As today marks six months since the November 24 election brought the Rudd Government to power, this piece serves as a gentle reminder that all is not well with Kevin On Earth's agenda.
Cynthia Flobberbutton (in New Matilda) think it's time that the Federal Labor honeymoon was officially declared to be over and done with.
Oh come now, I hear you gasp. It's only been six months; it's a bit fanciful to expect a new government - especially one that has been out of office for more than a decade - to right all wrongs in six months.
To a certain extent these sentiments are true. Labor may have wrested control of the ship but it will take time to prise off all the nasty barnacles that burgeoned under the previous administration, let alone to reorient the vessel. But this is not an issue of petulance regarding changes not yet enacted. Rather, it's a call to question the course that has already begun to be charted.
Me-too-isms aside, the election of the ALP arose predominantly from the distinction the Party was able to establish between itself and the incumbent. In addition to his Fresh Approach for Working Families, Rudd himself was put forward as the anthropomorphic representation of the future: shinier, sprightlier, more culturally sensitive, more compassionate, more intellectually rigorous, and less likely to be swayed by xenophobic populism.
But now in office, the ALP is arguably working hard to subdue those elements of civil society that risk exposing the reality that it will not herald anything close to a social democratic utopia. In days gone by, these tactics were referred to as co-option. Under Rudd they have been shrewdly repackaged as the 2020 Summit.
In addition to offering the chance for delegates to be considered one of the New Labor Government's 1000 most trusted confidants, the 2020 Summit cemented the elitist idea that hand-picked "experts" should drive public policy. Tripping over egos in the rush to be anointed as among "Australia's best and brightest", the foundation was neatly laid for the influential class's support for the "Kevin Again in 2010 (Three Years is not Nearly Enough)" campaign.
Summit delegates were not only conveniently encouraged to ignore the pivotal role of broad-based, grassroots social movements in delivering electoral success for the ALP, but to forget how those movements managed to stave off some of the worst excesses of the Howard government, even when it controlled the Senate.
All this is by no means an effort to downplay the significance of some of the Federal Government's policy announcements. An apology to our Indigenous people, abolition of temporary protection visas for refugees, repealing (parts of) WorkChoices and a commitment to withdrawing (some) troops from Iraq are important shifts in rhetoric and practice. But for those of us who have grown used to fighting for the crumbs hurled in our direction, it is tempting to mistake ALP initiatives as dramatic steps forward rather than an amelioration of policies that should never have been countenanced in the first place.
It would be a mistake to unquestioningly accept these initiatives as sufficient compensation for failing to actually move public policy in a progressive direction, or as balance for new regressive measures. An apparently greater willingness to talk with advocacy organisations should not be confused with a commitment to meaningful consultation - and action.
Ultimately, the Federal Government must be judged on the strength of its policies, not on how they compare to the policies of the previous administration, or to hypothetical horror scenarios imagining 15 years under Howard.
So while there may still be some reluctance to call an end to our starry-eyed rebound affair with Rudd, it's time for those of us who are committed to creating a truly just and sustainable Australia to begin pointing out that we're no longer willing to sleep on the wet patch.
Oh come now, I hear you gasp. It's only been six months; it's a bit fanciful to expect a new government - especially one that has been out of office for more than a decade - to right all wrongs in six months.
To a certain extent these sentiments are true. Labor may have wrested control of the ship but it will take time to prise off all the nasty barnacles that burgeoned under the previous administration, let alone to reorient the vessel. But this is not an issue of petulance regarding changes not yet enacted. Rather, it's a call to question the course that has already begun to be charted.
Me-too-isms aside, the election of the ALP arose predominantly from the distinction the Party was able to establish between itself and the incumbent. In addition to his Fresh Approach for Working Families, Rudd himself was put forward as the anthropomorphic representation of the future: shinier, sprightlier, more culturally sensitive, more compassionate, more intellectually rigorous, and less likely to be swayed by xenophobic populism.
But now in office, the ALP is arguably working hard to subdue those elements of civil society that risk exposing the reality that it will not herald anything close to a social democratic utopia. In days gone by, these tactics were referred to as co-option. Under Rudd they have been shrewdly repackaged as the 2020 Summit.
In addition to offering the chance for delegates to be considered one of the New Labor Government's 1000 most trusted confidants, the 2020 Summit cemented the elitist idea that hand-picked "experts" should drive public policy. Tripping over egos in the rush to be anointed as among "Australia's best and brightest", the foundation was neatly laid for the influential class's support for the "Kevin Again in 2010 (Three Years is not Nearly Enough)" campaign.
Summit delegates were not only conveniently encouraged to ignore the pivotal role of broad-based, grassroots social movements in delivering electoral success for the ALP, but to forget how those movements managed to stave off some of the worst excesses of the Howard government, even when it controlled the Senate.
All this is by no means an effort to downplay the significance of some of the Federal Government's policy announcements. An apology to our Indigenous people, abolition of temporary protection visas for refugees, repealing (parts of) WorkChoices and a commitment to withdrawing (some) troops from Iraq are important shifts in rhetoric and practice. But for those of us who have grown used to fighting for the crumbs hurled in our direction, it is tempting to mistake ALP initiatives as dramatic steps forward rather than an amelioration of policies that should never have been countenanced in the first place.
It would be a mistake to unquestioningly accept these initiatives as sufficient compensation for failing to actually move public policy in a progressive direction, or as balance for new regressive measures. An apparently greater willingness to talk with advocacy organisations should not be confused with a commitment to meaningful consultation - and action.
Ultimately, the Federal Government must be judged on the strength of its policies, not on how they compare to the policies of the previous administration, or to hypothetical horror scenarios imagining 15 years under Howard.
So while there may still be some reluctance to call an end to our starry-eyed rebound affair with Rudd, it's time for those of us who are committed to creating a truly just and sustainable Australia to begin pointing out that we're no longer willing to sleep on the wet patch.
