Anthony Albanese’s ‘progressive patriotism’ scares the shit out of me, and it’s not only because his Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, wants the government to tax fantasy wealth determined by economic voodoo.
Mistaking his election victory for an historic win (with Labor’s primary vote approaching its lowest on record), Albanese has ripped the mask of moderation off and started taking his socialist fantasies out for a walk in the press.
Which is a bit like taking the muzzle off a Rottweiler to see if the Poodles get close enough to eat before dropping the leash.
‘Our destiny [is] to try to be the natural party of government,’ said Albanese, either unaware or uncaring about the shades of dictatorship in his words.
This idea of permanence in governance appears to form part of his ‘progressive patriotism’ which sounds as dangerous as Chalmers’ kinder capitalism.
What next, cuddly communism?
It has been reported that Albanese wants to ‘snatch’ patriotism from the conservatives after Labor spent more than a decade calling patriots racists for refusing to hate their country.
Which shows you how disingenuous left-wing politics has become.
You’re only allowed to love Australia if you love it in the Labor-union-socialist-grievance-three-flag-progressive way.
The Prime Minister insists that progressive patriotism was embedded in the election campaign messaging, even though it was about as absent as Chris Bowen’s wind turbines.
‘We spoke about doing things the Australian way, not looking towards any other method or ideology from overseas.’
Someone needs to break Albanese’s heart and explain that his favourite ideology, socialism, is a wholly imported concept from an overseas war. Will he disavow socialism because it’s foreign? Or does his ‘no imported ideas’ apply narrowly to Donald Trump’s successful conservative movement that wiped out the Democrats?
It sounds as though the Prime Minister is treating conservative patriotism and the nostalgic Western revival as a plague to be locked out of the country, leaving citizens to stew – masks on and doors closed – in Albanese’s progressive patriotism.
‘At a time where there’s conflict in the world, where people are often divided on the basis of race or religion, here in Australia, we can be a microcosm for the world.’
In that case, Albanese has got some explaining to do about Indigenous treaties divvying up Australia, along with the rights of citizens, straight down the lines of race. Inclusivity cannot involve locking Australians out of the bush because of their race. Imagine the outrage if people of Aboriginal descent were banned from the sacred cultural site of the Harbour Bridge? This is not a progressive Utopia, it is the opening of a nightmare.
‘That says that we’re enriched by our diversity, that we have respect for people of different faith, that we try to bring people together, that we don’t bring turmoil overseas and play out that conflict here, either, and that’s really important.’
Which isn’t true.
The last three years saw a Labor-led Australian Parliament adorned with Palestinian flags and endless raging about rivers and seas. Parliament House was even draped with this branding before the story disappeared. Meanwhile, our streets were taken hostage almost every weekend and struggling businesses forced to endure religious and ethnic groups playing out foreign conflicts to the cheering of various Parliamentarians who tried to weaponise their behaviour into domestic political power.
Anthony Albanese is entitled to his opinion about the future, but not his own facts about the last three years.
All this is so-called Labor harmony has been happening while Australian colonial statues are taken out of our parks by left-wing councils under the watch of Labor governments and so far the police have done little to bring about justice for those who defaced our heritage with violent slogans such as ‘the colonies will fall’.
Where was Albanese when this was happening? Where is he now to defend patriotism? Why doesn’t he seem to care about threats against Australia’s people? We are being intimidated, publicly, on our own soil, and the Prime Minister does nothing.
Patriotism? Please.
If the last three years are a measure of his reign, then Albanese has no interest in protecting Australian history or the people who lived here before the Big Australia dream was pushed into view.
‘We are a centre-left government, but we very much are concerned about social justice.’
Alright, Mr Prime Minister, what about a little justice for Australians whose families have been here for centuries and feel as though their heritage is being erased, violently, from public view?
Where is your diversity? Where is your inclusion? Where is your justice?
Or is your grand speech a load of manipulative and misleading political crock as usual?
Flat White is written by Alexandra Marshall. If you would like to support her work, shout her a coffee over at donor-box.
