History may not repeat itself, but it throws up some uncannily similar events from time to time. The immutability of human nature almost dictates it.
This week it was difficult not to recall events of 13 and a half years ago.
Again it was a Senate Estimates Committee hearing. Again it was about the dining facilities of the Prime Minister. Again it was about the leader of a long-entrenched Government not understanding the difference between the trappings and traps of office.
Remember the $25,000 Thai dining table then Prime Minister Paul Keating installed at the Lodge? Remember how it was uncovered in Senate Estimates? Remember the $50,000 Keating spent on 15 Gould bird prints?
And in the past week it was back to the dining room. This time Prime Minister John Howard’s $540,000 plan for a revamp of his parliamentary dining room was under scrutiny. It came after the uncovering of lavish spending on chairs for the Cabinet room.
The arrogance of power has been manifest. In Keating’s case it came from a man who swaggered about his humble upbringing in Bankstown. In Howard’s case it comes from a man who promised before he was elected he would not behave like Keating. Merit, decency, accountability, humility and frugality would be his hallmarks.
In 11 years since, Howard has become ever more like Keating. Like Keating, he became more equal than others, started to walk on two legs and set Dobbin to the knackery.
For Howard it was not French clocks, but Chesterfield furniture.
The similarities are greater than that.
Remember Howard before the 1996 election attacking Keating and Labor’s appointments of mates to high office – like unionist Bill Kelty to the Reserve Bank, former Minister Bill Hayden to the Governor-Generalship, and a dozen Labor hacks to diplomatic posts?
This from a man who later went on to appoint: Amanda Vanstone (ex Liberal Minister) as Ambassador to Italy; Michael Baume (ex Liberal Senator and Howard personal friend) as consul in New York; Pru Goward (joint Howard biographer and personal friend) to head the Office of Status of Woman and later as federal spokesperson for the Olympics and again later as Sex Discrimination Commissioner; her husband and also a friend and biographer of Howard, David Barnett, to the board of the National Museum; former Liberal MP and friend John Spender as Ambassador to Washington; his wife Carla Zampatti to the chair of SBS; colleague Andrew Peacock as Ambassador to Washington (after Spender); former flatmate and Liberal minister Tony Messner to administrator of Norfolk Island; friend and former Liberal MP Bill Taylor as Administrator Indian Ocean Territories (and before him long-time Liberal political staffer Ron Harvey to Christmas Island); friend and pro-Howard broadcaster Alan Jones to the Australian Sports Commission board; former Liberal mayor Sally-Anne Atkinson to the board of the National Capital Authority; friend Donald McDonald to chair of ABC board; ex-Howard staffer Michael L’Estrange as High Commissioner to the UK; former flatmate and ex-Minister Jim Short to the freshly created job of Australian Special Envoy for Cyprus; former Victorian Liberal state director Michael Kroger to the ABC board; Howard frontbencher Ian McLachlan to the Wool Industry Task Force and on and on and on.
Remember how Howard lambasted Keating over misspending $12 million of public money on so-called government information advertisements on “Working Nation” which were really advertisements for the Labor Party?
This from a man who later went on to spend an estimated $1.7 billion in public money on government “information” campaigns which were little more than Liberal Party advertising. The Coalition’s average is more than double Labor’s worse year for Government propaganda.
The pigs and the humans are barely distinguishable now.
Remember Howard lambasting Keating’s arrogance and lack of accountability. This from a man who forced a media organisation to spend more than $1 million in legal costs unsuccessfully challenging a denial under the Freedom of Information Act of an innocuous request for some data and advice on housing.
Remember Howard attacking Keating for weighing the law in favour of one side in the industrial relations system – giving too much power to one side? This for a man who has given the other side enormous power over working conditions.
Remember Howard attacking Keating for playing the politics of fear and for pandering to elites? This from a man how gave us the response to Tampa and anti-terrorism laws and handed huge tax cuts to the wealthy.
Remember Howard demanding that Keating govern for all, not just his tribe? This from a man who has imposed his social conservatism on those who do not want it.
Remember how after the 1993 election everyone thought Keating was invincible. All the journalists and commentators swallowed the accepted wisdom and thought he would run a campaign like he did in 1993 and Labor would win again – despite the polls and the obvious mood of the nation that they were sick of this arrogant Prime Minister.
Sure, we have had a little feigned humility this week as part of a shock campaign. But we know that the adult leopard does not change the spots he gained since the innocence of his cubhood.
The lesson is that we should demand more now of the Leader of the Opposition than we did in 1996. Then, as now, Australia would be happy to see the back of its Prime Minister so did not clamour for things that might prevent a repeat performance.
Well, Kevin Rudd, in addition to independent scrutiny of government advertising, how about legislation requiring merit-based appointments — from the Chief Justice down? And how about independent administration of freedom of information to replace the ministerial conclusive certificate that prevents anything getting out that might embarrass the Government? How about letting the industrial-relations pendulum stop in the middle, not swing again too far the other way? Just for a start.