Many harsh things have been said about our beautiful country. Yet the Australian Parliament now also wants to ‘…foster informed, engaged, and active citizens of all ages…’ according to its guide to how our democracy works.
Democracy has always been about results. It was ‘a knife and fork, a bread and cheese question’ as a Chartist leader Joseph Rayner Stephens said. So, surely, that is the answer? List Australian successful results…
Parliament House, Canberra, does not do this.
This is because our intellectual life is negative – authoritatively so on taxpayers’ funds.
Given this, how do we ‘foster’ support for democracy?
Something enthusiastic is needed.
We were always a remarkable country, comparatively, on just about any measure. Why not mention ‘the people’ and how they became so important under the Australian Constitution? They are now the decision makers, however imperfectly.
Ellis Wasson comments:
‘Whig ideology impelled members of the party to march with the spirit of the times and pay deference to public opinion. Their deepest instinct was to listen for signs of danger and adapt to change. Thirdly, the Whigs who came to achieve dominance in the party during the first half of the 19th Century believed in the idea of human progress; peace, harmony, and prosperity…’
And surely British colonisation in 1788 led to regularly maintained health, education, welfare, and labour laws. ‘Human rights’ are now embodied in one of the most successful liberal democracies in history.
Surely the high standard of living and productive working economy the pastoralists (and Aboriginal stockmen) and miners built founded those rights? Without them, nothing.
Edmund Burke and others built a ‘balanced’ constitution in which the interests of all were considered by elected parliamentarians who independently used their judgment.
This tradition was taken up with enthusiasm by British subjects in Australia, who modernised it. Why not talk about that?
Translating ideals into something that is useful is difficult. But it can be done.
‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ became the law of negligence. A possible snail in a ginger beer bottle was too much for Lord Atkin in 1932 (Donoghue v. Stevenson), who thought it would be negligently injuring your neighbour. The equality of all before God founded much of our civilisation.
We apply the true neighbourhood principle: ‘You shall love thy crooked neighbour with your crooked heart.’ (Auden)
There is fierce combat between pragmatists and idealists.
The cynics
The cynics and pragmatists probably notice that the cost of climate change measures strangle industry and our standard of living. And for what? For what a Medieval Pardoner provided? Although I suppose civilisation includes environmental laws.
The cynics would therefore pragmatically support what is required to negotiate any international pressure, and the need to avoid consuming lead.
It is important that no one does anything that will be hung round our necks like a badge of dishonour. Men do bad things in the dark so that good people can sleep safely in their beds (attributed to George Orwell).
Half the world does bad things because that is their way of life. Best not to think about this as we listen to UN and other speeches or shake hands with visitors. Behind them may be things that would cause severe nightmares. And not just for the chronically anxious and sensitive.
We are, after all, a civilised country in the conventional sense of no killing or starving on the streets, the army does things elsewhere to others not us, and there is liberty for all. Democracy and private enterprise are our traditions, and the law should be complied with.
Every political party needs to make things work. Political platforms are necessary because without them the party has no followers. But calculation is the main thing.
The Idealists
The idealists, however, painfully jam up the airwaves and Parliament with moral badgering. Not all of it is true. It is often demonstrably not so but does anyone listen?
Idealists shed tears in Parliament or during a rally for something they half understand and have no practical answers for. They cannot be appeased because there is always another cause. New threatening riots and protests need organising. There are historical statues to vandalise.
Campaign ‘literature’ is sold at stalls and everyone is surprised when someone actually buys the literature. They may have no way of giving change for a $50 note because they did not anticipate selling anything. They then fiddle with their wallets and credit card machines that do not work.
Mothers and fathers put it in the bin when they find it at home and are physically repelled. They wonder what will come next and how they failed. Or sometimes a lunatic parent puts their child on a mailing list for a regular pamphlet, perhaps ensuring the child is on a security services list somewhere. Who knows.
Idealists may remember and emulate the 1890s campaigner for votes for women, who decided not to bring a child into the world because it was such a hostile place. Scaring children with environmental and other catastrophism, or systematic guilt, is contemptible.
I was puzzled by an acquaintance who studied ‘gender studies’ at university, amongst people who would be extremely hostile. I eventually realised they were learning to deal with enemies. They were good at it.
This may seem unsympathetic, and there may be more useful idealists. While pragmatists may show an impressive flexibility in principles, they do not poison the well of idealism as others do by providing maximum division for no return.
A Democratic Conclusion
All of these things surely help build support for democratic Canberra, and our national story. The true story of the idealists and pragmatists can now be told.
We also need budgetary discipline, tax cuts, and removal of abuse of immigration, environment and heritage laws. And what about young people priced out of housing? Will our democracy pass the results test, the true neighbourhood test?
The Hon. Reg Hamilton, Adjunct Professor, School of Business and Law, Central Queensland University
