WHEN an exasperated Andrew Bolt said that Malcolm Turnbull was the worst Liberal prime minister since Sir William McMahon, the Daily Telegraph published my piece arguing that Bolt had been very unfair. That is, unfair to McMahon.
Politicians are experts, but hardly ever in governing. These days their expertise is too often in plotting, backstabbing, lying and advancing their self-interest.
Occasionally a leader emerges who reminds them they are elected public servants. Such leaders come to power honourably, never plotting from within the cabinet against their leader.
SWOONING
They often wait for the call, as did both George Washington and Winston Churchill. Or they only throw their hat in the ring when they realise that no other contender will return the party to the right path, as Abbott did.
The advent of Turnbull’s memoirs recalls the truth that a leader who obtains power by betrayal is already a failure and will deliver failed policies, notwithstanding the swooning of the commentariat.
Just think of the continuing billions extracted from the defence budget to save Pyne’s seat, of precious water handed over to foreign speculators, the continuing sell-out to the Beijing communists (Huawei excepted), those white elephants: Snowy 2.0, Badgery’s Creek and the NBN, catastrophic decline in education, abandoned GST reform and above all, twice guaranteeing his downfall by trying to impose ALP policy based on the global warming myth.
His “progressive” beliefs, curious for a Catholic convert, are fashionably elitist. The one which launched his political career, fake republicanism, pushed in alliance with Paul Keating, failed to deliver the safe Labor seat he so longed for.
A real republican in our Anglo-American tradition, guided by Locke and Montesquieu, would plan to improve the constitution of our crowned republic to make politicians truly accountable and to restore the federal compact in accordance with the original and present intention of the people.
His “republicanism” was born during the Bicentennial when he decided we lacked an Australian as head of state, a diplomatic term so obscure it wasn’t even in the current Macquarie Dictionary. Yet when he was criticised in the 2016 election for not being present for the return of the remains of Australians killed on foreign battlefields, he had no hesitation in arguing that there was no need for him to be there as the head of state, the Governor-General, was present. Yet in his memoirs he has the gall to return to the claim that we must be a republic so that we can have an Australian as head of state.
Under Nick Minchin’s equitable formula to reflect exactly how people voted in the Convention election, the official Vote No Committee consisted of eight ACM and two Real Republicans, the splendid Ted Mack and Clem Jones, all opposed to Turnbull’s politicians’ republic.
WHINGEING
I came to know Turnbull during that long campaign reported in his memoirs by drawing from his previously published referendum diary, Fighting For the Republic, or as one wag renamed it, Whingeing for the Republic.
A computer check reports that I am mentioned 42 times in the diary, the highest mention for any opponent other than John Howard at 43. Turnbull dismisses me as the “most exaggerated of the monarchist scaremongers”, but worries that my arguments, put ‘in measured tones’, are having effect.
Notoriously not a great campaigner, Australia must thank providence that he was the leader – else we could be stuck with his appalling politicians’ republic.
This remains the only republican model in recorded history where a prime minister can more easily dismiss the president than his cook.
The president would forever be cowed and intimidated by knowing that he could be dismissed without notice, without reasons and without any right of appeal.
I was to debate Turnbull on several occasions. One memorable one was in the courthouse where the crucial 1893 Corowa federation conference had been held.
This adopted the Corowa Plan which assured that, through the direct involvement of the people, Federation was achieved in only four years, less time than it took to lay the new tram track down George Street in Sydney’s CBD.
The debate was arranged by The Australian who flew Yes case speakers Turnbull and Paul Kelly together with myself and Ted Mack for the No case down to Corowa in a small aircraft. The debate, chaired by Tim Fischer, was attended by an audience most of whom Turnbull dismisses as looking like “paid-up ACM members”.
A highlight was a tiny Irish Fenian who constantly interjected during Turnbull’s address. There was some justice in this as the only foreign intervention in the campaign was by Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams. Our suggestion that after the IRA’s assassination of young Australians in Holland, the ARM should distance themselves from Adams was ignored.
During an interval, I told Ted Mack of the difficulty I was having in explaining to the ARM that the ease with which the president could be dismissed was a serious flaw. He replied: “Don’t waste your time. That’s exactly what they want.”
Another highlight of the campaign was when Kerry Jones, David Elliott and I went to Parliament House to present our proposal to have the crucial referendum question include an indication as to how the president could be dismissed.
RIDICULED
As we came in, we ran into a worried Turnbull leaving and being pursued by journalists.
Displaying extraordinary arrogance and gall, he had proposed two words be removed from the question, “president” and, believe it or not, “republic”.
Even the republican media ridiculed him, so much so, he eventually withdrew his proposal. The mainly republican parliamentary committee rejected our proposal to draw people’s attention to the increased power being vested in the prime minister, something unknown in the Westminster system.
Turnbull had everything going for him – money, politicians and the media.
Fortunately, rank-and-file Australians were not taken in and his republic was rejected in a landslide result which included every state.PC
Putting McMahon on the same level as Turnbull is doing poor old Billy a disservice.
It is about time Turnbull was expelled from the Liberal Party along with some other lefties who supported the overthrow of Tony Abbott.
The consequence of failing to expel Turnbull from the party would likely be further internal ongoing attempts by him to destabilise the present federal leadership, which is currently providing the good government that was beyond his apparent capacity to deliver. His memoirs may have caused him to become an object of ridicule, but not to see him off now affords memories time to recede, and a future opportunity for him to foment dissent.
So far he has gifted us with a hopeless and horrendously expensive submarine contract, a very expensive NBN that 5G could cause to become obsolete, poor money for value spent on the education system, the consequence of his time spent as Water Minister, and a litany of other woes occasioned by poor judgement, as best evidenced by the Godwin Gretch episode. The party needs to ask itself why it failed to cut its losses after terminating his leadership on the first occasion, MP’s really should have known better, and Australia owes Dutton a debt for saving Australia when he did, as the alternative was awful.
So far, the best take on Malcolm’s memoirs was provided by our present PM Morrison, who is both shaping up to be one of our better leaders, and who is the subject of some of Turnbull’s vitriol. When asked by Paul Murray as to whether he’d be reading Turnbull’s book he simply started laughing, and said ‘nuh’. When asked as to why not, he said that he had a few other things to do at the moment. Murray retorted ‘perfect answer’. This dismissive and sublime Turnbull putdown, complete with displayed body language, has to be viewed in context to be fully savoured, but should be preserved for posterity as it is wonderful.
McMahon was arguably Australia’s worst ever PM up to 2007. The hallmarks of dreadful PM’s have been to gain office by leaking from cabinet over time to destabilise their governments for the purpose of undermining their respective leaders so that they could alternatively attain office. McMahon was surpassed in these regards by firstly Rudd and then Turnbull, who were more dreadful than he was, but it was only a question of degree. All 3 were hopeless leaders, though McMahon was less incompetent than Rudd and Turnbull. McMahon was undermining Holt before he drowned, then switched his attention to Gorton. Gorton had his faults of course, but was a much more electable leader than McMahon. Fraser also helped to bring Gorton down, but was never able to justify his stance taken. The Liberals contemplated switching back to Gorton in late 1972, which would have saved some seats, and made it harder for Whitlam to have won, as his 1972 win was quite modest. Whitlam may have spent much too much money, but he was patriotic, interested in the national welfare, and before the advent of computers wanted every Australian student to have his own desk. Gorton and he got on well, and had quite a lot in common.
A global paradigm shift is occurring, that will now clearly see “The Turnbull’s” of the world as a ruling elite, that are out of touch with the population.
The old left vs right is being replaced, with ruling elite vs Populist.
It is noteworthy that, akin to the ‘Fairy Tales’ of yore, when the miscreant was asked via a third party question, what should happen to a person who acted in such a way as the unnamed miscreant had just acted, Turnbull as Leader of the Federal Parliament, was indeed ‘dismissed without notice, without reasons and without any right of appeal.’
Well said, Melanie.