take responsibility is a must-have. So too is a specialenvoy for reminding the Prime Minister that he is no longer the oppositionleader. And we need a special envoy for inclusion to point out to Albanese thathe is supposed to represent all Australians, not just Indigenous activists andleaders of militant unions.
But above all Albaneseneeds someone to explain a concept that he has been unable to grasp. It will bean exceedingly difficult job, and I wish that person the best. Any suggestionsas to who will be the Prime Minister’s special envoy for truth-telling?
Original article here
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