Great men. Standing on principle.

Dear reader, a problem for governments these days is communicating their splendid vision to the general public. Sometimes with the best of intentions and the most thoroughly supportive media launch the government’s message is lost to the ether. When this occurs and the system fails the objective of persuading the public that it’s a damn good idea, it’s called ‘representative reflux response’. Or the acronym RRR.

We saw an outstanding example of RRR most recently when the sensible and hard working Abbott Government sought to take away the concept of universal education, healthcare and fairness. The Abbott government didn’t tell anyone before the 2014 budget that they were going to repudiate any promise made during the 2013 election. They thought that with good priming to the Murdoch press, the reforms would sail though parliament. Well they didn’t, and the coalition has been stymied ever since. Got to the stage that in the recent election the opposition inferred that the coalition would get rid of the public health-care system altogether. Both parties have a pretty good record of flogging off public assets. Though they decried the suggestion as a Furphy, there was enough in it to persuade the electorate that the opposition was not far off the mark.

Ever since, the P.M for ”innovation and thought bubbles’ has been hard at it trying to convince the electorate he stands for compassion and fairness. When it’s clear, by supporting great members like Bob Day that they don’t. It’s all a case of RRR. The public refuse to be convinced in spite of all the flim-flam and hyperbole that the government is being genuine. We could elaborate on all the RRR instances over the past year, the subs, the closing down of the car industry, free trade deals and the backpacker tax, but that would be boring. The public have made up their mind. Both houses don’t care about the public. Politicians serve the people who pay them, (Big Business). And on singular issues like concentration camps for refugees they’re all in lock step. And why? Because, they reflect the shallow self interested myopia of people like us. Bit like aboriginal incarceration. Rates going through the roof and why? It’s good for business and good for us, because we don’t care. Cos if we did, enough of us, there may be change, But we doubt it. The business model is gold for private prison shareholders and as evidenced by the U.S it’s a gold standard.

But occasionally some little non sequitur crops up and the public, and the lobbyists all like to have a go. Then it’s a free for all. It almost makes the public think they’re relevant. It‘s usually something peripheral. Might be a backpacker tax, that no one thought through, a lost dog, or just an average act of random stupidity. Like knocking down an old pub in Carlton. Never mind that Melbourne University has trashed the fabric of Carlton with their egregious overblown stalinist campus growth model. Smashing human-scale working historic fabric to the winds. Instead we’ll make an example of a developer who jumps the gun on a planning process that denies the public much of a say on anything. And then developers, the press, politicians and anyone, is given free reign to express their outrage, and the developers are given a thoroughly good shaming. Whilst everywhere else, wily nilly, it’s a free for all.

The Victorian State Minister for Corrections no less, used his chauffeur driven car to take his dogs to his country estate. Fair enough we say. He’s entitled to it, and a good use of taxpayers money. It’s bloody hard getting the dog on the train, and dogs, (perhaps they were greyhounds) are entitled to respect. Some might say it’s fraud, and the ex member for Frankston lost his seat over similar behaviour. And the former federal speaker got in to hot water for visiting wineries in his Comm-Car. And let’s not talk of helicopters.

It’s in the act: Victoria’s ministerial code of conduct states ministers must “ensure they act with integrity” by “appropriate use of the resources available to their office for public purposes”. Well done, then. That’s code for do anything you like, but don’t get caught, and if you do hope that your mates will stick by you.

You can weather the ‘RRR effect‘ and progress to the ‘SSS effect‘. What”s that you may ask? That’s the gold standard for ministerial conduct. The Safe, Snug, Sinecure. You can bank on that!