Letter to a Liberal MP from a disaffected Liberal farmer
By Margo Kingston
September 8, 2004 01:37 PM
How real is this supposed Liberal voter backlash against John Howard? Farmer Sue Bradford wrote to me today:
I have just read your book HYPERLINK "
http://www.nothappyjohn.com/"Not Happy John with my chin on the floor - it is rivetting but very depressing stuff. Here is a letter I am sending to our local Federal member Alby Schultz (the Liberal MP for the well heeled seat of Hume west of Sydney who is most famous for defying Howard to publicly oppose the sale of Telstra). I have never been in tune with his politics but he has been a very supportive and interested Member of Parliament. However I am angry enough to be finally sending this letter to him, and I thought I'd send it to you as evidence of the real dismay out here.
I am a 57 year old farmer married to a 5th generation farmer with one daughter and 2 step children. We are in blue ribbon Coalition territory but the upwelling of dismay and disgust with the current leadership is amazing. The only people I know who will certainly vote Liberal are those who are unquestioning and disinterested in any political debate. Even my husband is highly critical of the worst of Mr Howard's excesses and he is going to read your book too."
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'Nubba'
Cooringle Rd
Harden NSW 2587
bradford@dragnet.com.au
3.9.2004
Dear Alby
This letter has been simmering on my computer for over 2 years and I have been hoping I’d never need to send it, but now that the election has been called I have no choice.
I have admired the job that you have done as our State and Federal member and have appreciated the support you have always given our local affairs. I wish you well in the forth coming election but I won’t be one of those voting for you and I wanted to do you the courtesy of explaining why. The problem is that I cannot cast a vote which indicates in any way that I support Mr Howard. I would dearly love to be able to vote Liberal but will only do so when the party has gained some of it’s humanity and the small ‘l’ liberalism that it started with.
The reasons (in no particular order) for which I dislike Mr Howard with an intensity I’d never have believed possible are:-
• His destruction of the Republic debate with the support of a dishonest campaign and his refusal to allow the one obvious question to be put – that being ‘Would the people of Australia prefer to have an Australian Head of State’? Having wrecked that debate Mr Howard has cornered the real role of our supposed Head of State and has attended functions and events to which he has no right.
• The mean-spirited response to the ‘Stolen Generation’ and Mr Howard’s refusal to say ‘Sorry’. We will never move on with the Aboriginal people of Australia until the severe wrongs of the not-too-distant past are properly acknowledged and atoned for. To authorise the spending of millions on barristers to fight a few sad and damaged people over some compensation for the evils done to them is something with which you should be ashamed to be involved.
• It has been obvious to me since the last election that Mr Howard lied over the Children Overboard affair, and now, with the evidence mounting, the case seems clear. We are not bored with this issue and I will not tolerate a leader who uses the misfortunes of others for his own political gain. Arguments that the issue wasn’t clear are no excuse – the information was grabbed with glee and used and abused at every opportunity. Mr Scrafton has given his account clearly and has nothing to gain by doing so. Mr Howard has run for the cover of an election. One of them is lying and I know who I believe.
• The treatment of asylum seekers has made me weep real tears. How can we indulge in the disgusting and wickedly expensive Pacific solution? The numbers are so tiny and the people who make it to Australia are probably the very ones with guts and determination that we need. Children damaged beyond repair and adults in terminal despair is not something we can be proud of.
• Following George Bush into war with Iraq was a mistake for which we will pay and pay. If we are more at risk of terrorist attacks than we used to be, I sheet that firmly home to our blind involvement in the illegal Iraq war, and in our dubious alliance with George Bush. We were lied to regarding the reasons for this war and now that the original reasons have been shown to be palpably false, we were expected to accept that the reasons didn’t really matter anyway.
• I resent our armed forces being used for the PM’s photo opportunities – even in this he usurps the Governor General’s role at every turn.
• The shutting down of the Parliament of Australia during the visit of George Bush was a scandal. And this must never happen again – and you back benchers must never allow it again. Anyone who is prepared to send young people off to fight their wars and do their dirty work should take their chances in the street like the rest of us. The Head of State Mr Howard purports to support, Her Majesty the Queen, would never in a million years have condoned such a nonsense. The man-handling of Senators Brown and Nettle was also a shameful episode, when they were after all doing what most of us would dearly like to have done – ask questions of a man who is leading us by the nose. That our House was closed down for what was officially not even a State visit, and our police, security services and press were all forced to be subservient to a foreign power is totally unforgivable – and for what?
• Mr Howard’s refusal to accept that East Timor would be a blood bath after Independence voting until it was hideously apparent that he had hidden his head in the sand for to long. To then finally turn around and send in the troops when there was no other choice and claim the credit for doing a good job was nauseating.
• It is duplicitous in the extreme to refuse to enact legislation ensuring that workers are paid their due entitlements when a company goes bust, yet the one company for which Mr Howard pledged support was that owned by his brother. And while we are talking about family, his son Tim’s involvement in sending spam emails to electors sounds doubly dodgy to me.
• The Government’s treatment of Tertiary Education – the starving of courses and colleges of funds so that any of us trying to send children on to maximise their talents face appalling bills – and Mr Howard and his mates got their education virtually free. The impending 2 tiers of HECS and full fee paying students will be divisive in the extreme.
• The denigration of the ABC and the attempts to staff the board with Liberal Party cronies makes my blood boil. We need a free and fearless public broadcaster and if the government doesn’t like what it hears - well so be it. I do not find the ABC to be biased – I value broadcasters of the calibre of Kerry O’ Brian, Terry Lane and Chris Masters, and programmes such as Four Corners and Background Briefing and we would be poorer and more vulnerable with out them. An Australia wholly dependant on the commercial networks doesn’t bear thinking about.
• The attempts to pander to Kerry Packer and Rupert Murdoch regarding cross media ownership are sincerely scary, for without a free media we will be completely blind to anything those grotesquely powerful people do not wish us to observe. We must ensure a free and fearless press or we are sunk.
• I sincerely object to Mr Howard’s appropriation of a house to which he has no right – ‘for family reasons’. Even if that were a valid excuse (which to me it is not) I understand his children are all grown up and there is no reason why he can’t make his home where he ought to – in The Lodge in Canberra. Kirribilli house is far too expensive an option and constantly flying him back and forward between Sydney and Canberra is an impost I resent. I trust he will replenish the raided wine cellar before he leaves too.
• I am disgusted by the politicisation of the Public Service to the extent that it is obvious that no senior officer dares give advice that they know will be not be welcome. To make people’s careers so vulnerable to the whims of politicians is cruel and ultimately dangerous.
• I abhor the Government’s refusal to fight for the rights of Terry Hicks and Mamdoubh Habib. To condone their incarceration in Cuba and to allow a farce of a military tribunal to take place should make us all shiver in our shoes. They did nothing illegal in Australian law and for that reason alone the Foreign Minister should have been beating down doors ever since.
• Mr Howard’s stubborn support of his political mates when they have been caught doing seriously dishonest or inappropriate things is also a disgrace. The list is long.
Ø Peter Reith (rorting his Telecard),
Ø Michael Wooldridge (misusing his Parliamentary office after he resigned),
Ø Ross Cameron (morals crusader who cheats on his wife),
Ø Dr Hollingworth (A Governor General who lied – and I read all 400 plus pages of the report)
Ø Alan Jones – Cash for comment,
Ø Bill Heffernan (the Justice Kirby affair should have had that man sent packing)
Ø Wilson Tuckey – (abusing his parliamentary position and letterhead in favour of his son – and lying)
Ø Trish Draper – (abusing Travel allowances)
Ø David Flint (unhealthy relationship with Alan Jones whilst Chairing the ABA)
Ø Tony Abbott – (lying to the AEC during his efforts to send Pauline Hanson to jail)
Instant dismissal is the only worthy response to these people and yet time and time again they are sent off with pats on the back and an insincere smile.
• I am distressed by the huge sums of money being wasted on blatant political advertising, most of it entirely unnecessary and all of it would make a real difference to so many organisations I know.
• I am cynical in the extreme about any environmental movements being made during the election run-up. Mr Howard’s credibility in that area is zero. We should have signed the Kyoto agreement months ago.
• Mr Howard’s attempts to curtail the powers of the Senate – what a disaster that would be, although one can see why this control freak wants to limit the strength of the only effective curb on his ability to rule absolutely.
• And last on this list although I have many more in my head – anyone who can coin the terms ‘core and non-core promises’ with a straight face and expect us all to accept it is an idiot.
Ironically, if Mr Howard were to resign in favour of Mr Costello, I would probably change my mind. I think Mr Costello has more chance of bringing the party back to the sort of small ‘l’ liberalism I can vote for yet Mr Howard’s treatment of Mr Costello has been contemptuous. I do not trust Mr Howard and never will. He appears to me to be a small minded, mean spirited, little person who does us no credit. He is wrecking Parliamentary Democracy and I trust that history will ensure that he is never forgiven for that.
I don’t yet know where I shall cast my vote and will if necessary spoil my ballot. I am sorry that I don’t live in an electorate where I can probably make a difference. Although I will certainly cast my Senate vote where it will do the most good. As you can see I am very very angry right now and what you need to be aware of is the huge level of dismay that is out here. I know so many intelligent people from country and city who are appalled by the Howard Government – people who are normally cast iron coalition voters. This election will, I hope, be very very interesting.
I wish you well, Alby. I’m sure you will be re-elected but I’m afraid it won’t be with my assistance.
With best wishes to yourself and Gloria
Yours sincerely
Sue Bradford
