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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
Blog: Skewed View Of Alp Obscures Reality, Anthony Ashbolt
Blog: Skewed View Of Alp Obscures Reality, Anthony Ashbolt
Anthony Ashbolt
As the Labor government lies embattled, ready for a substantial defeat at the polls today, facts about the Australian economy and overseas understandings of Australia's performance over the last six years are emerging. Far from being the basket-case fashioned by the opposition and much of the media, the Australian economy's growth has actually lifted the average standard of living. A study by Ben Phillips from the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM) shows wage growth has outstripped inflation and produced an economic benefit for the average Australian family that is quite significant. We do not hear much about …
Blog: Petty Politics Overshadows Policy, Anthony Ashbolt
Blog: Petty Politics Overshadows Policy, Anthony Ashbolt
Anthony Ashbolt
The coming federal election is already highlighting aspects of Australian politics that are cause for concern. The "mock menu" (which initially was thought to be for a Liberal Party fundraising dinner) with its vulgar and demeaning reference to our Prime Minister is not only ample confirmation of Julia Gillard’s argument about misogyny but also a further signal of the decline of civility in Australian political life. When school children see it as somehow natural to throw sandwiches at the Prime Minister, we can sense this decline vividly. The media are partly responsible for this, whipping up hysteria around all sorts …
Blog: Costings Become A Guessing Game, Anthony Ashbolt
Blog: Costings Become A Guessing Game, Anthony Ashbolt
Anthony Ashbolt
Labor’s “Gotcha” moment seemed to have backfired badly with Treasury and Finance Secretaries, together with the head of the Parliamentary Budget Office, distancing their units from claims about a $10 billion black hole. Labor’s advice from these Departments was provided with regard to policies outlined prior to the period of caretaker Government. Rather than point to a specific mistake related to earlier policy calculations, Labor could have just kept hammering the point about costings in general. Nonetheless, as Crikey correspondent Bernard Keane observed: ‘‘I’m of the view that the costings imbroglio doesn’t matter a jot: voters are aware that the …
Blog: Australia's Rude, Crude Election Debate, Anthony Ashbolt
Blog: Australia's Rude, Crude Election Debate, Anthony Ashbolt
Anthony Ashbolt
Tony Abbott's spin on the de Niro catchphrase reveals the depths to which we have sunk, writes Anthony Ashbolt. Like Robert de Niro in Taxi Driver, Abbott turned to his sparring partner and said, in an admittedly less than menacing voice, “Does this guy ever shut up?” Abbott’s tame version of “You talkin’ to me?” sent a jarring note through the debate on Wednesday night and was a reminder of the lack of civility in politics I discussed in my first blog. This is simply not the stuff of genuine debate and in an ordinary contest might have sent Abbott …
Blog: Parlous State Of Politics, Anthony Ashbolt
Blog: Parlous State Of Politics, Anthony Ashbolt
Anthony Ashbolt
Two events in the last week serve to highlight both the parlous state of politics and the importance of investigative journalism. First, the revelations of the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) hearings; second, the verdict finding Bradley Manning guilty of espionage. These decisions both have profound ramifications not only for journalism but also for federal politics. The stench of corruption surrounding the NSW Labor Party has become stronger following the ICAC recommendations that Eddie Obeid and Ian Macdonald be charged with criminal offences.
Blog: Refugees A 'Political Whipping Boy', Anthony Ashbolt
Blog: Refugees A 'Political Whipping Boy', Anthony Ashbolt
Anthony Ashbolt
Kevin Rudd has taken up where he left off, but the vexing question of asylum seekers is yet to be answered by either party, writes Anthony Ashbolt. It is almost as if Kevin Rudd never stopped being Prime Minister. Such is the surreal nature of politics I referred to in the last piece. I noted also the Hollywood-like imagery the leadership battle evoked. Yet I did not mention the most glaring instance of this. Gillard marched into the caucus room that would decide her fate surrounded by a posse of loyal colleagues, only to be followed by the lone ranger …
Blog: Campaign Dull And Boring, Anthony Ashbolt
Blog: Campaign Dull And Boring, Anthony Ashbolt
Anthony Ashbolt
The Federal election week started with a non-debate and didn't really improve after that, writes Anthony Ashbolt. The prelude to this week in federal politics was provided by a non-debate on Sunday evening. The debate failed not only because there was no real engagement and exchange between the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition but also because the format itself was so managed and staged that even the press gallery questioners appeared awkward and unsure of where they were meant to be.
Blog: The Language Of Election Speak, Anthony Ashbolt
Blog: The Language Of Election Speak, Anthony Ashbolt
Anthony Ashbolt
Language is often the first thing that suffers during an election campaign, writes Anthony Ashbolt. We are, as the first week of election campaigning draws to a close, in a period that George Orwell might have called “election-speak”. Language is used in increasingly magical ways. When Humpty Dumpty noted that words meant what he wanted them to mean, he might have had political campaigns in mind. Language is very often the first thing that suffers during such contests and along with that genuine meaning departs rapidly. Until last week the Gonski (or now Better Schools) proposals were anathema to the …