Fine writing and analysis, Tim. Jared Yates Sexton in the US has done a similar kind of analysis you might read, too: (Dispatches from a Collapsing State - his blogsite - his latest essay: "The Birth of a Monster - America's Oligarchs and What They Want"- his latest book: The Midnight Kingdom - A History of Power, Paranoia and the Coming Crisis).
Tim: Excellent piece NYTimes. I've annotated it and passed it on to 20+ family/friends scattered around the world - but especially in the US. Thank-you. The UK needs reform to its own first-past-the-post system, too. What's the system in Tassie - The Hare-Clark? Fewer electorates more candidates within each - allowing for proportional voter thinking to be represented.
Why do political minders let their “kids” pick up sporting equipment? Elbow looks like he’s never held a cricket bat in his life; it’s embarrassing. This reminds me of Hawke’s reputation as a great A Grade cricketer in Perth, then in Canberra I think, he fronts up and is hit in the face by the ball. I know he was a lot older, but he certainly didn’t look like a former A Grade player to me. Then we had “Rolly Polly” Joe Hockey, trying to relive his Uni days as a rugby player. Joe, if you were ever a real rugby player, I’m Muhammad Ali.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ve got nothing wrong with people not interested in, or not skilled at sport, it’s no big deal. But why do men see the need to appear like they are; do you ever see women politicians gearing up like this?
Next cab off the rank: Egalitarian! What does this mean in this country anymore?
The other day reading the West Australian while having a coffee at a cafe (no, I don’t hand money over for that rag), an article written (I think) by the political editor going on about L losing its core supporters (tradies) and how they no longer see themselves as tradies, but as Company Directors! Oh, please get me a bucket, self-employed tradies is what they are, and always will be. I don’t mean anything derogatory about this, nothing wrong with a trade, it can open up a lot of doors and I’m an ex tradie myself.
We started ditching this ‘egalitarian’ crap 35 yrs ago, we no longer identify like we did, we are more and more like Americans: after what we can get for ourselves. Whenever there is anything going wrong with the economy, we look out for ourselves, everyone else can wait. This is what I believe lead to the faux concern about CC being “fake” and a down turn in CC belief when Rudd was in, because finally the penny dropped that we’d have to put our hands in our pockets, CC wasn’t going to fix itself. Same with Shorten’s loss, how dare he end CGT benefits on housing and the complete rorting of dividends etc. Nah mate, it’s our birth right to become rich at the expense of society.
I’m sorry Tim, but I’m blaming you as you continue to write these articles! Unfortunately I don’t have a lot of faith in my fellow Australians, with one big exception, the younger Australians. I hope us boomers start to die off at a faster rate, I know not all boomers think in a stereotypical way, but look at it as making a sacrifice for the younger generation.
I’m glad to have your writings, along with John Quiggin’s and others to read.
I increasingly focus on the Accord as the turning point.
Your point about tradies is what I called the rise of the ABN class the other day. It's a thing. The whole material basis of 2-party politics has been undermined.
Great work Tim. That Labor cannot see the Teals (for want of a better term) as allies, really says it all. It doesn't matter that the Teals share many of Labor's values. They're just non-Labor, so Labor have to pretend they're Liberals. Or even worse than the Liberals, because they threaten the two-party system.
"The LNP’s future is an increasingly Trump-like manifestation—openly and proudly, as it happens—while Labor has given itself over almost entirely to neoliberal managerialism, less a party of reform than one of incremental, market-based change."
This is one of my crusades. To convince both right wingers and left wingers that Labor is not a left wing party anymore. They are far better than the Liberals but they set the bar so low you need Gina's mining equipment to extract it.
It's clear there are Labor rusted-ons who haven't got this message, but it is also clear that the number of Labor rusted-ons could fit in Marrickville Town Hall. It will be really interesting to see Labor's primary vote after the next election.
"To convince both right wingers and left wingers that Labor is not a left wing party anymore. “ I don’t need much convincing on that and lmao on the mining equipment.
Just a quick note, my (amazing) Dad is my benchmark for the so-called 'quiet Australians'. He is 81 and has always read the papers and had conservative views, though he was never a party loyalist. SkyNews is on every morning. We chat every day over a cup of tea, and yesterday he was most annoyed at the 'beat-up about the Chinese ship'. I find that interesting. Maybe the hold of the Aus isn't that strong outside the media/political bubble? I'm going to hope.
Yes, I find this sort of anecdotal evidence interesting and can think of similar egs. Had a similar experience with my conservative mum at the last election
First of all, I'd like to own up to being baffled by The Australian article. I didn't really understand it; was it AI derived? Some scary words for some - 'nightmare', 'horrific', 'fears' etc But what was the point of it? Perhaps they should have adorned the red t-shirts with teal sashes to make it more comprehensible.
Again referring to what happened to Antoinette Lattouf, this seemed to be the closest revelation of the silent power of those people behind the scenes who set the agenda in Australia. They should be able to be named and why they had special access to the upper echelons of the ABC.
'In the past', the ABC has been criticised for editorialising rather than just reporting. Yet on Thursday (?) morning during RN Breakfast, the political reporter said to the effect, that there was no evidence that Dutton had inside info when he invested in bank shares during Covid and people were becoming sick of negative reporting.
Well, I'd like to see it investigated and for it to keep on being reported. Isn't there a moral question here or just a shrug of everyone does it so nothing to see here.
I can only hope to hear more about it in independent media which is so important but doesn't have the power to hold politicians and polluting, non-taxpaying corporations to account.
Fine writing and analysis, Tim. Jared Yates Sexton in the US has done a similar kind of analysis you might read, too: (Dispatches from a Collapsing State - his blogsite - his latest essay: "The Birth of a Monster - America's Oligarchs and What They Want"- his latest book: The Midnight Kingdom - A History of Power, Paranoia and the Coming Crisis).
Thanks for the refs, Jim. Also was shown this piece about getting rid of 2-party in the US, which is interesting, if now not much more than an historical curiosity as they descend into one-party authoritarianism. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/01/14/opinion/fix-congress-proportional-representation.html?unlocked_article_code=1.pU4.vPTs.94D-zF8nu41y
Tim: Excellent piece NYTimes. I've annotated it and passed it on to 20+ family/friends scattered around the world - but especially in the US. Thank-you. The UK needs reform to its own first-past-the-post system, too. What's the system in Tassie - The Hare-Clark? Fewer electorates more candidates within each - allowing for proportional voter thinking to be represented.
lololol
Why do political minders let their “kids” pick up sporting equipment? Elbow looks like he’s never held a cricket bat in his life; it’s embarrassing. This reminds me of Hawke’s reputation as a great A Grade cricketer in Perth, then in Canberra I think, he fronts up and is hit in the face by the ball. I know he was a lot older, but he certainly didn’t look like a former A Grade player to me. Then we had “Rolly Polly” Joe Hockey, trying to relive his Uni days as a rugby player. Joe, if you were ever a real rugby player, I’m Muhammad Ali.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ve got nothing wrong with people not interested in, or not skilled at sport, it’s no big deal. But why do men see the need to appear like they are; do you ever see women politicians gearing up like this?
Next cab off the rank: Egalitarian! What does this mean in this country anymore?
The other day reading the West Australian while having a coffee at a cafe (no, I don’t hand money over for that rag), an article written (I think) by the political editor going on about L losing its core supporters (tradies) and how they no longer see themselves as tradies, but as Company Directors! Oh, please get me a bucket, self-employed tradies is what they are, and always will be. I don’t mean anything derogatory about this, nothing wrong with a trade, it can open up a lot of doors and I’m an ex tradie myself.
We started ditching this ‘egalitarian’ crap 35 yrs ago, we no longer identify like we did, we are more and more like Americans: after what we can get for ourselves. Whenever there is anything going wrong with the economy, we look out for ourselves, everyone else can wait. This is what I believe lead to the faux concern about CC being “fake” and a down turn in CC belief when Rudd was in, because finally the penny dropped that we’d have to put our hands in our pockets, CC wasn’t going to fix itself. Same with Shorten’s loss, how dare he end CGT benefits on housing and the complete rorting of dividends etc. Nah mate, it’s our birth right to become rich at the expense of society.
I’m sorry Tim, but I’m blaming you as you continue to write these articles! Unfortunately I don’t have a lot of faith in my fellow Australians, with one big exception, the younger Australians. I hope us boomers start to die off at a faster rate, I know not all boomers think in a stereotypical way, but look at it as making a sacrifice for the younger generation.
I’m glad to have your writings, along with John Quiggin’s and others to read.
I increasingly focus on the Accord as the turning point.
Your point about tradies is what I called the rise of the ABN class the other day. It's a thing. The whole material basis of 2-party politics has been undermined.
'it will take more than a single term of deliberative governance for us to really move fast and fix things.
But the path is clear.' Aye to that. Let's make a start. Well written TD.
Great work Tim. That Labor cannot see the Teals (for want of a better term) as allies, really says it all. It doesn't matter that the Teals share many of Labor's values. They're just non-Labor, so Labor have to pretend they're Liberals. Or even worse than the Liberals, because they threaten the two-party system.
Albanese met with them after the 2022 election, congratulated them and then said, "But no more." Ergh.
"The LNP’s future is an increasingly Trump-like manifestation—openly and proudly, as it happens—while Labor has given itself over almost entirely to neoliberal managerialism, less a party of reform than one of incremental, market-based change."
This is one of my crusades. To convince both right wingers and left wingers that Labor is not a left wing party anymore. They are far better than the Liberals but they set the bar so low you need Gina's mining equipment to extract it.
So true Graeme. "Gina's mining equipment to extract it." Gold.
It's clear there are Labor rusted-ons who haven't got this message, but it is also clear that the number of Labor rusted-ons could fit in Marrickville Town Hall. It will be really interesting to see Labor's primary vote after the next election.
"To convince both right wingers and left wingers that Labor is not a left wing party anymore. “ I don’t need much convincing on that and lmao on the mining equipment.
Just a quick note, my (amazing) Dad is my benchmark for the so-called 'quiet Australians'. He is 81 and has always read the papers and had conservative views, though he was never a party loyalist. SkyNews is on every morning. We chat every day over a cup of tea, and yesterday he was most annoyed at the 'beat-up about the Chinese ship'. I find that interesting. Maybe the hold of the Aus isn't that strong outside the media/political bubble? I'm going to hope.
Yes, I find this sort of anecdotal evidence interesting and can think of similar egs. Had a similar experience with my conservative mum at the last election
Thank you for this article, Tim.
First of all, I'd like to own up to being baffled by The Australian article. I didn't really understand it; was it AI derived? Some scary words for some - 'nightmare', 'horrific', 'fears' etc But what was the point of it? Perhaps they should have adorned the red t-shirts with teal sashes to make it more comprehensible.
Again referring to what happened to Antoinette Lattouf, this seemed to be the closest revelation of the silent power of those people behind the scenes who set the agenda in Australia. They should be able to be named and why they had special access to the upper echelons of the ABC.
'In the past', the ABC has been criticised for editorialising rather than just reporting. Yet on Thursday (?) morning during RN Breakfast, the political reporter said to the effect, that there was no evidence that Dutton had inside info when he invested in bank shares during Covid and people were becoming sick of negative reporting.
Well, I'd like to see it investigated and for it to keep on being reported. Isn't there a moral question here or just a shrug of everyone does it so nothing to see here.
I can only hope to hear more about it in independent media which is so important but doesn't have the power to hold politicians and polluting, non-taxpaying corporations to account.