New Paradigm

Well we’re a few days into what will come to be known in days to come as the great “carbon election” of 2011 and two things are becoming clear.

Firstly, the carbon tax is sellable. Some people are coming around. Prime Minister Julia Gillard is showing the mettle and persuasion that made her the first female PM in Australia’s history.

Secondly, nobody trusts her anymore. It seems constituents aren’t taken in by the “real Julia” or the “sunshine” talk anymore with the PM repeatedly fielding questions about lies, trust, and deception.

Continue reading "When political sunshine means democratic melanoma" »

There are now just four sitting days left of the new paradigm for 2010 –exciting isn’t it – and it’s worth running the ruler over this much-hyped new-look Parliament to see how it compares to the old one.

It’s also worth comparing its performance against the promises that were made by Julia Gillard in the giddy afterglow of forming government, after that joyful period when for 17 days Australia had no government at all.

The term “new paradigm” was coined by Julia Gillard at her National Press Club speech shortly after the federal election when the country remained in limbo. Shorn of its management-speak overtones the term basically meant a new way of doing things. To the public it promised greater transparency and accountability and a more inclusive approach to doing politics, whereby instead of the government of the day exercising a vice-like grip on the national policy agenda, it would listen to the voices of independents, and minor parties. This part of the message wasn’t so much aimed at the public, but the three undecided independent MPs who had the nation by the tail as they pondered whether to back Labor or the Coalition.

Continue reading "New paradigm not much better than old one" »