Topic: aust govt
Who would recall in the rest of Australia that Bill D'Arcy was a former ALP MP in the huge provincial state of Queensland? Or that he he was convicted and gaoled for underage sex back in 2000?
It's a grim story about abuse of power and fall from grace. Now it's being dragged up into the light again in some kind of smear on the rival Liberal National Party here:
LNP to host talk to aid pedophile Bill D'Arcy | The Australian 20 Jan 2009
PM - D'arcy trial could prove tricky for Beattie 21 Jan 2000
This is confusing in itself because the orthodox view might be that it's the ALP who should want this to be buried yet the LNP are associating themselves? Or someone wants us to think so.
Our observation of politics over the years suggests when criminal sexual abuse is proven against senior people in either major party there is a delicate dance by the rivals to both exploit the adverse publicity but also to be careful not to be seen fanning the vigilante flames. This is because big human organisations being what they are they all have shameful skeletons. To a certain extent it's a Mexican standoff. Unless perhaps the politics have become so extreme the rivals have already reached for the nuclear option and fire at will.
This could be what we are now seeing from up north. It's bound to bring the whole of party politics into disrepute. Whether this is a valid and realistic assessment is probably arguable.
We hear on ABC PM show tonight what for all the world looks like even more fire from the ALP on the conservative party by reference to an 82 year old former speech writer for former National Party (now LNP) Premier Bjelke Peterson. Here is the local press:
Queensland libraries forced to ditch unclassified books | The Courier Mail ...19 Jan 2009
Library shelves packed with incest porn in Queensland | The Australian 20 Jan 2009
Seems the old goat likes to write about taboo subjects claiming this is all about free speech and Freudian fantasy, and it's not everyday you hear a serious political interview about censorship in these terms on the daily flagship radio current affairs show. In fact just about never.
Our conclusion: A rough and mean state election in Queensland must be coming up soon.
