http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/evan-williams/ Evan Williams once heard JFK say “to whom much is given, much is required”.  He’s never felt that he’s ever been given anything remarkable, therefore he must not be required to perform remarkably in his everyday life.  Thus he has completed a BA at Macquarie University and maintained an unhealthy interest in comedy and politics. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/phony-pollies-and-polyphony-on-asylum-seekers/ In music, “polyphony” is when a composition has more than one melody playing at the same time. This term should be adapted for the political sphere. So, all and sundry, I hereby declare the label ‘polliephony’ be applied to those times when pollies try and win both sides of the argument - in other words, when they try to walk both sides of the street. Polliephony is unfortunately a technique that is pervasive in almost all Australian political debates. However, for purposes of “programmatic specificity”, I’ll focus on its use in the asylum seeker debate.  This is because the asylum seeker debate is ripe for the use of polliephony, as it has two distinct sides of the street to walk on: one ‘tough’ and the other ‘humane’.  Which brings us to one of the more remarkable and indelible uses of polliephony in modern Australian politics. Kevin “Bonhoeffer” Rudd’s notorious “tough but humane” approach to border protection. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Evan Williams) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/phony-pollies-and-polyphony-on-asylum-seekers/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/phony-pollies-and-polyphony-on-asylum-seekers/#item6111 Tue, 21 Jun 2011 19:40:49 +0000 Evan Williams | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/were-maggots-who-kick-pollies-when-theyre-down/ This morning news was that pollies are complaining they’re overworked. Tory said they should harden up. Here, Evan Williams says we’re being rough on our leaders. Pollies should whinge. Their work is perhaps not as physically disturbing as a sewerage plant, but surely it is more emotionally and intellectually destructive. If you make a minuscule mistake at a sewerage plant, the punitive measure that follows would probably be a ‘shit happens’ pun from your boss. Conversely, if you make a similarly low-level mistake in public life, the punitive measure that follows is nationwide scorn and ridicule. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Evan Williams) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/were-maggots-who-kick-pollies-when-theyre-down/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/were-maggots-who-kick-pollies-when-theyre-down/#item5918 Tue, 24 May 2011 06:00:16 +0000 Evan Williams | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-cost-benefit-analysis-of-an-australian-political-junkie/ At this time of year, the Australian political junkie is in a state of melancholy induced by the end of parliament and politically associated TV shows like QandA, Insiders and Lateline. Sometimes the weight of these melancholic feelings are of such significance that the political junkie may begin to ask, in typical political terms, “should I give the game away?”. If you are asking yourself this question, I suggest it would be most prudent for you to commission the committee of your brain and soul to conduct a cost-benefit analysis on whether you should continue moving forward with politics, or begin to move away from it, in 2011. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Evan Williams) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-cost-benefit-analysis-of-an-australian-political-junkie/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-cost-benefit-analysis-of-an-australian-political-junkie/#item4732 Mon, 20 Dec 2010 19:55:49 +0000 Evan Williams | Author bios | The Punch