darren_stranger | when the time comes to exterminate the human race, i favour a top down approach

Three news articles, via Grrlock and Zey, with some more examples of the ethics of the Howard government, how they get away with it and why Labor seems to always be toeing their line.

Plot to axe allowances for 35,000 carers of disabled:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,10383950%255E2702,00.html

"The Howard Government "cold-heartedly" plotted to throw more than 35,000 carers of disabled people off their $45 a week allowance, including the parents of a baby born with a useless arm."

Cold-hearted bean-counting aside, this quote from a Centrelink beaurocrat to a government beaurocrat was what really spoke volumes to me: "One of the qualifications relates to people with Asperger (whatever that is). I vaguely recall something a while ago which suggested there is controversy over whether Asperger should be considered as autism. We should have a knowledge of this and a line to peddle on Saturday."

Good to see understanding the needs of the people your policies affect is only relevant when you need 'a line to peddle'.

Fawning frontbench provides cause for alarm:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,10392708%255E12272,00.html

"In Australia a few recalcitrant Nats have spoken out on refugee policy. But among the Liberals? Discipline. The sort of shuddering acquiescence you'd expect in an SM parlour.
[..]
The tragic cases of Philip Ruddock and Richard Alston come to mind. To prove they deserve preferment, they not only adopted Howard's policies but implemented them to the point of parody with the result that, instead of having a wide variety of opinions on his frontbench, Howard has lots of Howards"

Attack of the Clones indeed.

and finally:

FTA: bad politics drives out good economics"
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/08/08/1091903446058.html

"It's been reported and widely rumoured that the people closest to negotiating the deal wanted to walk away from it when the Americans proved so intransigent, particularly on agriculture. And when President Bush declined to yield any concessions after Mr Howard phoned him with a personal appeal. But Mr Howard insisted the bad deal be accepted. Why? Because of the loss of face the Man of Steel would suffer when it became known his mateship with Dubya counted for so little."

and of course why Latham couldn't reject it, even if it is bad for Austrlia:

"Had he opposed the deal, business would have been down on him, accompanied by all those political journalists and others who think they're terribly sophisticated on the economy but, in truth, know precious little economics.
[..]
Leading the outcry would have been the Murdoch press, whose American lord and master stands to gain from the US Government's efforts to make the world a cushier place for US exporters of intellectual property, such as Twentieth Century Fox."