Questions:
- Is the electorate becoming increasingly misogynistic?
- Or do people on all sides of the political divide simply treat Conservatives significantly harsher than Labor or Greens?
I expected the polls to reflect the electorate's anger over the travel expenses scandals.
What I didn't expect, was for them to unleash their anger on PM Tony Abbott and to reward Bill Shorten. The latest Newspoll was the final straw for me. So consider this.
The argument that the electorate is increasingly misogynistic.
Examples of two women; Julia Gillard and Bronwyn Bishop, hounded, attacked and abused over the same issues as men who survive.
Julia Gillard was not a very good PM and she certainly was not to be trusted, but people hounded her over a $5000 brown bag payment. The combination of that and her performance finally cost her, her job.
In comparison, we have Bill Shorten. With a far, far worse footprint. Unions bully, adulterer, accused rapist and he has demonstrated vicious behaviour toward an innocent female shop owner. He has taken money, at the expense of workers, for self gain and only disclosed it when 'forced' to do so. There are very serious questions arising in the Royal Commission about his conduct and honesty. Yet, in the latest Newspoll taken over the weekend, Shorten's stock rise against a PM who has none of those shadows hanging over his head.
Bronwyn Bishop. Foolishly took a $5000 helicopter ride. She was attacked unmercifully. She has been humiliated, abused and finally hounded out of office. Hounded out for excessive spends that pales into insignificance to Labor's Tony Burke her chief assassin. Burke is even given a free pass by none other than Christopher Pyne (who himself we discover has pushed the expense envelope)
Tony Burke, is a serial expense abuse offender. He was Labor's attack dog, ripping into Mrs Bishop daily. However, over the past week, Mr Burke's own gross abuse has been highlighted. Flying girlfriends 1st class, business class holiday flights for his children, holidays for himself, $10,000 a day jaunts in Europe, lavish parties and $20,000 drinks bills. He's accepted free gifts; travel, entertainment, accommodation. Fifteen times he had paid back travel claims. The list goes on and on and on. But, Burke is considered to be operating within the rules, but Mrs Bishop isn't.
Mrs Bishop paid back the $5000 plus a fine. Burke under pressure is reimbursing one lousy ComCar bill. So why was Mrs Bishop treated so harshly when a serial abuser of expenses like Burke survives? Could it be because she is a woman. I'm rapidly reaching the conclusion that is the reason.
Are Conservatives held to a significantly higher level of professional standards than Labor.
Tony Abbott's personal ratings are down Bill Shorten's go up. That is almost inconceivable when you think about it. Now, there are those who are very suspicious of polls. Funnily enough, that usually only applies when they go against their preferred party, yes I am guilty as well. There are those who will say; but they only target Labor electorates. I suspect in some cases pollsters pick and choose BUT surely decency and personal standards should be above political preferences when it comes to people.
Tony Abbott has worn the wrath of the electorate over Bronwyn Bishop. His ratings went down.
Bill Shorten was unscathed over Burke. Shorten's ratings went up, astounding. This is despite the very serious accusations levelled at Mr Shorten at TURC. This is despite Mr Shorten's disclosure that he took a $40,000 payment from an employer and used that money to fund his political campaign. AND, kept it quiet for years. Let's face it, if it hadn't been for TURC that payment would never have been disclosed. None of these serious failures of personal conduct have been levelled at Mr Abbott, yet his ratings go down.
So, as I've been committing my thoughts to paper I've now reached my conclusion that as an electorate, we are collectively guilty of both:
1. We are becoming more misogynistic although many will dispute that
2. We most certainly hold the Conservatives to much higher standards than Labor
I will confess, I’m becoming increasingly disillusioned with society. We appear to be losing all sense of fairness. We punish people for other people's misdemeanours and we are inconsistent in our judgement. In Tony Abbott's case, the achievements of his Govt are ignored and he is attacked based on personality. That is grossly unfair in my opinion.
