Aussie Politics

[Wazza]

While confirming that the Federal Government lied to the Australian people, the Senate's Children Overboard Report [Tampa Incident] tells us nothing new about that sorry affair - but it does reveal another story which is new, important and disturbing. It concerns how the Government sought to hide the truth and evade responsibility for its many deceptions of last year, an election year.

Cover-ups tell us more about a government than stuff-ups. Mistakes happen, often committed by people lacking complete knowledge and being pursued along, by unfolding events. People stuff-up, sometimes criminally, it's human nature, but generally such mistakes are limited to a to a small group operating in a specific set of circumstances.

Cover-ups are different.

Usually they involve well-informed ministers [politicians], looking back on events in the clear light of day and deciding, often with the connivance of colleagues, to evade public scrutiny. This is what happened in this case and it is frightening.

Most people have supported this currrent Government for much of its existence. In general they support its border protection policies - but I must agree that its behaviour in this matter goes beyond the specific issue involved and has dangerously corrupted the process of government in this country.

Many supporters of the Prime Minister are indifferent to this affair because they don't care whether children were thrown overboard or not. However, they should realise the precedents it has set for non-accountability and cover-up, could one day be used to defend very different policies and actions.

The committee was charged by the Senate to investigate the Government's control and use of information during the affair.

So how did the Government respond?

Even before the first word was uttered to the committee, the Defence Minister described the inquiry as an opposition stunt. The previous Defence Minister refused to give evidence. The current Defence Minister shut down the defence liaison group that had been assisting the committee, meaning all requests for information and witnesses had to pass through his office. That office then obstructed the committee by withholding key documents for an inordinate length of time. The Defence Minister also refused to allow some witnesses to appear. According to the Committee Chairman, the Defence Minister's Chief of Staff behaved toward the committee in a way that could only be described as discourteous and unprofessional.

Cabinet proceeded to refuse to allow the committee access to ministerial and prime ministerial staff, including public servants that had worked in ministerial offices at the time of the incident.

This decision, presumably done to protect the guilty, was a landmark for Australian democracy . It sent a clear signal to ministerial staff that they are expected to hide unpleasant news from their bosses and they will not be punished if the do. What you have to wonder is what will happen to them if they don't? The Defence Minister went even further than the Cabinet decision and refused to allow some members of the Australian Defence Force to give evidence.

In the early days of the inquiry, the Government even prevented agencies from making submissions. This was a cover-up on a massive scale. The former Defence Minister's guilt was so obvious, the committee found "he was not honest in his public dealings regarding the children overboard affair " and had "deceived the Australian people."

But for his colleagues and their staff, we just do not know. The committee chairman claims that the Howard Government had used its power '"to prevent full parliamentary scrutiny of itself. This is not open government. What should be done about it is now an important matter for national debate."

In the Howard Government, ministerial advisers have fallen into a black hole, a black hole created by the government to protect those who would shirk their responsibility for accountability to the electorate. They have gained in Kipling's words: "Power without responsibility - the prerogative of the harlot throughout the ages."

The Defence Minister dismissed the report saying, "There were mistakes in Defence. Basically, the Government was wrongly advised and as a result the Government passed on the incorrect information to the public".

No-one else in Australia accepts that summary of the event - the Government went on to win the election and the rest is history.

Government for the people, by the people. Yeah right. I've said it before here that there is no room for the people in politics. It's power and the next four year term at all costs. But in Australia you can get into politics without a lotta finacial backing. Trouble is the debt you owe to your backers does not include the people who voted you in. So the corruption comes when the backers call in their markers. AND they are usually large markers.

The big end of town for one party and the union movement for the other. Oh yes and don't forget the pixies in the forest. They're called The GREEN's. Might as well be vegetables.

[janecallanan]

Wazza...A politician I once heard speak here said that the Government was set up to fail, and that the only way to stop this would be to wipe the slate clean and start all over again. I have backed him ever since. Not sure if it was because of this statement, or because this statement went against all "marker calling". I just know not many would be able to say this, and still remain in office.

[Wazza]

Yeah. I don't know what the answer is here. That last election was won out of fear but the frightening thing is that they will now make that a mandate for whatever their little hearts desire. The alternatives arn't all that crash hot at the moment.

[janecallanan]

How about a private Island, own thoughts, own ideas, own utopia? But they say no man is an island.

[Wazza]

Here comes the humour to make everything alright.

We've already got the island - it's called Austrailia. It's private, we all have our own thoughts, our own ideas; we already have utopia. Beautiful one day, perfect the next [usually] The problem is those pesky cats and the politicians - there's just too many of both.

[janecallanan]

Cats can be eaten. Maybe politicians can listen to subliminal lemming messages? And yeah, go ahead, rub in the weather deal!
I bet you don't remember the last time you shoveled snow for 8 hours, just to have the wind blow it all back. (If ever). Do you ever get snow?

[Wazza]

I think I was replying to Keith or Drywall sometime back. I think I told a lie [theapy please Keith] I said I hadn't seen snow but I did in Europe on one of those big mountains. We get a bit of snow in the south east corner of this desert I call home. I can honestly say I've never shoveled it and if I had to live with it I wouldn't be going outdoors. For me it would be bareskin in a bearskin rug in front of a cosy fire - ALL WINTER.

[Boats]

Wazza,

Politics is a game that our elected officials play. They are men and wormen like the rest of us and they have high expectations of changing the world for the better.

They all go into office seeking the betterment of mankind. But once there they there they are overrun by the special interest groups.

These are the true dirt bags as they are the ones with the big money. We've been arguing over this procedure for years here in the states. I'm sure your Country has the same group of individuals who tend to influence those elected officials.

The new Rookies (politicians) are swamped with provisions and exclusions which tear apart their original ideas they were trying to get passed. In the beginning their original concepts were most likely honorable but then amended to include special interest requirements to get it passed - now its tainted.

I really believe that all men and women who join the political circus are soon frustrated - we see this in our Congressional officials shortly after taking office.

Once installed they get in they get their "perks" and they begin to fall in line with all the others that came before them. They suddenly get this "power" feeling that they never want to give up. Compromise and coverups are common - (also known as covering your ass), which inturn corrupts those officials until they get caught or thrown out office.

The old saying it only takes a few bad apples to spoil the crop is pretty close to what happens in all governments. Eventually they loose their origial identity and soom become a party player.

We see this all the time and frustrates the people who put them in office. Corruption is everywhere and I truely believe it begins with the "special interest" groups who (with their large sums of money) influence the final decisions being made. Many good people who wanted to do good are overrun by these groups.

I'd like to see them run out of Washington. Let them deal with their so called officals at the State level where we can watch them ore closely. Keep the "special interest" groups out of the Washington area - where Congress is suppose to be working!

I understand your delema (as we all do) we find ourselves looking at our governments in a different light. Our fore-fathers would surely be turning over in their graves if they knew of all the corruption taking place.

How do you fix it? Good question! Absolute Power Corrupts its well known. The People who put them in office know this. It's a vicious cirlce one dog chasing another dogs tail and round and round they go with little to show.

[Wazza]

Without trying to start an avalanche of hostility toward me maybe there is something to be said for the dictator - easy to remove but there is still the party machine behind them. I guess nothings really changed in a million years of evolution. We still all belong to different tribes just it's on a larger scale. I guess the bigger it gets the harder it gets [this was not meant to be a pun on smut either. I'm trying to be a statesmanLOL] or should I say seer.