Apart from refusing to take responsibility for failures of leadership during #AustraliaBurns and confirming no climate action will be taken, there was something excluded from Morrison’s interview which is noteworthy: Labor. A thread👇🏻
The only time Morrison mentioned Labor in whole interview was when he said he let Albo know he was going to Hawaii via text. He made similar comments during the Hawaii fiasco, implying if Albo knew, everything was above board and somehow Albo was implicated for receiving the text
This gibe in Labor’s direction is so natural and knee jerk to Liberals that usually - during their time in Opposition and Government - their interviews were focused entirely on Labor, entirely on trying to draw the answer into an attack on Labor’s credentials.
This is why many people - me included - perceive the Liberals not to be the natural party of government like they claim to be, but indeed the natural party of opposition. Abbott perfected the art of opposition, and carried that through to his unsuccessful attempt at being PM.
The Liberals used their opposition to Labor’s comprehensive suite of positive policies at the 2019 election to win back government. Let that one settle. Liberals retained government by opposing policies, not through a reform agenda of their own. Their focus has always been thus.
That is why Barnaby’s demented rant of LABOR LABOR LABOR LABOR LABOR LABOR in response to his failures on water buy backs has become such a commonly used meme. We are very used to Liberals starting ever statement on every issue with ‘we oppose Labor on A, B, C...’.
This isn’t just a messaging strategy by the way. This goes to the heart of the purpose of the Liberal / National parties. As Barnaby also dementedly said on Christmas Eve, they want government out of people’s lives. They want the market to run free (wild) without ‘intervention’.
I don’t much like the word ‘intervention’ - as Lakoff points out, it takes a neoliberal frame by suggesting govt intervention is a negative because it represents govt going somewhere it shouldn’t. Instead, I will use ‘management’ - or idea of putting hands on the wheel.
Labor’s entire ideological purpose is to put hands on the wheel of society and economy and ‘manage’ them in the community’s interest. Liberals oppose this management, therefore they exist to oppose Labor. Hence, Labor Labor Labor Labor Labor Labor Labor.... until now.
Labor have always argued govt needed to manage the risks of climate change by taking action. Liberals have won and retained govt by scaring the community into believing this ‘intervention’ is going to crash the economy. They have successfully done this again and again.
But, where that worked when Labor’s justification for managing the threat was risks in the future, the future has arrived. #AustraliaBurns represents a slap in the face, a worldwide awakening, an existential wake up call to prove to the world ‘see, management was needed’.
Morrison has worked this out. The world is literally calling on Morrison to take action - something he is ideologically opposed to - so now he’s stuck. That’s why he looks so defensive and uncomfortable in interviews claiming he is taking action. He has no intention of doing that
You’ll note he did turn to his usual explanations as to why he won’t take action - electricity bills, coal jobs - but these excuses are offensively shallow in the face of loss of life, loss of 2000+ homes, destruction of wildlife, and a terrified world.
Even when he did go to his old favourites of ‘climate action will trash the economy’, he didn’t mention Labor. The reason for that is because he knows if he reminds everyone that Labor have been promising to take real action for 15 years, he’ll make Labor look good, and him bad.
So, now Morrison is throwing all his resources at 2 unsustainable strategies:
👉🏻Climate denial denial. Denying he’s ever denied climate change, even though record is there for everyone to see.
👉🏻Operation downplay - a disinformation campaign blaming arsons for fires.
👉🏻Climate denial denial. Denying he’s ever denied climate change, even though record is there for everyone to see.
👉🏻Operation downplay - a disinformation campaign blaming arsons for fires.
It is a massive deal that Morrison is admitting his ideological opposition to govt management represents a hands off the wheel dereliction of duty which has resulted in the Australian-car crashing and burning. Sorry for that analogy.
The majority of Australians want climate action, urged on by the world. Climate action requires a Labor government to reform energy and other industries to quickly reduce emissions, to reduce risk of worsening danger and loss of life.
Final note. I’m going to a conference this afternoon dedicated to discussion of Green New Deal. This is a stimulus reform policy to grow jobs and develop technological solutions to address climate change. That’s the future - hands on the wheel. Only Labor can achieve this. End.
