💧DUKE Clyde (HANSARD)CFW9 (Biden-Harris ELECT)💧 · @nobby15
18th Jan 2020 from TwitLonger
PVO - Scott Morrison learning to listen to advice from his life
PVO - Scott Morrison learning to listen to advice from his life
Everybody needs a life coach and, judging by his recent performances, few more so than Scott Morrison. Life coaches can give sage advice, but it is important to listen to what they have to say to get the maximum benefit.
During this bushfire season Anthony Albanese effectively has become Morrison’s life coach, helpfully offering suggestions on what the government and the Prime Minister should be doing.
Unfortunately, for too long Morrison wasn’t listening, openly rejecting the advice the Opposition Leader offered. But credit where credit is due: Morrison now has started to follow Albanese’s advice. Not that the man himself would ever admit that.
If Morrison had listened to Albanese from the start he might still be preferred prime minister in the latest polls. In fact, if Morrison also had listened to the advice of his other life coach, John Howard, he wouldn’t be in his present political pickle.
One of Howard’s golden rules as prime minister was not to take overseas holidays. That was perhaps too cautious, which of course was Howard’s way. But suggesting a prime minister avoid two overseas holidays in one year, the second during an emergency in his home state, is probably advice no life coach would think needed to be passed on.
Albanese wrote to Morrison back in November last year, before the bushfires became the issue that they are now and before the Prime Minister jetted off to Hawaii. Albanese’s advice included looking into ways to reward volunteer firefighters appropriately for the work they were doing. It came from having spent time on the ground talking to these selfless volunteers. Noting the time volunteers were spending away from their employment, Albanese also suggested improved leave arrangements.
In a series of doorstop interviews soon after he returned from his beachside holiday, Morrison dismissed such a policy change, citing everything from firefighters falling under the responsibility of the states to any debate about conditions not being appropriate in the midst of the fires. Besides, as he said, the volunteer firefighters liked being out there.
Yet sure enough, as the political heat turned up, the Prime Minister eventually adopted the ideas his life coach recommended.
In that same November letter to Morrison, Albanese suggested “expanding the capacity of Australia’s National Aerial Firefighting Centre”, with appropriate funding to boot. This was a natural follow-on from the policy Labor took to the election last year: to develop a national firefighting fleet for times of crisis such as now.
At least on this occasion the Prime Minister didn’t instantly dismiss the suggestion. But he was slow to respond. With the fires in full swing come December, the Coalition boosted funding for aerial firefighting.
The recent military deployment of reservists has been touted by Morrison as some sort of grand initiative he, and only he, had thought up. Never before done in this nation’s history. Put to one side that Kevin Rudd called in reservists to help with the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires. Last month Albanese publicly called on Morrison to do more when it came to defence involvement in the fires effort. Come the new year, Morrison issued his call-out to reservists.
One of the things Morrison has been loath to concede is that dealing with the fires requires a national response, which must be frustrating for his life coach who, at a doorstop on December 11, called for exactly that. As the crisis worsened, Morrison adopted the Albanese proposal and established an agency to co-ordinate a national response to the disaster.
The recent announcement by Morrison and Health Minister Greg Hunt about mental health provisions for those affected by the fires also was a follow-up rather than an original idea. Albanese and Chris Bowen suggested it the week before, almost precisely as it was announced later by the government. Morrison’s speed in following his life coach’s suggestion (on that score at least) showed important learning.
Similarly, Albanese’s announcement with his environment spokesman, Mark Butler, that an assessment of the impact of the fires on native habitat and wildlife was needed — with funding to follow — was also was swiftly picked up by Morrison. Five days later, the government tipped $50m into Albanese’s suggestion.
While these indications of the Prime Minister learning on the job are positives, unfortunately he has yet to fully accept other advice his life coach has been dishing out. Albanese wanted the Council of Australian Governments to come together to help with “Australia’s natural disaster preparedness”. This request also was in his November letter to the Prime Minister. Sadly, especially given the extent of the tragedies this summer since that time, Morrison responded (in writing) saying such a meeting would one day be considered “should the need arise”.
Sear those words into your collective brains, readers: “should the need arise”.
Now the government — in a cynical bid to shift the discussion — is attempting to pivot towards “adaptation” rather than further action on climate change as a response to the fires, yet Albanese offered advice on that score too. In his November letter to Morrison, Albanese targeted adaptation initiatives. And this week we learned the government cut funding to the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility at Griffith University while Morrison was treasurer, no less.
Labor, unlike the government, can talk about the importance of adaptation planning with its credibility on climate change action intact because it wants to walk and chew gum at the same time.
Policies to reduce emissions in this country were at their most successful when Labor was in office. Nearly half of the emissions reduction target of 26-28 per cent required in the Paris Agreement was achieved on Labor’s watch. Since that time reductions in emissions have flatlined, even though the government keeps saying we will “meet and beat” our Paris targets.
Yes we will, but only because of the heavy lifting done by Labor and only because “carry-over credits” from Kyoto will get us the rest of the way there. Carry-over credits aren’t the same as emissions reductions; not at all. They are a neat accounting trick. So while Morrison is crowing about us meeting and beating our targets, we don’t get there by reducing emissions any further.
With more than two years before the next election is due, the Prime Minister has plenty of time to lift his game. He will take comfort from my prediction that he will do exactly that, and win that election. But his tin ear needs to become a thing of the past.
Peter van Onselen is a professor of politics and public policy at the University of Western Australia and Griffith University.