The debate sparked by Prime Minister Gillard’s proposed carbon tax and Emissions Trading Scheme, has generated a national political debate that has reached new lows in rhetoric, intimidation and vitriol.
The ugly protest yesterday, attended largely by right-wing middle-aged men and women from Sydney, on the lawn of Parliament House showed disturbing early signs of a Tea Party type movement in a country where the public has traditionally had a healthy yet laconic skepticism of politics and politicians. Of course like any robust democracy such as Australia’s there will always be fringe elements at both ends of the political spectrum, which will be largely ignored by the general populace, and both major parties.
The union movement can’t plead innocence in its use of placards and colorful language during protests and political rallies. The 1996 storming of Parliament House early in the term of the Howard Government is one case in point.
The major difference with yesterday’s anti carbon tax rally and rallies of the past is that never have we seen a major political party embrace the type of sexist and hateful vitriol espoused by some more of the extreme elements of the rally.
Yesterday’s rally, which included One Nation founder, Pauline Hanson and members of the Australian League of Rights, the anti-Semitic movement that rails against an “extravaganza of Jewish power.”
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and several of his Shadow Ministers addressed the rally standing in front of placards referring to the Prime Minister such as, “Ditch the Bitch”, “Juliar Bob Brown’s Bitch”, “Ditch the Witch” also referring to the Ms Gillard as a “frump”.
Writing for the Sydney Morning Herald, the Prime Minister refused to back down on her carbon pricing stance, “I believe Australia must reject the extremes of this debate, no matter from where on the political spectrum they emerge. We see those who don’t believe in the science arguing the government shouldn’t act. They are vocal and they have some powerful friends who share their view. I don’t agree. I’ll be taking my science from the CSIRO, not the radio shock jocks.”
Indeed Radio personalities in Sydney, Melbourne and Sydney have been very vocal in their opposition to the carbon tax often personalizing issue with 2GB shock jock coining the term “Juliar”.
Mr Abbott while referring to some of the language used as “regrettable” has refused to distance himself from the protestors.
Whether the Opposition Leader and several members of his Shadow Ministry will come to regret their association with the rally is too early to say. However one cannot but help think that Mr Abbott was poorly advised in attending the event as the Government pushes ahead with it’s attacks on the Opposition by trying to paint them as “deniers” who are being captured by the extreme fringe of the debate.
The political fortunes of the major parties concerned are in many ways is by the by. What is of greater importance is the nature of the national political discourse. In one of my earlier blogs, “Political Vitriol” I lamented the state of American politics and the level of vitriol that many believe lead to the attempted assassination of Arizona Democrat, Representative Gabrielle Giffords. I added how relieved I was to live in democracy such as Australia’s which has a far less heated approach to national debate.
Perhaps I spoke too soon. In recent weeks the Prime Minister has been called a liar and has been likened to Libyan dictator Mamur Gaddafi. Independent MP Tony Windsor has received death threats for his links to the carbon tax proposal.
The call by Tony Abbott for a “people’s revolt” is fine rhetoric but when coupled with that hate spewed out on the countries radio waves and blogosphere is creating a divisive culture where the most vocal and extreme have a multitude of platforms to air their grievances.
Ultimately political culture becomes a question of political leadership. In this modern age of social media and the seeming abandonment of reporting for opinion by many media outlets means that heated political rhetoric can have many unforeseen ramifications.
One of the more pleasing outcomes from the Federal election impasse of 2010 was the bipartisan support, as pushed by the four independents, for the inclusion of a preamble in the Australian Constitution recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the original inhabitants of this land.
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