Australia’s most outspoken expat Germaine Greer casts her withering gaze on soap opera politics Down Under
Opposition leader Tony Abbott and Australian PM Julia Gillard speaking at the peoples’ forum held in Brisbane, Australia Photo: APJulia Gillard is a childless 48-year-old unmarried atheist redhead who lives in sin with her hairdresser. She is also the first woman to become prime minister of Australia. Just in case you thought that might mean a new era had dawned, be assured that it is probably just about over. Not that Gillard had radical intentions, or radical policies, or any policies. Her slogan was “moving forward” – to nowhere in particular. The election, which took place this weekend, was hers to lose and she has all but lost it.
The opposition had fallen in a heap after the Liberal Party “spilt” its ablest and most charismatic politician, Malcolm Turnbull, for insisting that the party recognise climate change. Into the breach to lead the Liberal-National coalition stepped the Mad Monk, Tony Abbott, ears akimbo, wide mouth agape, who refuses to believe that anything needs to be done about climate change. He set about building an image as one of the boys, a strategy that misfired when photographed during a triathlon wearing bathing trunks that Australians call “budgie-smugglers’. (His budgie was actually more like a “wren”, as unkind observers pointed out.)
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I couldn’t agree more with Ms Greer’s assessment.
Unfortunately, the Opposition found themselves unable to handle the miraculous phenonomen of a leader with intgrity and a brain cell so they were thrown into disarray at a crucial moment and lost the election by a whisker! They are STILL trying to cope with the unfamiliar common sense decisions of the independants,Winsor and Oakshott.
Rob Oakshott’s insistance that Parliamentry Question Time be restricted to just that, has all parties scrambling to justify their replies to the Speaker of the House, Harry Jenkins.
Mr Jenkins has been conducting Question Time along strict lines and it is a delight to see the time being spent in ACTUAL discussion instead of being reduced to a primary school play ground, as has previously been the case for years.
No longer do we Australians have to hang our heads in shame at the deliquent behaviour of our so-called elected representatives!
Malena Jenkins