Sometimes it pays to simply sit and observe.
Given what’s been going on in Federal Parliament during the last week or so, this is such a time.
One side of the house has been accusing the other of impropriety - specifically that the Prime Minister and the Treasurer were attempting to assist a constituent in financial difficulty. The extent of this seems to be that there were some phone calls and emails (at least one bogus) drawing the attention of one official or another to his plight.
The other side (the government) has accused the opposition of using information leaked from a mole in Treasury to embarrass them.
I’m confused.
Since when has either of both of these actions been anything more than commonplace and par for the course in federal parliament? Maybe I’ve missed some significant revival of basic ethics in political life. Maybe suddenly both sides have been seized with a severe attack of morality flu – a bit like swine flu, but not quite as contagious.
Give me strength….
In the meantime, issues such as the plight of carers, the state of superannuation funds, rural poverty, and the Murray Darling basin seem suddenly to be on the media back-burner. At least it hasn’t drowned out coverage of the State of Origin.
It does point out some home truths. The media generally behave like a pack of school children watching a brawl, ego and power are all that matters and truth is a misunderstood concept.
The community can basically go to buggery.
