As the dust settles from Tuesday night’s wrecking ball budget, I have been thinking about how this happened. How is it possible that Australia was conned into voting for Abbott and his fellow Liberal and National psychopaths? There’s a fairly obvious answer to this, and two clear culprits. First of all, Abbott and his LNP colleagues lied to the electorate about what their real plans for Australia were. And second, the mainstream media let the people of Australia down by refusing to pre-warn them about Abbott’s real plans.
Abbott knows as well as I do that the Liberals would never win an election if they were truthful with voters. So they lied. Lying has become natural to them, because without lies they have no chance of power. But let’s make something very clear right now. Anyone who didn’t see this budget coming, wasn’t looking. When I say they weren’t looking, I mean they were either too uninformed to understand who Abbott really was, they were looking right at Abbott and wouldn’t admit to what they were really seeing, or they were looking elsewhere and ignoring what was right in front of them. And when I say anyone, I mean all Australian voters. But much of the responsibility for keeping these voters informed falls on the journalists who were responsible for this important democratic function. And there’s absolutely no doubt that Australian journalists did this important job atrociously.
When you take into account that the mainstream political press in this country have been obsessing for the last six years over the Labor Party, it’s quite easy to see why journalists either wilfully refused to scrutinise Abbott, or why they were wearing their Labor-bashing blinkers and whacking so hard with their Labor-bashing sticks, they had little energy for any Abbott coverage. And by coverage, I don’t mean following Abbott’s safety-vest-banana-stacking-three-word-slogan circus blindly around the country. I mean truthful, objective analysis. Not a big ask, but apparently too big an ask for Australian journalists. If even half the time that journalists spent covering Labor leadership tensions over the last six years were instead devoted to even a cursory analysis of Abbott’s values and ideology, the lies from the Abbott government would have been obvious well before it was too late for the voting public to defend themselves from the sucker-punch budget we’ve just had rammed down our throats by Foghorn Leghorn Hockey.
Another favourite topic that mainstream journalists obsessed over was Labor’s narrative. Did Labor have one or not? If they did have one, was it the right one? If it was the right one, why were Rudd and Gillard having such trouble communicating their narrative? And on, and on, and on, and on this analysis went. But, I have the same question as some of the commenters on Andrew Elder’s post about the Guardian’s Katharine Murphy’s failure to properly inform her readers about Abbott. Why do journalists never write about Liberal narrative?
I’ve got a really simple explanation for this; it’s because the Liberal narrative is a wolf dressed up as a lamb, in an entirely unconvincing costume that leaves the wolf looking exactly like a wolf to anyone who has their eyes open and is looking straight at the wolf. Yet, when this wolf tells people it’s a lamb, journalists tell everyone the wolf is a lamb. And voters vote for this lamb, and even think this lamb is a better than the Labor alternative. But as we all found for ourselves on Tuesday night, the wolf is a wolf! And all the journalists are now acting surprised, as if they had never seen this wolf before. But I would suggest that either these journalists are lying or stupid. And either way their inability to expose the wolf makes them unqualified to be journalists.
The new trick for many of these journalists, having discovered that Australians have seen the wolf for themselves, and are now rightly quite afraid that this wolf is running the country, is to say ‘Labor is a wolf too. You can’t trust any of them. They’re all as bad as each other’. You get this same attitude from many politically engaged lefties (usually Greens voters) who, for reasons only apparent to themselves, have decided to perpetuate this myth of Labor and Liberal being just as bad as each other. This myth works like a charm for the Liberals because it allows them to get away with being a wolf when they need to be. I often wonder if these lefties are aware of the damage they’re doing to their own cause. And I ask them to think about why, if Labor and Liberal are apparently just the same as each other, the Abbott budget has ripped the heart out of Labor’s Australia, and left it bleeding and barely able to breathe in the gutter on the side of the road? It doesn’t look like they’re just the same at all now does it?
So back to this wolf. Since Australian journalists are unwilling to discuss the Liberal narrative, and are obviously incapable of understanding Labor’s narrative, which is right in front of their eyes in the same way as the wolf in sheep’s clothing is, I thought it might be helpful to explain the values of both parties really clearly, here in digital ink for them to find whenever they need them to accompany a discussion of complex policy debates and budget analysis (so in other words, never).
Labor’s values
We are all in this together. Where this means a community where everyone works towards the health and security of the whole community. The collective wealth of the economy serves this community. Not the other way around.
Liberal’s values
We are all in this together. Where this means a free-market economy where a person’s wealth determines their status, and in turn their status determines their privilege and their privilege determines their access to health and security. If someone can’t access health and security, this is their own fault and it’s not the community’s role to help them. So in fact, we’re not all in anything together. We’re all on our own.
These values can be found in the true narratives of both parties, intertwined in every policy they produce, and every statement they make. To find them, you don’t have to look very hard. In fact, you don’t have to look for them at all. All you have to do is open your eyes. Australian voters have had our eyes opened for us. But I just hope that those who feel most let down, the ones who are suffering in silence now because they were the dopes who voted for Abbott, I hope they save some of their resentment for the mainstream media for so blatantly letting them down by feeding them to the wolves.
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Media Inequality 
Another great article Victoria. Have left my comment on the TIAM site.
Victoria
We had a change of government because the mob you support and endorse were bloody hopeless at the job of governing. They had some grand ideas but utterly crap follow through but worse still they were utterly incapable of matching expenditure to revenues.
Had they not blown out the budget position so badly for everyone of their six years in office then the current government would not have both the need and the desire to bring down such a tough budget. And yes I think in someways its TOO tough in the way that it treats the young unemployed for example but things like the $7 co payment are not that big a deal.
So how about you just accept that we have a Liberal government because Labor were hopeless and give the blame to both Gillard and Rudd and the rabble that they led because until the Labor party learn that they have to do better than come up with grand schemes paid for on the national credit card they have to be good mangers as well. One thing that they need not do if they pay heed to that necessity is whine about their “message” because you make the fatal mistake in this piece of thinking that it was all about the message rather than the substance of their government.
La la loony ian hall. Didn’t read it cause he’s not gonna waste my time.
so in which decade would swan have delivered a surplus, and would the greeks still be looking enviously at us then? the labor party had no competence when it came to fiscal responsibility or implementing any of their grand plans. if implemented well, and funded, they might have been good ideas, but as implemented they were hopeless.
it’s like you’re blaming the oncologist for having to put you under the knife rather than the tobacconist who sold you cigarettes for years. carry on the labor path and we’ll be collectively as dead as if you keep going back to the tobacconist. Undergo the pain of the knife and we might just get out of this mess.
You do realise that a budget surplus means that the government takes in more tax, and spends it on less don’t you.
You also realise that Costello’s surpluses were achieved on the back of a Chinese boom and flogging off the family silver (Telstra, the airports, anything that wasn’t nailed down), and then neglecting infrastructure for 12 years, don’t you?
Calling Costello a great treasurer because of these things is like calling someone who wins Lotto a self made millionaire.
1. ideally, when a govt gets in more tax than it needs, that is when they should put money aside for a rainy day or reduce taxes and pay down debt. That’s what they did.
2. Costello needed to get surpluses to pay down all the debt that Labor left. How much of that infrastructure was state responsibility that the (then mostly labor) state governments mismanaged? Would the debt labor racked up have ever been reduced if they hadn’t been kicked to the kerb by the electorate?
3. Costello did an ok job. Better than Swan. If you’re spending your grandkids money by racking up debt with nothing to show for it, it doesn’t take much skill to spend money faster than a boatload of drunken sailors on shore leave.
I’m so tired of these coalition supporters repeating the lie that the countryis in a poor economic state. THERE IS NO BUDGET EMERGENCY.
There’s a saying that goes something like, “if you repeat a lie often enough it becomes the truth.” Abbott and Hockey work to this maxim—impressively creating a climate of emergency by hammering home the same lies ad infinitum. While the image below does a great job of illustrating how wrong they are, how do we really stack up?
Bloomberg has a great tool that compares all the countries using IMF data:
-Australia’s gross national debt as a percentage of GDP (2014) is 29.2%
-We’re 47th highest debt from a list of 58 countries
-We’re the best performing first world country
-Japan ranks 1st with 242%
-The US, 6th at 107%
A better example is to contrast Australia with Denmark which is 31st with just under 48%—CONSIDERED TO BE LOW DEBT!
There is no need to punish the poor and unemployed as Hockey has done, but of course he knows he can because these are not the people who vote for his party and his budget demonstrates exactly who his supporters are – the rich, the mining companies and big business, all of whom have escaped the burden of ‘heavy lifting’. Tell me coalition supporters – where is the equity and fairness?
Marty
Neither Andi nor I claimed that there was a “budget emergency” just that Labor were woeful managers, further you don’t seem to realize that every heavily indebted nation started out as one with only a very modest debt that was not paid down at the earliest opportunity. Had Labor been more mindful of this when they were spending like drunken sailors on a spree (building unnecessary school halls for example) then none of the harsh measures in this budget would have been necessary.
I hope you are doing your bit of the lifting.
Unnecessary school halls, whats was Howards gift to schools, a flag pole
which was both less expensive and arguably more useful 😉
Of course u would say that, anything the LNP do is gods gift to the people, anything the ALP do is the devils work, u need to see the light and see that this government only got in on lies to the electorate.
Paul
I once was a Labor voter, from a family of Labor voters and part of me really wants that party to get its act together and to learn the necessity of under promising and then over delivering, Sadly over the last decade they have become the epitome of a bad political joke, unable to govern themselves or any project of grand scheme they come up with.
Grand schemes and even just good ideas are worthless if you can’t properly shepherd and manage them from notion to completion. Until the Labor can deliver something on time and on budget I see no reason to vote for them.
So by your hypothesis, you will not be voting for the coalition at the next election then, as this government will have done nothing but lie to the electorate, and would have done nothing to improve people’s quality of life except to make them worse of except for people earning over $100,000.00, big companies and the like of gina.
I was once a liberal voter, stopped voting for them because they would only help the big end of town, the lnp believe in the trickle down effect, pay big business and then let the money flow down frm them, that was a big laugh, the government is there to help the people, not to take it away from the poor and underprivileged and give to the rich which is what this government is doing.
Paul
I don’t follow you leap of faith from my criticism of Labor to a conclusion that my logic suggests that I could vote Labor next time
You have stated that only governments that can implement good policies are worth voting for, this government has not implemented good policy, so who will u be voting for in the next election, the greens, independent, PUP, what will it be?
How many surplus has there been since federation. 18, I believe. The country seems to have remained on a upwards trend most of he time,
What is true, yes there were no surpluses under Gillard, Yes there was continuous growth Yes, the AAA rating from three agencies. And most of all, the deficit was slowly treedning downwards.
No unemployment of any consequences. No inflation. A better deal for full pensioners and the famines on low incomes.
Not sure where they got it wrong.
What did occur, that hifgh dollar did not perform as was expected. Yes, maybe a MRRT earlier in the piece could have released money, to allow the economy to transform from what is was before the mineral boom and high dollar, Help local manufacturer to cope in the new economy that evolved.
Now, we will see if Abbott and co can deliver. I suspect not.
Florence
Interesting that I raise the matter of the MRRT because that is an almost perfect example of just how Labor went so wrong. In the first instance they managed to create a tax that raised no real revenue and secondly they committed themselves to spending on the false expectation that it would raise lots of money. Its that sort of double whammy that got them thrown out and rightly so.
They Lied and the LNP stooges who frequent Vic’s good work are just as bad by repeating those lies.
Keep up the good work Vic.
Great writing, Victoria, thanks.
A treat to read, even if anger and dismay at Abbottoir destruction and greed, and the yay-sayers support, is part of the experience.
It is fascinating (or should I say predictable, pathetic?) how the troll(s) is(are) trying so hard to find something to say about this that actually worth reading – nup, not there yet. Still working for the destroyers. Scroll the trolls! 😀
Victoria, If you are pondering how Tony’s LNP came to be elected with their policies/promises largely unexamined, and you did not mention the word ‘Murdoch’ at least once then, I’m sorry, but you are on the complete wrong track. There is an elephant in that room!
The Murdoch media, that is close to 70% of our daily metropolitan print media circulation, ran an outright negative campaign against the Labor Party over a period of years. It culminated in hysterically negative coverage during the actual election campaign. Not only is there the testimony of ex-News Corp employees to validate this, but also unprecedented multiple full front page demolitions and caricatures of the government during the election.
With this cacophony from our dominant media company setting the ‘news’ agenda, it is no wonder that the electorate were misled, ignorant and voted ABL (Anyone but Labor). It is no wonder that other journalists and media took their lead from this and went with the flow. Lazy? Yes. Derelict? Yes. But surely no surprise?
Look no further.
Ah, the media. Tim Dunlop brings out an interesting observation that suggests how Labor will never get its fair share of the coverage. I used to blame the ABC for, in the pursuit of ‘balance’, allowing the looney fringe 1% climate deniers equal time to the 99% scientists with regard to the climate change debate. Tim points out that it’s much more insidious than that. If you placed the media comment on a plank (Murdoch, Bolt and Jones etc being right wing and a piddling left wing media, the point of ‘balance would still be well within the right wing area, therefore never allowing the left wing any voice.
You are all taking this government too seriously.
They are merely a stepping stone to our true destiny- a PUPpy future.
Queensland gave you KEVIN, now we are ready for the final act-CLIVE.
Clive is not a mere wolf -he is a fully fledged rhinoceros, resplendent with large gleaming horn, ready to charge though the confusion.
He does not need any disguise -people will love him for what he is -greedy, gutsy and pushy.
So the petty and mean government we now enjoy is merely a transition phase to our true fate.
And you think that people would prefer Clive to anyone else? We’re not that mad. Most die-hard coalition fans wouldn’t have a bar of Clive.
Iain, are you still a house father, caring for the kids?
Why do you ask Florence?
Just wondering. Thought you might have re-entered the workforce. Nice to know where people are coming from.
Why the Florence. What does that prove?
Florence
I am unable to “re-enter the workforce” because I have health issues that make it all but impossible and I address you as Florence because it is your name.
Roflmao, health issues, more like being lazy and living of government support
I liked what Laurie Oakes said the other day when referring to Hockey’s Budget Emergency. The punters just laughed at that excuse and that they’re being taken for fools and they know it. Never con the punters as they will desert on a drop of a hat.
May I ask why is it that you instantly block anyone who defends Kevin and points out the truth about Gillard? Am curious as to why you are so insecure to block fellow Labor supporters just because they are not starry-eyed over Gillard? Are you afraid that if you let any other facts and opinions into your mind, it may threaten what you believe, if you believe it so strongly why are you so threatened? Is it spite? Or is it just cowardice? Genuinely curious.
My tweets to you:
Sami Snail @Sami_Snail 11m
@Vic_Rollison @Darrelljames74 @Damoadelaide programme. But don’t mind that harsh squirming uncomfortable facts.
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Sami Snail @Sami_Snail 11m
@Vic_Rollison @Darrelljames74 @Damoadelaide No. She just tossed single mothers onto the streets and axed Kevin’s computers in schools
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Sami Snail @Sami_Snail 12m
@Vic_Rollison and far wider Gillard’s misogyny set-up speech.And was more well received.Kevin is the BOSSMAN when it comes to pollies & Q&A.
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Sami Snail @Sami_Snail 14m
@Vic_Rollison did.Within hours, I had people from America & Canada emailing me and tweeting me praise about our PM.It went VIRAL faster than
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Sami Snail @Sami_Snail 16m
@Vic_Rollison SUPPORT*? Oh, thats right, she was against gay marriage too, wasn’t she? Gillard never had a fabulous Q&A moment like KRudd
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Sami Snail @Sami_Snail 16m
@Vic_Rollison did Gillard give a fabulous pro gay marriage speech, that had the ENTIRE AUDIENCE *ON THEIR FEET, CHEERING AND SCREAMING IN
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Sami Snail @Sami_Snail 17m
@Vic_Rollison Oh really? Smirking and giggling and treating everything as a joke. Only smirk worse than hers was slimy Costello’s. And when
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Sami Snail @Sami_Snail 18m
@Vic_Rollison She had no situational awareness.
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Sami Snail @Sami_Snail 18m
@Vic_Rollison on his face, befitting the time and circumstance. If Gillard was on, she’d be smirking, grinning and giggling.
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Sami Snail @Sami_Snail 19m
@Vic_Rollison I’m no fan of Hockey, but neither smirked of giggled like Gilalrd who thought everything was a joke. Hockey had a serious look
OR, Gilalrd’s patronising smiling and smirking face to the genuine and sincere Kevin Rudd’s face. pic.twitter.com/fmXmnOPTk4
Sami Snail @Sami_Snail 24m
@Vic_Rollison @Damoadelaide @Darrelljames74 because she put herself and her own greed before the party. She is a maggot. Plain, and simple.
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Sami Snail @Sami_Snail 25m
@Vic_Rollison @Damoadelaide @Darrelljames74 is delusional. Ultimately, she destroyed Labor and is responsible for giving us Tony Abbott
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Sami Snail @Sami_Snail 25m
@Vic_Rollison @Damoadelaide @Darrelljames74 planning, as we now know. Being delusional about her role out of some starry-eyed infatuation is
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Sami Snail @Sami_Snail 26m
@Vic_Rollison @Damoadelaide @Darrelljames74 to support her and later regretted it. She stabbed him, and that is FACT. It was many months in
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Sami Snail @Sami_Snail 26m
@Vic_Rollison @Damoadelaide @Darrelljames74 MANY caucus members later said they were ‘lied to’ by her and pressured by her and her henchmen
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Sami Snail @Sami_Snail 27m
@Vic_Rollison @Damoadelaide @Darrelljames74 as a Journo from the Australian show she had actively plotted and planned for MONTHS. Also, many
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Sami Snail @Sami_Snail 28m
@Vic_Rollison @Damoadelaide @Darrelljames74 That is utterly UNTRUE. The ‘whole caucus’ did not want him gone. And Maxine McKew as well as
I have read through your entire site, your nothing but a liberal backer that goes on and on and you never have any real proof or facts, any intelligent person would also see right through you