Much as I might try and avoid politics it’s a subject that just keeps coming back, week after week, as we head towards a federal election. This time around there was one obvious ‘bad sight’, which saw Scummo laying hands on koalas. Although he was promising a measly $50 million to help the koalas while Albo was announcing a plan to spend a billion dollars on the Barrier Reef, coral is obviously not as cute and cuddly, nor so congenial for photo ops. Last week it was Grace Tame, this week a koala who preferred to remain anonymous, looking at the PM with alarm and distaste as he got too close for comfort. I only hope the RSPCA was watching.
When he wasn’t cuddling koalas, Our Leader was munching on gall and wormwood at a luncheon at the National Press Club, where he had to share the stage with his least favourite journo, Laura Tingle; avoid a lot of tricky questions, and finally listen to Peter Van Onselen reading out a text exchange between the former NSW Premier, Saint Gladys of Willoughby, and a Federal Liberal Minister who, like the koala, preferred to remain unnamed. During this discussion it seems the PM was called “a complete psycho” and “a horrible, horrible person”. While this would be uncontroversial coming from most people – just a matter of observation, really – it must be a wee bit disturbing when the leak allegedly comes from a Minister in one’s own government a couple of months out from an election.
And so a luncheon intended as a “reset”, in which Scummo was going to assure us the forthcoming election “was not a referendum on his government”, went off the rails and over the cliff. One can see how “psycho” the PM is if he believes that any election is not a referendum on the government of the day. Another measure of mental instability is his big announcement that aged care workers would get one-off payments of $400 – which will surely have them all dancing in the streets and voting Liberal.
The following night the 7.30 Report looked into a sector that is spiralling into meltdown. A Royal Commission, which reported in March last year, has already outlined the critical condition of the Aged Care sector and recommended a pay rise for nurses. Under the strain imposed by the pandemic a crisis is being transformed into a catastrophe, as roughly a fifth of operatives have announced their intentions of quitting within the next year. It was claimed that nurses are routinely working 16 hour days, and being paid less than check-out staff at supermarkets. Well, it’s only a matter of life and death! And besides, do we need all those old people? They’re not especially productive for the economy, are they? The program also noted that the $400 payment came with caveats which meant the large number of staff who work on a casual basis wouldn’t be eligible. Once again one can only be amazed at the breadth of vision involved.
Strangely, all this generosity doesn’t seem to be working. A poll conducted by pro-government News Corps suggests the Coalition is on track to lose the election by as many as 25 seats. Meanwhile, the new trim, stylish version of Albo is only two points behind Scummo. For a long time Albo was the only tangible advantage the government had, but now it seems all an Opposition leader has to do is keep his mouth shut and fall over the line. A touch of charisma would be desirable, but not obligatory.
In a try-too-hard effort to show the electorate it can be as dumb and manipulative as the government, the ALP this week announced they will support the proposed gas-fired power plant in Kurri Kurri (home of the famous annual Mulletfest) so long as it can be run on green hydrogen. It’s a little hard to believe in this while green hydrogen technology remains something one might only find in a book by Dr. Seuss. As the proposed plant is guaranteed to provide jobs for about 12 people, and will cost at least $600 million, it’s hard to see this promise as anything but an albatross. Albo would be better off finding a credible candidate for the Hunter electorate rather than a gun-toting, coal-loving “larrikin” picked in defiance of the wishes of the local party apparatus.
Both major parties show such sovereign contempt for local branches and communities that it’s no wonder so many independents are nominating for this election. One needs must be sceptical about their chances of winning seats, but they will add a few complications to the results through the allocation of preferences.
The art column this week is the delayed piece on Gabrielle Chanel: Fashion Manifesto at the National Gallery of Victoria. I’m a little guilty of being more absorbed by the artist than the show itself, but Coco Chanel is one of the most extraordinary women of the 20th century. She’s both hero and villain, peasant and plutocrat. She knew almost everybody worth knowing, and had it off with a fascinating cross-section of them. Her designs are both functional and, in a way, visionary. So, instead of discussing the dresses and accessories in depth, I gave way to distraction. I hope you’ll agree it was the right choice.
The film being reviewed is Pedro Almódovar’s Parallel Mothers, which has stayed in my mind since I saw it last week. On one level it’s a melodrama, on another, an ambitious attempt to balance out public and private responsibilities, to put the demands of the present alongside the echoes of history. For those who are keen on Penélope Cruz, this is a chance to see her in an excellent movie. If you want to see her in a really bad one, there’s always The 355.
As a blog, I’m including an obituary on Hossein Valamanesh, a great artist and a big loss to Australian art. I knew Hossein for more than 30 years, and was always impressed by the way his work kept changing and evolving. A modest, self-effacing man, a model of integrity, Hossein and his artist wife, Angela, will be featured in the forthcoming Adelaide Biennial, which will give a lot of friends the chance to say a proper goodbye.