Is the ‘liberal’ in the Liberal Party a case of false advertising?

By Noely Neate
March 2nd, 2013

When I was young I would see something I thought was unfair, have a rant about it  (obviously have not changed over the years)  and my dad would mutter under his breathe ‘bloody bleeding heart liberal’.  As a youngster I never really knew what that meant, though I did get the gist that my dad thought I was being soft.

Reading about the highly anticipated or dreaded Costello report , depending on how you feel about the future of Queensland,  it was pretty clear that the Atate I love is about to be parcelled up and sold to the highest bidder.  In a nutshell Mr Costello is telling his liberal mate Mr Campbell Newman to Sell assets and outsource health services.

So where does that leave the people?

Kay Rollison has expressed my concerns very well in her recent article: Privatisation: Coming to Public Schools and Hospitals Near You.  She  infers that the LNP Queensland Government is setting the blueprint for what an Abbott Federal Government is planning to do to the country as a whole.  I have a terrible feeling she may be right, and again I ask, what about the people?  The people who can’t afford private schools, the people who can’t afford a private hospital, the people who are already struggling to pay their ever increasing electricity bill. Are we destined to a future of the rich being wealthier, healthier and educated, whilst the less affluent become poorer, die waiting for a hospital bed and more ignorant due to poor public education standards?

Is this what a so-called Liberal party should be doing? Let’s see how the party so proud of it ‘Liberal Party Values’ stacks up against the definition of the word ‘liberal’.

Being an old fashioned sort of girl, I hit the dictionary for the definition of liberal and you know what, the political party does not seem to fit the definition that the trusty old Oxford Dictionary shows me.  Let’s see…

willing to respect or accept behaviour or opinions different from one’s own

I don’t think so. The demonisation of asylum seekers is not liberal by definition.  Recent comments by Morrison and Abetz display exactly how ‘accepting’ the Liberal Party is. Personally I would prefer to be warned that Morrison or Abetz was living next to me than an asylum seeker trying to start a new life with the family.  (their words and views)

open to new ideas

Gee that is a funny one. I’m pretty sure that the LGBT Australians are pretty sure there will be no gay marriage under the Liberals. In fact, dialling back Civil Unions was on the top of the LNP’s list when they rocked into power last year.

favourable to or respectful of individual rights and freedoms

Well if Mr Abbott has his way, women definitely do not have reproductive rights or freedoms?  Now get back in that kitchen and make your husbands dinner, unless of course you work for or are related to Mr Abbott, because you are obviously one of the ‘good’ women…

(in a political context) favouring individual liberty, free trade, and moderate political and social reform

Questions for Mr Pyne

PYNE #ASHBY TWISTER: Can anyone draft a @QandA question Pyne can't find a way not to answer? http://t.co/4F1B9Shv

— 📣Margo Kingston💧🔥 (@margokingston1) February 2, 2013

1. Mr Pyne, do you condone the theft of diaries from MPs? If not what action should be taken against people who request & receive stolen goods?
2. What is your attitude to stealing the diary of an MP & giving it to his rivals?
3. What is your attitude to someone receiving stolen property? Particularly if they confess to so doing?
4. Do you support abusing the process of the Court?
5. Do you believe being named in Federal Court indicating abuse of process warrants full and open press appearance?
6. Mr Pyne, WTF do you mean by ‘no specific knowledge’? https://soundcloud.com/geeksrulz/pyne-plays-games
7. As LOTO, why didn’t Tony Abbott intitiate thorough investigation of serious rumours surrounding Mr Slipper?
8. Why don’t you release your publicly funded transcripts of recent doorstops?
9. Why does Abbott falsely claim that Brough has ‘been very upfront about his dealings with James Ashby’?
10. Why did you say on Lateline that Mr Brough is contesting the Rares findings when he’s not & is it a ploy to avoid ?
11. You’ve stated that on March 19 you drank with James Ashby and had “political discussion”; What was discussed?
12. Pyne, you have repeatedly said this is a contest about trust. So why don’t you & Mr Abbott front the media & answer questions on Ashby?
13. Do you condone Tony Abbott turning his back on journalists asking questions about the Ashby Brough Affair?
14. You demanded the resignation of Mr Slipper over private SMS’s with Mr Ashby; will you release all your emails/SMS’s to or from Mr Ashby?

 

https://twitter.com/margokingston1/status/298046939759525888

 

These questions were crowdsourced from a number of people on Twitter who contributed to a request by Margo Kingston. They were all collated in this Storify post. A great thank you to all for their combined efforts.

[View the story “Christoper Pyne Questions on Ashbygate” on Storify]

Additional information

Abbott Questions

Brough Questions

Updated: Questions for Mr Abbott at the National Press Club

January 31 Press Club review: There are many reasons why the Canberra Press Gallery is failing to fulfil its democratic role. A collapse in media revenues, 24 hour filing, no time to stay with a story and investigate it, an atmosphere which sees journos run from one ephemeral topic to another in waves, an exodus of experienced practitioners with a corporate memory, the removal of quality newspapers as the bedrock of serious journalism…

When an institution is in trouble, leadership is required.

I was proud of the gallery I once belonged to today. It was on trial, and it delivered a solid performance. I was moved to tears, though, by the leadership of two of its most experienced, rational, hard-working, intelligent members. I know both of them. They are strong, fearless, and dedicated to the core values of journalism.

They broke Abbott’s silence on Ashby, and Laura Tingle also called Abbott on his policy of turning his back on hard questions.

As a result, they have opened a crack in the Coalition’s strategy of refusing to address the implications of the smoking gun Federal Court judgement on Ashby. Then another experienced press gallery journo, Lyndal Curtis, got an answer from Abbott on Thomson that removed all his clothes regarding his backing for Mal Brough. It is now up to the journo colleagues of these three women to pick up the ball and run with it.

Several days ago I urged citizen journos to find great MSM journos and support their work:

I think in terms of collaboration between Social Media and committed MSM journos. Old media is fighting for survival and new media can’t thrive without quality journalism reaching a broad audience. Flux. Each of us is helping shape what is to come.

The media silence post Ashby is system failure. Many MSM journos feel it too. If a way is not found to get the truth a dangerous line will have been crossed in terms of democratic checks and balances.

The Court has done its job. Politicians feel they cannot press for official accountability because of MSM silence. Social Media has demanded MSM action for 5 weeks yet even Richard Ackland’s column and the Sunshine Coast Daily’s devastating interview with Brough, in which he lied about the Press Gallery, drew nothing in response.

So Social Media must think laterally. And we are. And we must give maximum support to MSM journos who see their work as a vocation and are prepared to fight for its values.

Here is Laura Tingle’s question and Abbott’s answer, Lenore Taylor’s follow-up and his answer to her and Lyndal Curtis’s inspired question on Thomson. Abbott lied on Brough’s transparency. He promised that Brough would now answer questions. He promised to reveal the statistics on his press gallery press conferences. He failed to answer other points. And by his own words about the PM’s position on Thomson he condemned Brough to dis-endorsement – if journos keep the pressure on.