One of the things I’d like to do in this election campaign is to draw attention to all the (most egregious) cases where the press engage in the mindlessness of “he said – she said” journalism. That is where they report various sides accusations of the other as if that then finishes their job. Obviously us voters want information to help us tell which of the two sides stories is more plausible. And obviously enough sometimes even a hard working journalist can’t find out the information necessary to throw light on the subject.  But often they can. Read more »

I wrote up my own views about the power of ‘consensus politics’ here. Specifically I suggested that three aspects of a leader’s performance involve whether:

• unity or division is emphasised
• there is a cult of the strong leader as opposed to the leader being seen as an orchestrator of wider forces
• populist themes dominate political rhetoric

I’m hopeful regarding Julia Gillard on each of these scores, though more confident of the first two than the third.  Anyway, in Monday’s column for the Sydney Morning Herald I tried to argue that consensus was the only way through the kinds of impasse we’ve seen mar the Rudd Government.

Where is politics headed after the ALP’s near-death resources rent tax experience? Read more »

Thoughts on reading this psychologist’s write up of the Gulf of Mexico disaster:

A long time ago I stopped calling my Mum a Labor supporter and called her a Labor barracker. She’s disdainful of my interest in football – a thoroughly trivial activity which is arresting for those who involve themselves nevertheless. And there’s some comfort in its utter lack of deeper meaning. At least if you’ve earned yourself a break on the weekend, you can relax and watch the footy. Anyone who listens to abuse question time is either a pundit or a barracker – what on earth would be the point of listening if you’re not one of those? Read more »

On today’s RN News, the ABC reported that Lindsay Tanner had told the Insiders program that Kevin Rudd would lead the ALP to the next election.  This was one of the six most important things to tell us at 10.00 am this morning. Why is that news? What was he supposed to say? “Actually Barrie, that’s a good question, we’re thinking the same thing, we might dump Kevin, but right now we’re just sizing up our options”.