Comment

Morrison defended our 20-year ‘longest war’ as worthwhile in the name of freedom. Australian soldiers dying for freedom is never in vain, he said. But whose freedom is the question? Apparently, it is not the freedom sought by those who flee the Taliban’s tyranny.

It is difficult to understand how the government justifies setting the level of JobSeeker below the poverty line. It appears much of the government’s decision was based on the prime minister’s personal prejudice.

Scott Morrison has an answer for everything and a solution for nothing. Like the neoliberalism of which his party was once so proud, he is all promise and no delivery. His press conferences have long been a masterclass in dictating the terms of debates, dodging accountability and delivering attacks on his rivals.

Joining the Liberal Party has always been an ideologically driven decision. It is a pledge to uphold the values outlined by Robert Menzies  in 1944: traditionalism against the march of modernity, minimising government intervention in the ability of the individual to generate wealth, and a commitment to harassing the daylights out of women while calling yourself things like “big swinging dicks”. It isn’t just a commitment to the party of John Howard, Malcolm Fraser, Harold Holt and Robert Menzies; it's also a commitment to the party of Andrew Laming, Christian Porter, Craig Kelly and Eric Abetz.

Morrison’s decision to call in the military to sort out the vaccine rollout hasn’t provided him with the cover it was designed to. It’s one thing to send a general into war; it’s another not to give him any ammunition.

When Prime Minister Scott Morrison fronted up to the press conference to announce the outcome of Operation Ironside last month, he seemed even more pleased with himself than usual. Hundreds of alleged offenders had been charged and millions of dollars’ worth of drugs had been seized. It was almost as though it was an election year, and Morrison knew that fear mongering and surveillance powers play well with certain voters.

Until now, the rarely seen but oft-referenced Jenny Morrison was considered the grand vizier behind the prime minister on all issues related to women. Reports suggest she spent her time guiding Scott Morrison away from the rocky outcroppings of misogyny and towards the open seas of empathy, like a reverse siren. Based on recent performances by the PM, though, it’s starting to seem as though her calls are going unheard.

All governments have horror stretches; the Morrison government is certainly no exception, as the past six weeks attest. But it is how governments deal with these political crises that can seal or save their fate. The Americans have a colourful turn of phrase to describe how politicians in similar fixes often resort to ‘putting lipstick on a pig’. In other words, they do not address the underlying problems but rather hope a few cosmetic flourishes will persuade the public they are on to it. So on Monday we had the ‘new look’ Morrison cabinet rolled out. Except it wasn’t.

Acting on climate change not only makes economic sense for Australia, it makes diplomatic sense as well. Our refusal to act meaningfully on climate change will increasingly be a thorn in the side of our relations with all of the world’s advanced economies.

If there’s one thing white people hate more than racism, it’s being accused of racism. That racism exists is not really a point of contention. But in nine years of living in Australia, I’m yet to meet anyone who admits to being racist. It’s not that dissimilar to how one in six women experience sexual assault in Australia, but somehow almost no one ever gets arrested for it or found guilty of committing it.