Extract from The Guardian
The PM is like a doctor who only wants to breaks
good news to a patient, and then calls in the pathologist if the
tests show up something nasty that needs explaining.
‘All of this shows a pm who’s not prepared to
be straight with the Australian people about why he’s made a
decision.’ Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
Thursday 31 December 2015 16.53 AEDT
On Tuesday, our Prime Minister, Malcolm
Turnbull, thought he’d quietly take out his political trash.
But he was caught red-handed.
The concept of “taking out the trash” was
famously featured in the classic TV political drama, The West Wing.
Put simply, it means saving up all your bad news, and then releasing
it all on one day. The idea is that the details get lost in flood of
information, limiting the political damage.
Earlier this week, using the cover of the
Christmas break, this was exactly the trick Malcolm Turnbull tried to
pull. And he’s been busted. Big time.
In less than a day, the Turnbull Government
confirmed it was cutting $30bn from schools, pulled more money out of
Medicare, and announced that two ministers, Mal Brough and Jamie
Briggs, were being dumped from the front bench due to scandal.
Yet again, this whole episode exposes Malcolm
Turnbull’s poor judgment.
Mr Turnbull showed poor judgment in thinking no
one would notice him sneaking out all the bad news out over the
summer break. But Australians weren’t fooled. We don’t like being
taken for mugs, especially by our own prime minister.
Mr Turnbull showed poor judgment in thinking that
while he rips $30bn from schools (an average $3.2m from every
school), no one would remember the Liberals’ election promise that
no school would be worse off.
Mr Turnbull showed poor judgment in thinking
Australians would say nothing about his cuts to Medicare being used
to plug the budget deficit his Government has doubled.
But most concerningly, Mr Turnbull showed poor
judgment in relation Mal Brough, right from day one.
There were red flashing lights around Mr Brough
from the beginning. Allegations of illegal conduct by Mr Brough in
the Ashby affair were already out there. Malcolm Turnbull should
never have appointed him in the first place, an appointment that was
obviously to repay Mr Brough’s effort as the Turnbull numbers man
in the attack on Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
Even after Mal Brough had his property raided by
the Australian Federal Police, Mr Turnbull didn’t act. Finally now,
in the quiet period around Christmas, when he thinks nobody is
listening, the Prime Minister puts out a short statement dumping Mal
Brough (and Jamie Briggs) from the ministry.
Malcolm Turnbull was defending Mal Brough right
through the last days of parliament. The prime minister failed to
explain why he took the decision to dump Mal Brough now. If Mal
Brough had Malcolm Turnbull’s full confidence a month ago, what’s
changed?
All of this shows a prime minister who’s not
prepared to face up to his responsibilities, who’s not prepared to
be straight with the Australian people about why he’s made a
decision.
When there’s a good news story it’s “Malcolm
in the middle” of the press pack, but when there’s anything
difficult to answer he’s nowhere to be seen.
He went missing for four days after the mid year
economic update. And he’s not fully explaining himself now.
He’s like a doctor who only wants to breaks good
news to a patient, and calls in the pathologist if the tests show up
something nasty that needs explaining.
The prime minister says he wants to have a
conversation with the Australian people – that means fronting up
for the tough talks, not just the easy ones. And it means being
answerable for the dodgy judgment of appointing Mal Brough in the
first place.
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