Dear Mr Abbott
You have many fine qualities which I admire and I value in a leader; courage, loyalty, tenacity, decency, values and strength. Strengths I want to see in leaders, in all walks of life.
But in saying that, it is sometimes those very qualities, that if misused, can also lead to a leader's downfall. Sadly, the perception I have, is that some of those qualities are being misused by you and as a result, they are letting you and many of your conservative supporters down. I know from discussions I have with many longstanding conservatives, I am not the only one who feels this is the case.
I accepted, that is was never going to be easy, for a first term conservative government, coming to power after six years of the chaos of Labor. And, in particular following a Labor government, who left more land-mines than in the killing fields in Afghanistan. That said, as a conservative supporter, I’ve hung in there through thick and thin. But I’m finding it harder to keep supporting what I am now witnessing.
I had high hopes when the Liberal & Nationals were handed the keys to The Lodge. In opposition I watched a strong team, unified in their mission to rescue the country from years of waste, dysfunction, back stabbing and chaos. Sadly, now I am witnessing similar behaviours in your team.
I am a middle of the road conservative. I am concerned about the economy, our security, jobs and growth. I believe in an environment where people are encouraged to be self-sufficient and not be a drain on the ‘public purse’. I accept that in a world driven by social reformers, who believe the government ‘owes’ people a living, that driving to self-sufficiency is a huge change effort and some ‘eggs will be broken” along the way.
I believe, as Australians, we can compete with and lead the best in the world. I am disappointed that important drivers that enable that, like the economy, our security, jobs and growth are being highjacked by soft issues such as same sex marriage. As a result, Labor, the Greens, the left media and sadly some within our own party are driving the political debate. I was delighted when you announced your intention to consider a plebiscite. I was hopeful the debate would settle down and government could get on with the important issues. But alias, that was not to be. I will come back to this point.
I know many good things are still happening. The passing of the research fund. Good news on the economy and jobs. But apart from the odd program like Bolt or articles such as the one published by Peter Switzer, in his excellent piece of August 18 headed up “Be warned. A politician called Joe Hockey is telling us the truth” (link below), we see nothing in the news unless we search for it. And we hear little from you, talking this up. So the vast majority of people only see and hear the negative stories promoted by the ABC, SBS and Fairfax with the able assistance of Sky and the rest of the electronic media. No wonder the faithful are losing faith. Add to that, the disgraceful misleading TV ads by unions and we have a sense of despair creeping in.
Sadly, far too much of the negativity is being fuelled by some within our own party. I was therefore very pleased to hear today that you will be taking tough action against leakers. Great, but we need to see action, not just words. It’s fine to present a different point of view to the public. In fact it’s healthy. But when key discussions are leaked or when MP’s and Ministers air their very vocal opposition to decisions made, in a public forum, the message the electorate hears is; one of disunity. That is not a good look Mr Abbott. “We load the gun and hand it to the opposition to shoot us in the head.”
Which leads me to my next point; loyalty. You have a well deserved reputation for loyalty. But loyalty can also blind us to the perceptions of others; perception is reality in the eyes of many. I feel (and I know I am not alone) that Malcolm Turnbull and Christopher Pyne have demonstrated their disloyalty on a number of occasions, and therefore they need to go. Bronwyn Bishop was sacrificed over the expenses scandal and Christopher Pyne supported her accuser, Tony Burke. The man who bullied Mrs Bishop out of office and who has been proven to be a significant serial abuser of tax payer dollars. That is appalling. Malcolm Turnbull on the other hand made a big show of catching a train from Melbourne to Geelong; an act of deliberate public mocking. Disgraceful.
I should add at this point, that it is to your credit, that you appointed a team to review politicians expenses and that shows you have courage. I am sure, many within your own party, who seem to think that access to tax payer funds is a right regardless of questionable justification, were not happy about that. But, you responded to the overwhelming electorate outrage and I am grateful that you are dealing with this obvious abuse. Well done. But, following your announcement in confirming the report would be completed first half 2016 was a huge disappointment to me. I feel that is far too long. The report needs to produced before the end of the year. If it isn’t, it simply looks like delaying tactics and an opportunity to restore faith with the community will be wasted. People have short memories.
So back to loyalty and solidarity. I would never support any group where every member of the team thinks the same. Different viewpoints are important and essential to the effective performance of any team. However, once debate has taken place, the arguments from all sides heard, and the decision of the collective group reached (based on the agreed decision criteria be that unanimous, 80/20 or the power of one) then that final decision must be supported in public. That is an important key in maintaining faith with the electorate. I haven’t always agreed with every decision your team has made. However, if I understand the logic, the overall benefits (not necessarily a personal benefit to me) then I support the decision. And, in my own small way I do that in public, to my own detriment at times. It was very disappointing therefore, to have Ministers breeching the party room decision on SSM. Christopher Pyne in particular was very vocal in condemning the process and the inclusion of the Nationals team. Malcolm Turnbull was another who could not wait to voice his concerns to anyone prepared to listen. Once again the perception of the electorate is that of a divided team with some members outwardly undermining the leader. That’s hard to defend.
It is blatantly obvious your PMO is not doing their job. With respect Mr Abbott, neither are you. The Labor Party and the Greens supported by an ever increasingly left learning media are winning the battle. They lie, they bully and you and your PMO appear to do nothing.
You have a good story to tell. Many of the pressing issues we asked to be addressed in changing government, have been delivered and are being maintained. Carbon and mining taxes repealed. Boats stopped, borders secured and the backlog of people in asylum centres and in the community being assessed and necessary action taken. Hundreds of children released. The economy is being dealt with; challenges acknowledged. Since the second budget was released, hardly a word of dissent has been heard; well done. Social Services, under the very capable guidance of Scott Morrison is addressing issues such as welfare abuse. Great news. Trade deals with major trading partners signed. But all of this great work is constantly overshadowed by soft issues like SSM, which frankly benefits a very small minority within the community.
People like me who want to see an LNP government returned next election are growing weary. I’m tired of the undermining within the party that results in members cancelling their membership, after 20 years of loyal support as some have. I’m tired of the one sided media push and the open bias of the ABC (in particular). I tired of spending hours of my time on social media platforms, on blogs etc, defending our government who appears incapable of using those same resources to defend themselves and to support us.
So what do I want from you?
I would like you to have the courage to deal with those in the cabinet who are playing into the opposition's hands. Strip them of portfolios, demote them, force them to resign. I don’t care, as long as they are dealt with in the most efficient way. In essence remove the deadwood.
I would like you to have a media strategy to take the opposition parties and unions head on. Call them out on their blatant lies, particularly those being pushed by unions via various TV ads. Even the ABC showed a union ad attacking Commissioner. That is appalling.
I would like you to clean out the deadwood in the PMO and to set-up a mechanism for listening to what people are saying on social media and to actively respond to feedback. We need a greater share of voice in all media areas; print, electronic and particularly social.
If you can’t or are unwilling to do what is necessary, I would like you to consider stepping aside and handing the reigns over to someone who is capable of taking control back. We want to win the next election but time is running out. We are rapidly losing support and without dramatic change that will only get worse if not dealt with now.
I don’t think that is a lot to ask Mr Abbott. Courage, loyalty and strength, you have those attributes, now it’s time to act. We simply can’t afford to let a Labor/Greens government back into power.
