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Australian Politics

The IPA has captured our government

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The name of the organisation is preposterous in itself. The Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) was originally set up in 1943, as a response to the rise of Social Democratic parties in general, and the Australian Labor Party in particular. The founders included Rupert Murdoch’s father, and G.J. Coles. There is a reason it is so against the interests of ordinary citizens.

The history of the IPA is curious. Many of the key players in its early years are either still around, or their children are. Its ideas haven’t really evolved much, but if you want to characterise them, they are crudely elitist, ideologically stunted, narrow minded, science-phobic, greedy and in most cases, fully imported. For a charity which pays no tax, they have very few clients in need.

The only reason they are of any interest to anyone is that they have captured the Federal Government, by stealth, and their inane policies are the reason this country is so conspicuously under-achieving.

There is not one thinker of note amongst its membership. Some of the current members appear to be the offspring of former members; a sort of self-replicating supply of not-so-bright apparatchiks. If you are searching for the reason behind the diminishing sense of pride attached to being Australian, the IPA is to blame.

Current or ex-members in Parliament

For a roll-call, these are some of the current members of the IPA, or their affiliates; Institute for Progress (AIP), Australian Taxation Alliance (ATA), who are current, or recent members of the current Parliament: Abetz, Birmingham, Cash, Christensen, Cormann, Evans, Fletcher, Frydenberg, Hawke, Hunt, McGrath, Morrison, Paterson, Porter, Roberts, Ryan, Stoker, Dean Smith, Tony Smith, Tehan, Tudge, and Tim Wilson.

All part of the Global Atlas Network. That would be where we get the passion for no minimum wage, and no health care. Past members include Abbott, Howard, and let us never forget that our current PM is a fervent member.

They have been effectively bought by a handful of robber barons, who pay no taxes, and have no commitment to what was, twenty years ago, a democracy to be proud of.

They gaslight the entire community, with double-speak which would make George Orwell blush. As an example, in 2003 John Howard hired a conservative think tank (the IPA) to investigate NGO influence on some government agencies. The circularity of that sentence is dazzling.

“NGOs are becoming very influential today – they sit on various committees and are seen to influence governments and big business. As global players they need to be more transparent,” says Mike Nahan, executive director of the IPA. The lack of self-awareness in that statement is also noteworthy. Like appointing Mr Fox to investigate security at the chicken coop. 

“IPA is unfit to conduct the study due to its demonstrated bias and ongoing vilification of organisations that campaign for human rights, corporate social responsibility and environmental protection,” Oxfam said in a media release.

Who better than an NGO on the lunatic right (IPA) to investigate the NGOs represented by such bodies as Oxfam and Catholic Health Australia?

When dealing with the IPA one is assailed by the extreme seriousness with which they promote their truly stupid, and truly callous policies.

Some of their policies

They do not like welfare. They have a history of being supported by Big Tobacco. They want to sell the ABC, possibly to Rupert, at a discount. They want to lower the tax rate to companies and millionaires, as they starve the unemployed, and continue to dismantle the NDIS.

They caused the destruction of the Aged Care System, and they continue to support the fossil fuel industry while paying lip service to climate change action. They wanted us to abandon the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, but were momentarily shamed into making some concessions in Glasgow. Matt Canavan might be the most honest member of the coalition, in that even he admits their commitment to saving the planet is nonsense.

They want the Racial Discrimination Act to remove the ban on offensive speech. They want the Fair Work Act repealed, which means the ten minimum employment standards will disappear. Who knows, maybe we can get to see adult Australians working for $7 per hour, plus tips.

They also have absolutely no plans for a national integrity commission. There is a lot of speculation about the reasons for this position, but the history of rorts and inappropriate ‘jobs for the boys’, the slipping of millions of our dollars into dodgy land and water deals, all add up. A proper integrity commission could send many government members either into retirement, or even jail.

What does this ragbag of policies remind you of? Donald Trump’s America is the right answer. Of course they also want to abolish Medicare, probably because it reminds them of Obamacare. Their policies are imported. Considering most of the current Cabinet are members, how sincere can they be in governing for the good of all Australians?

So why would Australia want such policies?

The people in the IPA, and their affiliates, all think in Social Darwinism terms. So they think society is not meant to be inclusive, and caring for the least among us, but a contest.

The Tim Wilsons and James Patersons of this world actually think that if we were all transported to an unruly savannah, crawling with sabre-toothed tigers and snarling hyenas, that they would prosper. Reflecting on the personnel, my money is on the sabre-toothed tigers.

IPA types are secretly longing for the Call of the Wild. It is an adolescent fantasy, where if the going gets tough, the tough get going. Many of these intellectual giants wield real power in our federal parliament. All I can say is, be afraid. Be very afraid!

As John Roskam recently said: To control a virus that as yet has infected 5000 Australians, the response of doctors and politicians to this serious health crisis was to create also a humanitarian and an economic crisis. In the years to come Australians will quite rightly question whether there could have been a better way.”

Sometimes you need to let libertarians speak freely. They do a better job of exposing themselves as empty vessels than any commentator could.

Lincoln Steffens studied corruption and malfeasance in American states in the 1890s. His unwavering opinion was that it was not the fault of the crooked politicians, nor the business people who corrupted them, but the apathy and the supine nature of the citizens.

As citizens of a once great democracy, we need to be vigilant, and to take care of what they are trying to unravel – our unique, caring society, free of Christian right wing nut jobs, with no knowledge of something known as social justice. Exercise your rights, before you lose them. Vote them out.

Australian Politics

Scott puts in a Barry Crocker (shocker) in Glasgow

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Scott Morrison has somehow imposed himself on the Australian consciousness like an annoying jingle, or even like that awful and embarrassing uncle who continues to turn up at family gatherings. We can now include Rome and Glasgow amongst the places where he has purported to represent us, so that most of the thinking universe now sees Australians as of a kind, throwbacks to the types of characters made ‘famous’ in the Adventures of Barry McKenzie era, of our cultural cringe.


His personality is endlessly grating, like the boy with a chip on his shoulder; he is always looking for the verbal trap, and his pugnacity is more suited to a rugby field than to a conference. Talk about being labelled by how you look, and by how you speak. Many of us expected him to grow into the job, as some have in the past, but he is permanently stuck in a battle to the death, with the forces of liberality, of reason, of social and political progress.


We are endlessly naive in Australia, in that we believe in the inherent fitness for purpose of our institutions, and the innate moral character of our representatives. Morrison has upended our moral certainties, because he is without conscience, without memory, and without a policy purpose. He also lacks a stabilising presence in his life.


His friends include Brian Houston, who is under investigation, and sidelined from leadership of his father’s church, for allegedly covering up his father’s sexual abuse of children; Stuart Robert, who has seen time on the sidelines himself, because of his own problems with record-keeping and conflicts of interest; and Alex Hawke, a man who believes that “The two greatest forces for good in human history are capitalism and Christianity, and when they’re blended it’s a very powerful duo.” (Sydney Morning Herald)

The Cabinet

We have all heard about Scott Morrison’s Cabinet, mostly because they are almost invisible, they are constantly changing roles, and also because the Cabinet seems to have no coherence, no sense of passion for governing, and only one defining rule – follow Morrison, and repeat his talking points, until your voice hurts. So no Minister is respected, no Minister is seen as being on top of his or her portfolio, no Minister is seen as a rival to Morrison, and the Agenda is virtually non-existent.


Cut the public service to the bone, sling cash at the world’s largest consultancies, privatise every possible service and watch it slide into decay and despair, look after your mates. Never apologise, if in doubt call an enquiry, ignore the vast majority of recommendations from the myriad Royal Commissions afoot, and for God’s sake do not introduce a Federal Integrity Commission.

Never admit that you once knew Christian Porter, but defend to the death his right to accept large amounts of money from anyone, as long as he promised to not divulge. Continue to demonise all refugees, except possibly white farmers from South Africa.

The Glasgow performance


Morrison’s performance in Glasgow and Rome was pathetic. He behaved like a thug, first of all by arriving in both cities, with nothing to show the other leaders, for the six long years since we signed up to Paris. As unashamedly as he had presented us with empty brochures, he did the same to them. Like us, they were underwhelmed, but too polite to really say so. Take it as read that our country has taken another reputational hit.


And never forget Angus Taylor. He delivers misleading statistics and rubbish conclusions with a passionate fervour. His background as a management consultant sees him with only one forward gear – manic, and no reverse gear. He was actually in Glasgow dealing with the other rogue nations, promoting fossil fuels, far into the future. It is totally amazing that Morrison and Taylor were running this scam, even as the world watched.

The French fiasco


Emmanuel Macron is still reeling from Morrison’s clumsy lack of style. First he meets with the French, and deceives them until, at the last moment, he dumps them for the Americans and the British. So, knowing how the French feel personally about him, he takes the first opportunity to speak to Macron, by sneaking up behind the French President, and touching him from behind, unannounced. Very like that annoying uncle I mentioned earlier. And laying on of hands? Not cool, Scott. We generally seek consent before touching one another.


Later Mr Macron asserts that Morrison is a liar, and instead of turning the other cheek, (after all, Macron was speaking the truth) he argues the point, and then selectively leaks some texts, supposedly strengthening his position. So we are in Glasgow, with the world watching, and Morrison is behaving as if he is involved in a factional turf war in Sydney, back-grounding his opponent, who is, did I mention this already, the President of France.


Do not believe for a moment that Morrison has had a change of heart. He wants only one thing, and that is re-election. Nothing else matters, and he will subvert COP26, Parliament, his own Government, even Sky News if he has to. The climate change policies he has pretended to create are meaningless, and his Government knows it.

Australian Politics

Has Morrison had an Epiphany?

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Did Scott Morrison Need to Change His Ways?

Has our Prime Minister improved in his demeanour since the bushfire crisis? Has he reflected on the community’s assessment of his character, and decided that he needs a make-over, or a session of barnacle removing, a la Tony Abbott? Is it possible for him to change the dismissive, arrogant, my way or the highway approach, especially towards journalists, who are only asking him questions because we want them to.

His first efforts were hopeless.

Ever since he returned from his ill-conceived holiday in Hawaii, he has been traversing some difficult ground. Generally and sincerely disliked on his return, his first steps into the unknown territory of regret were badly managed, and to many his words were betrayed by his seemingly innate contempt for open conversations, and an inability to accept criticism.

His apology for the holiday’s destination, and its timing, was ‘sorry, not sorry’ style, similar in tone to how a famous sportsperson might apologise: ‘if anyone was offended, I apologise, but it is really not much to be offended by, etcetera’. Most people see through such an apology. Clearly he was advised by a PR person, with no help from his empathy adviser.

He later likened himself to a plumber, torn between a commitment to his business, and his promises to his family, or as he stresses, “his kids”. Except that he went on holiday, overseas, while his home town (Sydney) was potentially burning, and definitely choking on toxic smoke. Not really a leaking tap situation.

As I have stated elsewhere we don’t want our leaders as stand-in father figures, we want them to present themselves when necessary, and to share our difficult times, with grace and fortitude, and empathy. If they really care they should hurt along with the rest of us, and we are all able to recognise when someone is sharing our pain.

Morrison continued his rehabilitation efforts steadily. He seemed to jettison his stance that he would give Commonwealth help only when asked, and came up with the offer of $2 billion dollars to help with the recovery, and rebuilding the country. But every time he showed himself, it became a recitation of how generous he was being, and how he was seemingly giving up his dream of a budget surplus, for us.

Did he improve?

He was also at pains to establish in the public mind that the Commonwealth had been assisting in the bushfire crisis from early on in the piece, rather than as a sop to the country when most of the damage had already been done. Too little, too late was the community’s feeling.

His message was further undercut by his insistence that fighting bush-fires is a state responsibility, and the Feds only act when asked, and they hadn’t been asked. Really? That is hard to believe. This was not the first national emergency Australia has faced, and the Army has been used before.

The eventual arrival of the naval ships was very welcome, but, again, every time he appeared on television, or radio he made it all sound as if he was speaking at a political rally. His army, his navy, and he didn’t even bother to warn the firefighters that much-needed help was on the way.

After the deployment his office actually spruiked the use of the Defence Force as an act of grace, provided by the Liberal Party, on Facebook. There was even a “donate” button, until someone, maybe the empathy adviser, had it removed. Even as I read that sentence I am amazed all over again, that we can take Scotty out of Marketing, but we struggle to take the Marketing out of Scotty.

Was Climate Change a factor?

As the country burned, the issue of climate change was the elephant in the room. Morrison appeared, momentarily, to budge on it, acknowledging the science, and promising that the Government was “evolving” its position. This proved to be a false dawn, however, because he began repeating his deceitful mantra that we would “meet and beat our Paris targets at a canter.” A deliberate nonsense, of course, achieved by using a dodgy accounting trick. His ability to repeat these claims without batting an eyelid is testament to his ‘superb indifference’ to the community.

Look over there, a unicorn!

At least he had moved on from saying that during the fires was not the right time to discuss the likely causes, but he did introduce a couple of diversions, picked up directly from the Murdoch press. These were that arsonists were the major cause, or that the lack of fuel reduction burning was to blame. Obviously they were factors, but grossly overstated, and in the case of arsonism, he or his minions deliberately used misleading Police statistics.

This muddied the waters, and was an attempt to move attention away from the obvious effects of the hottest year on record in Australia, and a near record dry spell. The predictions that climate change would increase the number of extremely hot days, and even the likelihood of prolonged low humidity were proved right. Helpfully, Craig Kelly continued his ridiculous tilting at climate change windmills (?), until Morrison had to gag him.

While this effort at re-branding the Prime Minister was proceeding, Morrison was busy backgrounding journalists by denigrating the NSW Premier and her efforts during the darkest days, including stating that she had refused an offer of assistance from the Commonwealth. She vehemently denied the fact, so not much consideration for Liberal Party solidarity. When times are tough, every man for himself!

Recently he has been pushing the adaptation and resilience theme, which is very sensible, but another diversion away from the main game – the climate is getting hotter, and the bush-fire season is only going to get longer, year on year if we do nothing about the climate. Let us not forget that the season for bushfires has considerable time to run.

So, any change in our Prime Minister?

The latest controversy, over using public funds to shore up his electoral chances, was dealt with at the National Press Club, where he baldly stated that if people were disappointed at missing out on the Pork Barrel Express, he would look at re-opening the scheme, so that even more money from our hard earned taxes could be directed to sports clubs. When asked whether it was proper for the Minister (Bridget McKenzie) to over-ride the relevant NGO and its experts in apportioning grants, he stated that Ministers knew more than the career public servants tasked with the job anyway, so no problem there.

In breaking news he has attempted to excuse the inexcusable, by accepting McKenzie’s resignation for breaching ministerial standards, over a petty $36,000; whatever happened to the $100,000,000? Oh I am sorry, he has offered to open the wallet for ALL the disappointed clubs which missed out. Wow, our money, and he is prepared to be so generous with it! He really does not get it. We are not all stupid, and incumbency is not a licence to steal.

This is staggeringly inept from a politician. Even he knows how lowly we rate politicians, in all fields, but especially when it comes to using taxpayers’ money for personal political gain. This man continues to be the arrogant wowser we all thought he was, without a shred of self-awareness.

So in answer to my question, no. He has very definitely not had an epiphany on this road to Damascus.