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We need our pollies in parliament, not Woolworths

Lucy Kippist

by Lucy Kippist

26 Apr 05:40am

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Filed under: David Cameron, Julia Gillard, Leadership, Politics

51 comments

On Saturdays, British PM David Cameron shops at his local Sainsbury’s supermarket. The rest of the week, his wife Samantha buys the family groceries online. Mr Cameron pays under 50p for a pint of milk and has very little time to pick up his kids from school.

This? Oh, it's Tim's shopping list. Do you want to have a look? Photo: Herald Sun

If you found that information important, you probably think a political leader should have a full life beyond their day job. By extension, you are then interested in what sort of a real person they are. For example, where do they shop and what do they buy.

However, if you found it frustrating and irrelevant, you probably think people like David Cameron have a busy enough time running the country to worry about saving 10 pence on a bottle of milk.  He’s Britain’s prime minister - who cares how or where he does his shopping?

Well, according to The Daily Mail, the British public care a lot. Many have joined in the attack, led by Tory MP Nadine Dorries, who accused Cameron and his counsel of being “toffs” who are completely out of touch with lives of their constituents.

One particularly helpful citizen has even created a Twitter hash tag #davekeepsitreal for everyone to post their ideas on how Cameron could pick up his game.

“Helping Clegg wash the jag every Sunday (when he’s not on holiday),” said one.

“Eat caviar straight out of the tin”, said another.

Also, this one made me laugh: “His favourite song is.“He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Butler.”

It’s hard to imagine anyone truly caring about what brand of dishwashing liquid our PM uses at home in the Lodge. Or how much quality time she gets with Reuben, the family cavoodle.  But some people do. Especially in the beginning of a new term of office, and when times get tough.

It was revealed some time ago that the cupboards in her Altona kitchen cupboards were totally bare. Then there was the Malcolm Farr piece about Ms Gillard’s usual Sunday night order from the now defunct, Portia’s Place, in Canberra. It’s shan-tung lamb with steamed broccoli, by the way.

Perhaps our concern for these matters comes from wanting to be sure that our politicians understand where “most” of us are coming from. That they talk the same language, eat the same food, and watch the same shows on television.

Kevin Rudd was pretty enthusiastic about the language part. Pity it was so cringe worthy. His “new media” approach to his prime ministership was often more awkward dad joke, than man of the people.  But at least he tried.

In purely voyeuristic terms, this kind of domestic detail can be pretty interesting, but it adds absolutely nothing to serious political debate or insight into the quality of a leader.

We elect our politicians to do their job. To lead the country and make good decisions at the lateral level, on behalf of all of us. If they’re doing a good job of that, it rarely, if ever matters, how they spend the rest of their time, or how much they think a packet of Tim Tams costs this week at Coles. 

And that’s within reason, of course.  Much of the hoo-ha regarding David Cameron’s grocery habits comes from a deep resentment of his bad policy making. These are not good times for most people in Britain, and Cameron’s snooty accent would be enough to rub the infamously classist Brits up the wrong way. But that’s not enough to hang the man on. Or it shouldn’t be.

The same goes for our PM. At the end of the day, Ms Gillard’s political credibility should be a judgment about her leadership; her understanding our place in the world economy and her ability to make decisive decisions. Where she buys her breakfast cereal has nothing to do with it.

Follow me on Twitter: @lucyjk

Most commented

51 comments

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    • Craig says:

      06:05am | 26/04/12

      Seems a bit pointless as an article - I don’t think Aussies commonly worry about this type of stuff, except for a few political journalists with nothing else to write about.

      Perhaps you should have this published in the UK instead of here…

      What Aussie are clearly worried about is:
      - The way Gillard has broken her word since being elected, on carbon, then on Wilkie.
      - Her underhanded mining tax deal with the three big miners, which greatly advantaged them to Australia’s long-term cost.
      - Her failure to deliver meaningful health reforms nationally across a system which is fast becoming unaffordable for Australia due to the emphasis on hospital-based care, rather than primary care.
      - The decision to appoint Slipper and drop Wilkie, which is progressively demonstrating her level of political ability.
      - Her defense of Craig Thomson, who would be dropped like a hot potato in any other government.
      - Her continuing attacks, through her Ministers, on Australians’ freedoms - such as her claims that Assange had broken laws, which has not been followed by an apology and the limited support offered to Assange in comparison to drug mules and teens in Asia as well as the Attorney General’s plans to force ISPs to record and keep two years of Internet history on every Australia, akin to making their computers into government spies.
      - Her continuing failures to effectively promote her own policies, or stand by them when things get tough - ‘lacks conviction’ (as was said to Loki in The Avengers).
      - Her inability to effectively manage her own office, resulting in the Australia Day incident.
      - The continuing reliance on 20-something advisors, wet behind the ears, to develop her policy on the run, and their refusal to work well with public agencies - who are constantly being stripped of the capability to serve the nation to serve short-term Labor policy goals.
      - Her contradiction on same-gender marriage,.. No-one I know understands why she is taking a ‘moral’ position that this is wrong, and good on the Labor party progressives who forced through the policy change on the party to endorse the position.
      - Her hardline position on some of the most vulnerable people in the world, refugees, and her push to have them dealt with anywhere but Australia (look at how other nations deal with ten or a hundred times our level of refugees effectively).
      - Her absolute commitment to a budget surplus when it isn’t necessary. Frankly achieving a surplus will not convince people who have now turned off Labor, nor will it convince those knowledgeable about economics who know that this is a token goal which does far more harm than good. Sure rein in the deficit, but we can have the economy return to surplus over three years through economic growth without the damage being done to Canberra’s workforce and the capability of the Australian Public Service. By sacking all the workers and replacing them with contractors, at higher cost, this will only cause bigger budget issues in the future.
      - The lack of support by Gillard for renewables, with so many handouts to the coal lobby - which acts as a brake on the move to a renewal energy economy (the most important transition Australia needs to make this century).

      With all these matters of substance, who cares whether Gillard even drinks milk!

      Reply

    • Lloyd says:

      08:46am | 26/04/12

      Couldn’t have said it better myself. Well done.

    • SimonFromLakemba says:

      09:34am | 26/04/12

      Bit of a strange one there. It appears from your points that you are a lefty having a crack at a leftist Government, and as a lefty I’d have to agree with you.

      This Government has lost a few traditional Labor voters as they have moved away from their own base which is a shame and will take some time to get back.

    • sandra says:

      09:59am | 26/04/12

      this response is a thousand times better than the actual article—thanks Craig for making the effort to list the disaster that is Gillard/Labor so perfectly

    • Chris says:

      06:23am | 26/04/12

      I fully agree. Could we perhaps extend this assessment to include gender?

      Reply

    • Macca says:

      06:34am | 26/04/12

      Disagree, Lucy. As a politician, your brief moments amongst the general public would provide you with a reasonable barometer of the matters of the day and the opinions of the public.

      Howard walked every morning. I’m sure that time out of the microcosm that is Canberra and Parliament House did him benefit.

      Reply

    • maus says:

      08:57am | 26/04/12

      Howard walked around the Parliamentary triangle with an entourage of security staff. I’m sure he met loads of regular people doing that…

    • acotrel says:

      09:19am | 26/04/12

      I saw TV coverage of the little man doing his power walk through Canberra with dissenters trying to yell a few words of helpful advice to him as he sped past ! I don’t think he really wanted to know.

    • SimonFromLakemba says:

      09:37am | 26/04/12

      Gillard lives in a pretty honest house in a average suburb in Melbourne, a far cry from Howard and his digs and choosing to live at Kirribilli.

      Having grown up in Canberra you see MPs all the time, generally they just blend in and no one says anything.

    • Wright brother says:

      10:17am | 26/04/12

      @simon,Gillard knows she is not welcome in Sydney,and would have a tidy portfolio that you are not privileged to know about,Scratch a commy,you will always find a capitalist

    • Luthien Nienna says:

      04:14pm | 26/04/12

      The best chaser skit ever involved the boys cornering Howard in a replica of the Back to the Future Delorian, offering to take him back to when he was popular so he could step down on a high instead of a low.

    • Against the Man says:

      06:57am | 26/04/12

      Great article. I mean you are right of course. Who cares where the fake PM Gillard and her ‘husband’ buy their groceries or whether they pick up their ‘children’ from school. I mean does it matter what Gillard sells on ebay like Australian dignity and pride (rumour has it Bob Brown made the highest bid).

      Reply

    • james says:

      11:11am | 26/04/12

      No one hates like the far right does.

    • nihonin says:

      11:31am | 26/04/12

      And from someone who sits in the middle, no one hates like the person casting the aspersion.

    • i like meat pies says:

      02:19pm | 26/04/12

      Gillard inspires hate. No wonder she is bad for Australia.

    • Against the Man says:

      08:01pm | 26/04/12

      Oh my, remember the Rudd hate from his own bloody party after he led them to a real victory? BBBBBBBBBBBBBUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!

      I win smile

    • James In Footscray says:

      07:21am | 26/04/12

      I would be quite interested to know what Julia Gillard does when she’s not at work, simply because I can’t work her out. What sort of person is she? What’s her world view?

      Reply

    • Chris says:

      07:40am | 26/04/12

      I’d be quite interested to see Julia work, even after hours, she has had a great time making a mess of the place during lunchtime and recess, but is yet to actually do anything with value for the Australian people.

    • maus says:

      08:58am | 26/04/12

      I don’t think that our Prime Minister is ever ‘not at work’. It’s a 24/7 job.

    • acotrel says:

      09:24am | 26/04/12

      @Chris
      The NBN is value, especially for those of us who live in regional areas. Unfortunately most of the voters live in the cities, and many country people are farmers and other business owners, who hate the left for supporting the unions which moderate their exploitation of workers .

    • Austin 3:16 says:

      11:19am | 26/04/12

      >> The NBN is value

      Probably but it was a Rudd idea not Gillard

    • Austin 3:16 says:

      11:19am | 26/04/12

      >> The NBN is value

      Probably but it was a Rudd idea not Gillard

    • Jason says:

      11:39am | 26/04/12

      >>The NBN is value. 

      If you are in a labor seat.

    • james says:

      01:27pm | 26/04/12

      care to qualify that Jason?

    • Jason says:

      02:34pm | 26/04/12

      I live in the electorate of Bowman held by Liberal member Andrew Laming.  Have a look where my electorate is on the NBN roll out schedule (4157).  While you are there, have a look at the other electorates that did not make the cut and who they are represented by.  Plenty of info if you Google it.

    • james says:

      03:18pm | 26/04/12

      Work will not commence on the NBN in my seat(safe labour, 3015)) for the foreseeable future.

    • Anubis says:

      04:08pm | 26/04/12

      @ James - I don’t think there is any such animal (safe Labor seat) any more.

    • thatmosis says:

      07:32am | 26/04/12

      Against the man, Joolia and her husband???????? Not quite right me thinks. Any way who gives a shit what they do, where they shop or who does it for them. This piece must have been a space filler as it is so uninteresting that not even acrotrel has bothered to blame AAA for this and everything else, boy the quality and revelance of Punch pieces is slipping.

      Reply

    • acotrel says:

      10:15am | 26/04/12

      By AAA do you meanthat guy who has so lowered the level of our parliamentary debate with his consatnt carping negativity ?

    • John Bull says:

      07:38am | 26/04/12

      How to write an article on The Punch.

      1) Find something interesting from Britain because nothing interesting happens in Australia

      2) Point out why this type of thing would never happen in Australia because, well Aussies are just above this type of Pommy nonsense. Say that it all boils down to the Poms being “infamously classist”, perhaps liberally sprinkle with words like “optimistic” “egalitarian” “fair go”

      3) At some point refer to the fact that the British economy isn’t doing great at the moment, with optional crowbarring in of the words “grey skies”

      4) Publish. Then get back on the UK websites to source next article

      Reply
    • Lucy Kippist

      Lucy Kippist says:

      10:38am | 26/04/12

      You forgot a step - sit back and wait to be told how stupid you are for the rest of the day.

    • david says:

      11:18am | 26/04/12

      Good reply Lucy. Hopefully your skin is thicker than John’s is with regard to Britain…

    • John Bull says:

      11:28am | 26/04/12

      You’re not stupid smile The writing on here is good, but the constant sly digs at Britain are as baffling as they are unnecessary

    • John Bull says:

      11:33am | 26/04/12

      Ah very gallant David, Australia is the thinnest skinned nation on Earth. Discuss

    • Joan says:

      07:39am | 26/04/12

      A PM should know what it costs to run an average family. They don’t have to do the shopping but they can get details from Bureau or Statistics or Consumer group., ACOS etc. Any PM or Opposition leader would be wise to appoint someone to manage this area. and report change of costs. The cost of living for each family is more important than saving the World Climate when Australia only contributes 1.5% world emmissions.

      Reply

    • NESLIHAN KUROSAWA says:

      07:52am | 26/04/12

      Hi Lucy,

      You may be right to a certain degree!  However you seem to have forgotten a little detail such as politicians doing everyday ordinary things like shopping could actually prove to be a very positive and productive thing for their public image.  We could truly consider it to be something very simple such as shopping that politicians might have in common in our everyday lives, especially in the minds of average everyday voters! 

      Forget about the cost of a pint of milk in the supermarket!  I have actually heard that Ms Angela Merkel of Germany, actually tends to buy everything in bulk at a much cheaper prices and she manages to do her shopping all by herself, really!  Would that count for any extra votes for her in the next elections, in Germany?  Well may be not?

      Surely, the Parliament House could be considered the place for all serious business of running a country such as Australia and the UK.  However, when the very extraordinary politicians are out and about doing ordinary things like buying milk, it actually could be seen as a plus rather than a minus as well as enabling them to look almost human and improving the overall public image of politicians. 

      And it could be considered to be the absolute and total winners in some voters eyes, come election time.  A bit like our obsession with petrol prices in Australia.  Why should the price of any other product be any different?

      Also such a little detail as the price of milk and bread may not seem so huge in the beginning.  However, talking to some of my friends all over the world, the prices of everyday supermarket items and fresh produce do matter a great deal to most people and potential voters at the end of the day.  Because it all adds up at the supermarket check out, right?  And of course every little bit counts towards big savings.  Kind regards to your editors.

      Reply

    • Goh Hock says:

      08:26am | 26/04/12

      Our PM doesn’t know or care about what it takes to do the job. The concept of morality, dignity and National Pride is lost of the red headed one!

      Reply

    • Robert S McCormick says:

      09:32am | 26/04/12

      I don’t give a toss wher our politicians do their shopping or what they spend their money on so long as it is their own money they are using to buy Prostitutes (male or female), travelling on holiday, making trips to support fellow would-be politicians election campaigns, spending their own $575 a day on swanning around Canberra (which raise the question: “Whilst doing this, when do they actually do any work?”), multiple $300 one-way trips from Brisbane Airpoirt to the Sunshine Coast.
      Bob Katter in his ridiculous hat has been on the war-path against Woolworths & Coles chattering on & on & on about how wrong it is that these two very successful companies control so much of the national food supply. He conveniently forgets that though they were in business for many years before it was not until about 50 years ago that they got into the Grocery Business. They gave the Publis, us Voters, Bobby, the type of retailing we wanted. No-one forced us to shop with them. When they started they had no more buying power than they once family-owned Corner Grocery Store. The so-called “Independents” are only able to get their supplies through organisations like IGA (Independent Grocers of Australia), there are as many of their supermarkets around Australia as Woolworths & Coles. They have every bit as much buying power as them. Yet their prices are way above what Woolworths & Coles charge. Why? Because these so-called “Buying Groups”, some of which are listed on the ASX, take their cut before selling on to the heavily dependent Independents whom the manufacturers & importers won’t deal with direct.
      Just as we don’t give a toss where our pollies shop it is none of their business where we choose to do so.

      Reply

    • Reality checker says:

      09:36am | 26/04/12

      Having worked with politicians I know that the ones dealing with the same life issues as the rest of us are in a much better position to make decisions that affect everyone. I want them to escape the bubble and go to the supermarket. With any luck they will be bailed up by a voter and given an earful. Does them no harm at all. They are representing all of us and they need to keep in touch with reality.

      Reply

    • Debbie says:

      10:52am | 26/04/12

      I think this sort of stuff does make our pollies seem like real people. UP in Darwin where I live, it is not uncommon to see any of our MLAs or even the chief minister in the supermarket, out in the street, at the markets any time. A lot of people get to know them as ordinary people and consequently don’t just see policies but see our politicians as individuals. Whilst I would not vote labour, I do know some of our labour politicians here as friends and like and respect them as individuals. Not sure where else in the country our can do this, and I really think it helps our politicians in getting and staying elected.

      Reply

    • Big Jay says:

      11:20am | 26/04/12

      Tend to agree with @Macca and @Reality checker above, however, I would go further…

      In a Chris Rock movie (Head of State), he says “How can you help the poor if you’ve never been poor? How can you stop crime if you don’t know no criminals? How can you make drug policy if you’ve never smoked the chronic (weed)? How can you do that? Just a nickelbag? I’m a real American. I’ve been high. I’ve been robbed. I’ve been broke…I’m Mays Gilliam, and I’m running for President of the United States of America.”

      I extend this line of thinking (more to state issues, to be fair). So, our policymakers don’t catch public transport or commute much of a distance (daily)...I’ve seen at least 3 MP’s use private hospitals when they have a heart attack or have a baby…How many MP’s have their kids or siblings actually being shot at and bombed in the Middle East. This is conducive to good public policy? How?

      Admittedly, not everyone can live the life of everyone else, but I do think our politicians are too far removed from the realities of most peoples lives.

      Talking to someone in the street/shopping centre for 5mins is also not much insight, it would take a least an evening over a few beers.

      Reply

    • Occam's Blunt Razor says:

      11:21am | 26/04/12

      So - why do Journos insist on the stock standard gotcha questions of the price of milk, bread, petrol etc???

      Reply
    • Lucy Kippist

      Lucy Kippist says:

      01:29pm | 26/04/12

      Good question! Was actually topic of discussion in the Punch office this morning.

    • iansand says:

      02:16pm | 26/04/12

      Journos are shy, timorous little critters, afraid to do anything that everyone else doesn’t already do.

    • Lyla says:

      11:31am | 26/04/12

      Bill Shorten is my local Member and I often see him wandering around my suburb.

      If anyone’s interested, I saw him a few months ago stocking up on several 2L bottles of the $2 Coles-brand milk.

      And that’s my great story.

      Reply

    • scumbag says:

      01:35pm | 26/04/12

      Does Tim’s tentative but tantalising Tim Tams test at a terribly trendy Turner posh-nosh dosh only diner stand the taste test, or is he a calculatingly cool & clever Coles client?

      Reply

    • Sam says:

      09:05pm | 26/04/12

      I’m pretty sure the interior in the picture accompanying the article is of her official Canberra residence, The Lodge. 

      It’s more olde worlde furnishings and reminds me of the interior of Government House Sydney in a way

    • the angry alligator says:

      07:39pm | 26/04/12

      Your comment:Who owns Parliament ? Woolworths or Coles ?

      Reply
 
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