Julia's tears
Tears from the prime minister and a profanity from the leader of the opposition. Parliament's first sitting day of the new year has not been without drama, some of it scripted, some of it off-the-cuff.
Facing criticisms about being wooden and strangely detached during the floods crisis in Queensland, Julia Gillard gave in to her emotions in parliament, where the day was spent remembering those who lost their lives and paying tribute to the emergency services who have worked so bravely and tirelessly.
With her voice already breaking, she found it particularly difficult to hold back her tears when she recounted the distressing story of a helicopter pilot, Mark Kempton, who rescued a pregnant mother from the floods. When he turned around to check on her condition, she was weeping uncontrollably.
"What Mark was witnessing was a young pregnant mother who, just seconds before the chopper had arrived, had had her young child wrenched from her weary arms by the floodwaters. She finally succumbed to the terrifying power of nature that night.
"How do you tell Mark to rejoice in thinking of the people he saved when that young mother can think of nothing except that child she lost?"
It was powerful testimony, and few would surely doubt Julia Gillard's sincerity in retelling it.
In the Spectator Australia, the former Labor leader Mark Latham wrote a nasty column claiming Gillard "is not a naturally empathetic person - displaying, for instance, noticeable discomfort around infant children".
Crueler still was his claim that this was somehow related to her decision not to have children: "The femocrats will not like this statement, but I believe it to be true: anyone who chooses a life without children, as Gillard has, cannot have much love in them."
Not that it was intended as such, Julia Gillard's speech in parliament was a teary rebuttal, and will probably help rehabilitate her battered image. Australians, after all, are not unused to seeing their prime ministers cry, with Bob Hawke turning it into something of a political art form. More recently, when Kevin Rudd tearfully bullet-pointed his legacy after being removed as prime minister, it won him a good deal of sympathy.
The same will probably be true of Julia Gillard, and this speech may come to be seen as marking something of a turning point in her beleaguered prime ministership - the moment, perhaps, when the "real Julia" reasserted herself.
As for Tony Abbott, he has become embroiled in a row over comments made on a trip to Afghanistan last October, when he was discussing the death of an Australian digger, Lance Corporal Jared MacKinney, with an American commander.
"Sometimes shit happens," he was heard to say, earnestly rather than flippantly.
You can watch the exchange here - along with his 20 second non-response - to Channel Seven, which broke the story.
Tony Abbott claims that the comment has been taken out of context and that he would never seek to make light of the death of an Australian soldier. Again, few would surely doubt the sincerity of that statement. You can read more here.
My hunch is that in both these instances we saw glimpses of both the real Julia and the real Tony, and that neither the teary speech nor the salty exchange in Afghanistan will do either of them much harm (Tony Abbott's mute response to the question from the Channel Seven reporter, on the other hand, might be more damaging). After all, authenticity is what voters say they are craving.
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~21~RS~)
I'm 
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I do hope, thought I doubt it, that the "she has a had a good talk with the spin doctors and that's why she shed those tears" does not become the thread on the Prime Minister's most caring and maternal, in the national sense, words in Parliament today.
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I've been watching the recent documentary looking back at the Howard years. In his first two terms, which are generally considered to have been very successful, he got through a massive raft of reforms and his few stumbles were largely symbolic.
The key mistakes Julia Gillard has made so far has been stating, 'the real Julia' and not appearing thoroughly empathetic during the flood crisis. Whilst the latter is important, they are purely symbolic. Therefore, I believe success or otherwise for Julia Gillard will at the end of the day depend on whether she can get through her agenda.
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Yes all very well - real emotions. Stop the presses!
BUT where is the substantive discussion about policies?
If the Aussies really want their political debate to be about whether Julia is cold and wooden or about the latest so-called foot in mouth gaffe by Abbott - well that is of course entirely their business. Seems like a bit of waste to me.
But I appreciate I am not the best placed commentator. Maybe what I think of as the trivialisation of politics is actually a facet of Australian egalitarianism.
Or maybe this is part of the national grieving process following the natural disasters and they'll all get down to debating the big policy issues of our time tomorrow. Seems highly unlikely to me. Then again it would not be the first time I have underestimated the Aussies only to have it come back to bite me - though that has usually been with the sports people who are world class rather than their politicians who seem from a distance more like a suburban touch footy team by comparison.
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Greg - had not read your post when I put up the one above. Hope you see I am trying to give her the benefit of the doubt. But this government does need to get a move on.
In my book a degree of spin can be justified if it is part of introducing good policy. Federal Labour has been good at both in the past. So far Gillard has not convinceed me of her policy bona-fides. But I still have an open mind.
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Cassandra...wait...wait...until 1st July when the new Senate is sworn in.
Then you will begin to see the list of policies you posted in Nick's previous blog begin to roll out.
This PM will not make the mistake Mr Rudd made on climate legislation...PM Gillard MUST have the numbers in the Senate to enact a world class Climate Policy.
Try, try and try again may work for Spiders and the Robert Bruces of this world, but an on side Senate is far smarter if you really want reform.
Your policy list is very close to what I want too...reform and plenty of it and a new more clearly defined and global sense of Australian nationalism.
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The more I think about it the more I am convinced that NEITHER Gillard or Abbott are up to the job of PM. There is a significant proportion of the public who will not accept Gillard in the way that many were at first prepared to give Rudd a chance. It seems a long time ago now, but he enjoyed popularity that Gillard will never have, her whole prime ministership will be an uphill battle. As for Mr. Abbott, too many gaffs. Now, if only Colin Barnett wanted the role. Bligh v Barnett in the federal parliament, I'd pay to watch that.
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If you can fake authenticity...?
Surely this is more a case of sobbing while Rome...erm...Western Australia burns?
The Aussie economy has been sandbagged (sic) and stalled, what's needed is a return to the net spending needed to keep the economic engine turning over rather than seizing up, that's what prevented unemployment going even further through the roof, compared to other more productivity growth driven advanced economies.
The engine of growth productivity has slowed to barely a splutter what with 12% real unemployment and Egyptian levels of youth unemployment.
What's needed is investment in education for all and in infrastructure.
http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=13411
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Understood Greg - I look forward to watching it unfold.
BTW - seems to me Mr. Abbott's view of what is good policy is very different to the approach being adopted by every other Western Government. As Sir Humphrey might say - a courageous approach.
Here today a Tory Chancellor (who describes himself as a son of Thatcher) announced (on morning radio) a massive increase in tax levied on all banks to help address the deficit. He did so because he thought they could now afford to help deal with this countries horrendous deficit.
What would Mr Abbott say about a similar policy proposal in Aus?
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Greg: so no hope for leadership till July?
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#6 Whitfordsbeach,
Yes,I'd certainly agree that neither Abbot nor Gillard are up to the job. The fact that Tony Abbot came within a few seats of government is,unfortunately,an accurate indicator of Julia Gillard's quality as a politician.
I don't care about Gillard's tears,there are enough tears of frustration shed by Labor supporters,who,rather naively perhaps,thought we had voted for a progressive government.
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That story about Abbott was such a beat up.
I don't much like the man, but the way they ambushed him with the edited footage and the questions that were implying he was making light of the death of a Digger...
You could see how enraged he was - bobbing his head; trying to control himself, while the camera man lapped it all up. It was very distasteful.
Gutter journalism at its finest. Kinda makes me feel glad that I've switched from the commercial TV networks to good ol' Aunty ABC.
Channel 7 should uppercut itself, in my opinion anyways.
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I start shedding tears whenever Gillard addresses the nation there is nothing more painful than her voice especially when she is trying to be authoritative.
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@10 Yup, and Australia lost two very able and sincere people in Rudd and Turnbull. They don't come two-a-penny.
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Abbott's staff spent months trying to block access to the video of him in Afghanistan. Two and a half hours before Abbott's Press Secretary arranged for the interview with Mark Riley, he was given full details of what was to be asked. I cannot imagine less of an ambush.
Abbott's "shit happens" comment was unfortunate. What was really troubling was his response to Riley. That 20 seconds of silent staring and nodding was a strange reaction from anybody, let alone a senior political figure who seeks to be PM.
I am not at all surprised that Gillard became emotional during her speech. Thankfully I am not yet cynical enough to think it was an act.
It is today that Parliament gets down to business. The jury is still out on Gillard as PM. I agree that much might be stymied until the new Senate sits in July but Gillard cannot sit back until then. I think she has the ability and character to be a good PM, probably not great, but good. I hope an eye on the polls and focus groups does not prevent her from giving it her best shot.
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Julia waving the flag and shedding some tears .. that's sincerity? please.
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I got very emotional just watching the flood crisis in QLD on TV. I cannot imagine what it must have been like to witness it on the ground. Julia's tears were very real and she looked very sympathetic and very human.
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I do agree with many that Julia Gillard can appear wooden and lacking empathy; that's part of her style I'm afraid. However of course she is still human and it was good to see her show her emotions publicly and really how could anyone not after the summer of natural disasters that we've had. It has been a very trying time for so many people across the country but unfortunately this is all part of living in this land. It is a land of extremes and always will be but the strength and character of the people that live here will always rise above it. The way people pull together during times of great hardship is a tremendous testament to what it means to being Australian. I think it was very fitting for Julia to stand in parliament with the flag as all her comments on these disasters and how people dealt with them represents exactly what the flag stands for.
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# 3. Cassandra wrote:
"Yes all very well - real emotions. Stop the presses!
BUT where is the substantive discussion about policies?"
Exactly. I could not care less if a polly is uncomfortable around children. Many who don't have their own often are. I also don't care if they do or do not go to church, refuse to eat bread crusts and insist on putting the milk in tea before the water.
I DO care if they get the bins to be collected regularly.
#11. Woorigal wrote:
"That story about Abbott was such a beat up."
I'm with you, Woorigal. I don't trust Abbott and I don't like his policies, but that was as base as 'journalism' gets. but what can you expect from channel 7 (and 9 and 10)?
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#9 VpinOz wrote:
"Greg: so no hope for leadership till July?"
It depends how you define leadership.
The key component of leadership is making sure your "group" survives.
Anyone who runs a business, especially during the start-up phase, understands this.
You must "endure"!
In a military sense, if you think about the strategic withdrawals at Gallipoli and Dunkirk, the key is to save as many of the troops as possible to fight another day.
In "The Japanese Art of War", published by Shambhala of Boston and London, author Thomas Cleary lists the "Thirty Six Japanese Strategies of War".
The 36th and last, says " It is best to run"..."when overwhelmed, you don't fight; you surrender, compromise of flee. Surrender is complete defeat, compromise is half defeat, flight is not defeat. As long as you are not defeated, you have another chance to win".
This is not to suggest the Labor party will surrender on the policies which will be launched after July 1 when the new Senate sits.
Yes, they may have to compromise, but right now and over the next four and a half months, the most important and imperative aspect of leadership is to survive...to July 1.
That's when the policies which address Australia's future, both nationally and globally will begin to be legislated.
Yes, the "forlorn Hope" can be a noble thing (read Wellington's Iberian campaign), but to get to the guns in a completely exhausted state (as Ney did at Waterloo) is profoundly stupid.
In leadership, survival is everything.
You can not win if you do not survive.
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In sticking to the script (Nicks blog) I believe Ms Guillard has read too many political scripts since becoming PM. On this ocassion she has however managed to synchronise the reading with the emotion required. And the flag; very good drama. In the recent past she has played the cool political asassin to perfection and followed it up with the emergence of the "real Julia". At no time did we see the emotive Julia, until now, despite the loss of a number of our brave men in Afganistan and her attending services in their honour. I cannot believe she has changed emotionally so much in such a short time.
As for Mr Abbotts remark it is one that has been uttered many times with sincerity and respect within the Defence Forces. I say that as an older retired serviceman. In his efforts to get an exclusive story Mr Riley stepped outside his bounds of subject knowledge and put a "politically correct" spin on the statement to get it to air.
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I'm glad I'm not yet enough of a cynic to see the tears of a PM for a number of tragedies befalling his/her people as staged. Of course the speech would have been written for her in part, if not whole - but all political speeches are. It was still incredibly moving and I was incredibly moved by it - as, evidently, was Julia Gillard. I was sitting at my desk at work, watching the footage in Belfast with my eyes welling up.
Will Mark Latham ever get his head out of his backside and his foot out of his mouth? Saying women who don't have children are lacking in love is akin to the religious right's idea that atheists are without a moral compass. Many people who HAVE children still show discomfort around the children of others... and many people with no children are great with kids. In fact, there are many who have their own children and show no love towards them - surely, on balance, that is worse than having none at all. I'd also wager there are a number of politicians with children they rarely see or have a great deal of involvement with. It's all very well to have a nuclear family on paper but that doesn't make you a good parent OR a loving person. It it appalling that someone like Mark Latham, who appears to have as much depth and emotional maturity as a plank of wood, was ever in a position of any power in Australia. Some of his comments make the ole dinosaur Johnny Howard look positively modern/progressive.
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Nick,
Gillard didn't deserve the comments Latham made about her, but nor did Abbott deserve to have his words misrepresented by Seven and you to compound it by linking to their edited clip. The full clip is available on the web so why not allow people to make up their own minds about what he actually said?
DavidAK wrote:
'Abbott's staff spent months trying to block access to the video of him in Afghanistan'
And yet Seven had the video on 17 January but took weeks to broadcast it. I wonder why?
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I don't believe those tears, it's a panic reaction after the airing of Q&A/4 Corners the night before. She has never shown any emotions during the flood inspection and all of a sudden shedding tears holding a flag in front of the national TV, how convincing!
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Mrs Thatcher or Paul Keating knew that your job as a PM is not to be loved but to be respected.
Julia will probably never be truly loved but she can stil be respected. She spent her life clawing her way up the greasy poll of Labor factional politics. As a result her life experience is totally different and she will also never be truly charismatic.
BUT if I was an Aussie I would forgive her that if her government introduced intelligent and far reaching policies for the country. As yet I have not written off this possibility - but the clock is ticking.
I just think it would be so sad if having dedicated her life to politics she doesn't actually do anything with politicalpower when she makes it to the top. That was our very own Gorrdon Brown's problem.
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Cassandra,
I agree. It is necessary to have power to achieve one's aims. However it is sad when holding power becomes the aim.
There is a lot of talent in Gillard's ministry. I hope the cynics of the Labor machine don't result in this government squandering its time in office.
Ralphy,
Maybe Channel & took two weeks because stories about floods, cyclones, bushfires and possible revolution in the Middle East and other matters were given priority. Furthermore, by Monday Abbott had returned to Canberra where Riley is based. I don't see any hidden agenda. It would have seemed odd if Riley had chased Abbott to some disaster zone to ask the question.
Do you think Abbott should have been ambushed rather than Riley appropriately organising an interview ?
Abbott's silence lasted for 70 seconds. Channel 7 edited it to 24. I have not found a full clip. Abbott would look even worse in a full clip.
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Who'd be a politician. If you act distant and unemotional you are called "wooden" as in Julia Gillard. If you act yourself like Tony Abbott you are a "loose cannon". For my part I thought the 20 second silence from Abbott was the perfect response. He was grossly offended by the suggestion that he didn't care about the death of an Australian soldier. You could see that he was doing his best just to stop himself from ripping Riley's head off. I guess he could have mouthed off some kind of nonsense response but that's not what we want from politicians. The media and their desire for a "gotcha" moment have a helluva lot to answer for. It is their behaviour which is turning politicians into automatoms who are being forced to parrot off rubbish which is inoffensive but is of absolutely no consequence.
Channel 7 should be reported to the relevant media ombudsman. Just like they should have been reported when they did a crap story about David Campbell coming out of a gay club.
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There is one aspect of leadership that is critical...you must learn to make more correct decisions more quickly...that is the nature of the beast.
The Japanese believe you must make a decision within one breath.
Interestingly, the Japanese poetry form Haiku of 17 syllables is, one breath.
Tony Abbott's "non-answer" is just one more example of his lack of credibility as a potential leader of the Australian people.
He is so afraid of putting his foot in his mouth now that something else has entered his mouth...a cat...as in "Cat got your tongue?"
Couldn't he have said...something...anything?
For example..."I think you have taken that out of context".
Something...anything...
When split decisions are required from modern leaders, unfortunately Tony Abbott should read up on the Peter Principle and accept that he may be a good 2IC, but is not Australian leader material.
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Look, look, look, it's 123% obvious to moi that that bloomin Gillard is jest fakin it, like Meg Ryan in that filum.
But when it comes to Tone an the Aussie conservatives - don't be fooled by the somewhat shop-soiled appearance of the unit - don't judge this Mills n Boon melodrama by its cover, OK?
Abbott's the real deal, OK?
Let me put yer pommie cyber bludgers in the loop, OK? Tony was personally anointed by John Winston Howard, the greatest political leader in human history, to lead us in the right direction. Now I know these BB-bloody-C dingbats don't get the intergalactic significance of Howard's endorsement - he slowly shakes his head - but it is a primary reason why the very thoughtful and stable Oxford graduate named Abbott will reign over us, OK?
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Bwilliant Bwooce : )
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Really love this Aussie politics-as-soap. Julia is fiery and emotional under that cold exterior. Tony is a rough diamond, sometimes he says things that get him into trouble. What next? Tony finds that he has a long lost son that he never knew about? Loyal Julia plots to get rid of her control freak boss? Meanwhile, the scheduled programme "Let's Hear About Some Policies" has been cancelled due to poor ratings.
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27 Greg Warner
Where on earth do dream up some of this stuff and then feel compelled to post it?
“The Japanese believe you must make a decision within one breath.”
Really, I did consultancy work for a Japanese company over a 10 year period which included a two-year, full-time stint in Tokyo. Japanese decision-making is characterized by its consensual nature, involving numerous discussions over time.
As to the “Abbott incident”: it was a nauseating example of “gotcha journalism” and the long silence was an appropriate contemptuous response. Abbott seems to have learned that sometimes it’s better not to say anything unless it’s an improvement on silence. May that’s something you should take note of.
“When split decisions are required from modern leaders”???? Split decisions occur when a panel of people cannot reach a unanimous decision or opinion. Individuals don’t make split decisions unless they have a split personality. Maybe, you were really referring to Latham then?
I note you have been conspicuously silent on Latham and his recurrent physical and verbal thuggish behaviour. The fact that the ALP chose someone like him as a leader, followed up with “all blow and no go” Rudd and now “all blow and no go” Gillard is indicative of a dysfunctional party that needs a lot of time in opposition to sort itself out. Ditto for the NSW ALP.
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I am hoping against hope that 'Bwooce' is some British guy taking the mickey.
In terms of Abbott's foot in mouth disease, surely even trying to do the salt-of-the-earth blokey chit chat thing never ever excuses saying 'sh*t happens' in reference to anything about the death of anyone, be they an Australian soldier or really anyone at all. Particularly when there is a camera present. If this is the kind of thing that he can't manage to prevent leaving his brain and travelling to his mouth, he can't be considered a potential leader. It may have been taken out of context, etc, etc, but it's just a turn of phrase that shouldn't be used when discussing a fatal incident.
I'm sure the media beat up was carefully edited to make it as bad as possible, but as a politician he should be more than mindful of that.
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Hey Melissa,
mind how yer go girlie - he winks - the last person who accused me of bein a pom got permanently transferred to Mt Isa, OK?
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Peter D
Just because YOU have experienced something or have a little knowledge on a subject (which is said to be a dangerous thing), does not mean that everyone else is "wrong".
I too have worked closely with Japanese corporations over the past 20 years in Asia.
Have you read "HAGAKURE: The Book of the Samurai" written by Yamamoto Tsunetomo in the 18th Century and published by Kodansha International of Tokyo, New York and London?
It is quite clear to me that the majority of modern Japanese venerate the wisdom of the Zen warrior priests and philosophers over the last few hundred years.
I resolved to study the Japanese, especially in areas of strategy, war and business as a result of my family's experiences in WWII.
Father in RAAF in Darwin, New Guinea and Rabaul, one RAAF uncle a POW after the fall of Singapore, another RAAF uncle in New Guinea and Rabaul, and my dear, brave great-uncle, Chief Shipwright on HMAS Perth who surviced the sinking of that noble ship only to die from the brutality of the Japanese on the Burma Railway in December, 1943.
I also note your comment in a previous blog of Nick's...
"Before Singapore, a combined British, Indian and Canadian force without air or naval support vigorously fought a Japanese force four times its size for 17 days".
PeterD, I know your Canadian compatriots fought valiantly in Hong Kong in December 1941, but search as I may the only reference I can find to Canadian troops in the Malaya Campaign is at www.canadiansoldiers.com where it is said..."Chinese-Canadian soldiers were recruited for service in occupied Malaya as spies and trainers of local guerillas".
Knowing that, in your words, you abhor "lies and muck" can you please detail the extent of Canada's contribution to the Malaya Campaign.
I for one am hoping to shed light on this particular "insight" of yours.
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Greg, can you 'shed light' on how you have managed to turn a discussion about Australia's 'plastic' or should I say 'plaahhstic' Premier into a discussion about Japanese business practices and the input of Canadians during the Malaya campaign?...
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34 Greg Warner
If you have “worked closely with Japanese corporations over the past 20 years” and you have not experienced their consensual approach to decision-making and instead believe they “make decisions in one breath”, then I can only conclude that: your claim is not true, or the totality of your experience has been limited to fringe minorities, or you have problems of perception and cognition when dealing with others. The views on consensual and frequently extended decision-making processes are not only mine but widely held by other “gaijin” who have dealt extensively with Japanese governmental and commercial entities, and which are often openly stated by Japanese themselves. As they often say about this and other attributes of their corporate culture: “it’s the Japanese way” and, whether rightly or wrongly in the opinion of others, usually believe it to be the right way for them. The dominant linkage in their behaviour is an emphasis on the group rather than the individual. I did not say “everyone else is wrong” but, in this case, I do say that you are wrong.
I'm puzzled by your decision to introduce into this thread the subject of the participation of Canada’s armed forces in the Asia-Pacific theatre in WWII. However, to answer your question “can you please detail the extent of Canada's contribution to the Malaya Campaign”,I am not aware of any Canadian unit participation in the Malaya campaign. I’m surprised that your research skills are so limited that you had to find this out from me. However, what’s the point of your question and how do you conflate this with my stated abhorrence of “lies and muck” in a previous post?
Canada’s 413 Catalina squadron was transferred from the UK to Ceylon in March 1942 just prior to Vice Admiral Nagumo’s Indian Ocean raid. A number of Canadian pilots also served with the RAF’s 30 Squadron Hurricanes which were part of Britain’s small air defence forces in Ceylon. The following link should further your knowledge in this regard and also help mitigate your own research burden:
http://www.journal.dnd.ca/vo7/no4/stuart-eng.asp
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Please can we get a new commentator on Australia. I have no idea where this guy is sitting but he is sitting pretty and saying nothing of any interest in a very bland voice. Past master at it and doing it for some time it seems. These are some of the worst blogs anywhere on the web.
Time to get him a real job.
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