Spoke, 3RRR FM: 29 September 2015

Today I came into the studio to chat with Ben Eltham on 3RRR’s Spoke program. We examined Malcolm Turnbull’s relatively quiet first week as Prime Minister and the strategy behind his cabinet’s first policy announcements. We also discussed our new Treasurer Scott Morrison and his interesting take on the budget situation – that we, in fact, don’t have a revenue problem.

Spoke, 3RRR FM: 22 September 2015

I came into the studio to talk federal politics with Ben Eltham on 3RRR’s Spoke program this week. We discussed our newly minted PM Malcolm Turnbull, the direction that the Turnbull government appears to be moving in regard to policy and communication style, as well as where on earth Tony Abbott went wrong.

‘It’s time Tony Abbott opened up his government’

Open government – is it a contradiction in terms?

Today I wrote an op-ed for the Guardian Australia, ‘It’s time Tony Abbott opened up his government’. The op-ed talks about the Abbott government’s recent less than helpful responses to media scrutiny and requests for information. Please have a read, share and/or make a comment.

Abbott proclaimed that the election was ‘all about trust’, but in power has thrown up significant obstacles to transparency. This week he has the opportunity to change

In the article, I also call on Tony Abbott to affirm his commitment to Australia becoming a member of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) and join 60 other nations in drawing up actions plans for greater government transparency.

The OGP summit begins this Thursday in London. Australia will be represented by Chief Technology Officer John Sheridan and James Kelly from the High Commission.

You can read the full article here and please join in the discussion!

It’s all just a load of politics

Whilst the Canberra press gallery and broader Australian media mindlessly waste ink and data postulating who “won” Tuesday’s political tussle, I’d suggest the only winner was politics itself.

What about Julia Gillard’s rousing speech effectively obliterating Tony Abbott in his chair with clear examples of his sexism and potential misogyny? That was no watershed feminist moment in Australian politics. It was an opportune time to score a big political point. No one likes a hypocrite so what better time to speak out than when Abbott cries sexist?

There have been a litany of moments in Julia Gillard’s Prime Ministership when she has effectively chosen to ignore Abbott’s overt displays of, and complicity with, sexism towards herself and Australian women in general. By expressing her unquestionably genuine offense now, only when her reputation and minority government is at stake, gives off hints of opportunism and sends the wrong message.

It signals to all Australians that calling out sexist remarks towards women is the last resort and socially unacceptable or god forbid, a bit awkward. “You’ve got to toughen up and move on, that’s just how it is. We’ll respect you more if you don’t complain and just take it on the chin”, right? Wrong. But that social fallacy is what keeps many people silent against gender discrimination.

If the woman who holds the highest office in this country won’t or feels she can’t speak out against the extreme sexism directed at her until nearly 2 years into her tenure and only when it’s related to the credibility of a parliamentary motion against the Speaker, how can other less powerful women do the same and with confidence?

In isolation, Prime Minister Gillard’s speech is a progressive light for Australian women and should be applauded, in reality the message, muddied by context and implicit political associations, changes nothing. It’s all just a load of politics.