Australia’s vote for Scott Morrison’s government in 2019 was a triumph of naive hope over bitter experience.  History must not repeat itself.

The world, including this nation, is suffering from a health pandemic unprecedented in our lifetimes. This nation is equally suffering from a failure of political integrity unprecedented in our lifetimes. With a Prime Minister whose self-interest is so out of control that he will lie about his lies, truth as well as trustworthiness have never been more at risk.

Accountability has also gone AWOL. Yet truth-telling and accountability are essential to that vital pact between individuals, or between people and leaders, ensuring that each has the other’s best interests foremost.

The article below was written on the eve of the last election when Labor lost – and so did government trustworthiness. We know now that Clive Palmer spent upwards of $80 million not to win seats but to further his toxic mining ambitions. This election, he’s at it again, riding the totally cynical “freedom” wagon. We also know public funds in unprecedented amounts were squandered by the Liberal and National parties in unashamed vote-buying. And we understand even better the destructive partisanship of far too many in the mainstream media.

Vigilance is vital for the coming 2022 election. Integrity will be the major issue; it ought to be the most overt one. For all their shortcomings, we can trust Labor and the Climate200 independents to support genuine climate action, if not to the extent the Greens (and many others) would wish. We can also trust Labor to ratify the magnificent Uluru Statement from the Heart. And to work with New Zealand to resettle the asylum seekers who have been “detained” for more than eight years, defying human dignity or decency.

Many matters of public interest will need forensic investigation. Both shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus and Labor leader Anthony Albanese are publicly committed to a national integrity commission with real powers. Albanese has also committed to limiting (ending?) the misuse of public funds for self-serving political gains.

You or I might imagine that this agenda alone would ensure a change for the better. But it will not. Media partisanship is at an all-time high. Truth-telling, and accountability in media also are at an all-time low. Truth in Media legislation won’t end prejudice and bias, but it may curb journalists’ willingness to amplify lies to suit their owners’ political and/or commercial agenda, whatever the cost to Australia and Australians.

Such legislation needs to cover commentary and “opinion” – including the grossly unqualified speaking out on health matters. It also needs to cover political advertising at every level, including social media. ABC FactCheck (https://twitter.com/ABCFactCheck) do their best but a small team needs urgent funding to expand their work in real time. The ABC has many fine journalists. Their best are brilliant. Yet some fail to analyse or contextualise blatant government propaganda. And needed coverage of non-government views seems increasingly curtailed.

We are a nation that deserves honest, trustworthy government. But it will be up to us to determine what that means.

READ MORE:

https://johnmenadue.com/election-2022-perhaps-australia-will-see-the-light-this-time/

FREE JULIAN ASSANGE NOW !!!!!!!!!!!!

Scott Morrison has incorrectly insinuated that Labor supported a return to COVID-19 lockdowns, a day after Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese accused the Prime Minister of presiding over a “let it rip” approach to the virus.

Under pressure from surging COVID-19 cases and associated problems from supermarket supply to workforce shortages, Mr Morrison on Monday returned to previous campaign rhetoric about “pushing through” the COVID crisis, even as state premiers started reimposing restrictions on hospitality and entertainment.

“​​I agree with the advice that we’re receiving, that we need to keep pushing through,” the PM said in Canberra.

Australia reported more than 71,000 COVID cases on Monday, with 18 deaths in New South Wales alone – the state’s highest daily toll of the pandemic.

The Prime Minister admitted Omicron was moving faster than “our early estimates”, saying the variant’s “rate of escalation has been very strong”.

Speaking in Queensland on Sunday, Mr Albanese accused the federal government of a “failure to plan” for “major issues in our health system” as a result of the fast-rising COVID cases, raising questions over vaccine availability, the booster rollout in aged-care homes, and the furloughing of sick workers.

“The ‘let it rip’ approach is tearing communities apart,” the Labor leader said.

“There are major issues with the pressure on the hospital systems. And that’s a direct result of some of the attitudes of the NSW government and the federal government.”

Mr Morrison rejected the claims on Monday, saying that was “not the approach that the government is taking”.

“I’d describe it more, as I said before, as pushing through. We do have public health social measures in place. We do have other restrictions that are in place. But we also have a very practical understanding of how the Omicron variant works,” the PM said in Canberra.

“If Mr Albanese thinks that the answer is to put Australia back into lockdown, then I don’t agree … if Labor are for lockdowns, that’s for them. My government is for keeping Australia open and pushing through.

“You have two choices here. You can push through or you can lock down.”

However, Mr Albanese has not called for lockdowns.

Indeed, Mr Morrison’s insinuation that lockdowns are the only alternative to the current approach flies in the face of new restrictions imposed in NSW and Victoria, where minor rules have been imposed on hospitality and entertainment but the venues have remained open.

Read more:

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2022/01/10/scott-morrison-freedom-let-it-rip/

READ FROM TOP.

FREE JULIAN ASSANGE NOW....!!!!