2012 - A New Chinese Year

The Chinese calendar is a mystery to me, and fair enough, but I understand each year is given the name of one of 12 animals that rotate through a cycle, but according to their calendar, 2012 was the year of the Dragon - the Water Dragon to be specific.

As I reflect on Australia's year on the political stage, I think it is time to add a new year - the Year of the Scapegoat.

For a number of years now we have been trying to understand some of the toxic dynamics that can happen in workplaces and as a result we have a much better understanding of workplace bullying and scapegoating.

It is a not uncommon tactic for one who wants to assert their position at the top of a pecking order to identify someone as a victim and then mobilising all the others in the workplace against that victim.  Getting others to believe that the victim is deserving of their ridicule and denigration is rather easy because of a strong desire not to be different.  It one person thinks something, another is often inclined to agree.  This is called mimetic theory and is very much what underpins the retail advertising industry and what we used to call "keeping up with the Jones'"

SCAPEGOAT No 1.
On our political stage this year we were first of all presented with Craig Thomson MP as a scapegoat.  He had been accused years ago of misconduct while an official of a Union.  Several police and corporate watchdog investigations had produced nothing worthy of legal action let alone convictions and sanctions, but the Coalition in Opposition, decided that there might be enough mud in this pot to topple the government - so it tried.

After months and months of relentless bullying, of endlessly repeating questions that had been answered satisfactorily, and calling in non-parliamentary adversaries of Craig Thomson - in the form of his successor to the union position he had held and who clearly had an ax to grind against him - manifestly false allegations were made about his moral behaviour and sufficient dust raised for him to have to relinquish his membership of the government party, even though he still votes with the government.

The leading bully - Tony Abbott - had enlisted sufficient deputies to turn the parliament into a unique judicial body, policing the laws in its own terms, acting as both judge and jury in a kangaroo court of a trial of this man, and then dispensing both judgement and punishment.  I cannot recall seeing such a thing in my 50 years or so as an observer of Australian politics.

SCAPEGOAT No 2.
The leading bully was not satisfied with the result of his first round in 2012.  When Craig Thomson moved to the cross-benches he continued to vote with the government, although there was one rather glorious moment when he crossed the floor and voted with the Opposition which prompted the leading bully to flee the chamber before the doors were locked, lest he be seen on the same side of a vote as Craig Thomson.  But essentially the  Government's numbers held good.

So the leading bully decided it was time to take it up to his chief turncoat, Peter Slipper, former LNP member from Queensland, who was persuaded by the Government to become Speaker, allowing one of their own to join the ranks of voting Labor members in the House.  Given such "treachery" it was not difficult to mobilise the troops against Mr Slipper, but it was a very tricky manoeuvre because such attacks on The Speaker of the House of Representatives could constitute contempt of parliament or a breach of parliamentary privileges.  Along comes James Ashby with some very convenient accusations of workplace harassment of the sexual kind, to which he disingenuously adds accusations of cab-charge fraud (very quickly withdrawn) and delectatious details of an earlier consensual liaison between Mr Slipper and former staff member.

Despite these matters being the subject of Federal Court action, the leading bully decided, as before, that he could turn the parliament into that same unique judicial body by which he could charge, convict and sentence Mr Slipper without any respect for the proper rule of law principles that a person is assumed innocent until proven guilty, and that the denigration of a person while they are awaiting due process of the law was in fact an abuse of the legal process that would deny them justice.

Then, as soon as the matter is dismissed by the Federal Court and the the complainant declares his intention to appeal, the chief bully and his team declare their reluctance to express an opinion on the matter because it is "before the courts".  And even when the Judgement of the court accuses the new LNP candidate for Mr Slippers seat had participated in a conspiracy to discredit his opponent by encouraging the abusive legal process to be undertaken, the chief bully again tries to talk the matter down saying "get over it".

SCAPEGOAT No 3.
Even after unseating the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the chief bully and Leader of the opposition, the Hon. Tony Abbott MP, was not satisfied because the government had not fallen and he was still the Leader of the Opposition.  So in what I believe is completely unprecedented, he decided to aim for the top.  His next scapegoat would be the Prime Minister herself.  Many believe that her gender was in fact the target of this attack.  I think it really was a problem for him that SHE was the boss and he was a no-body.

So the fuel for this scapegoating was going to be found in matters that happened 17 years ago well before the PM entered politics.  She was in a relationship with a Union Official (who happened to live up to all the Conservative caricatures of Union Officials) and gave legal advice about setting up an Association in WA. Shortly after this, her relationship with the Union Official ended as did her working relationship with a large law firm.  Details of her "exit interview" with her employer were then used as if they were a record of a disciplinary meeting with her employer and every step possible was taken to make it look like the PM was responsible for the subsequently fraudulent (although no charges have ever been sustained against the officials) actions of her former partner and others in siphoning Union Funds into the Association for the personal benefit of the Union Officials.

Despite all these attempts to smear the character of the Prime Minister, on the last day of parliament in 2012, the most serious accusation the chief bully could raise against the Prime Minister 17 years ago was that maybe she was guilt of "conduct unbecoming" of a legal practitioner - not that the Law Council has ever had the matter raised with them.

What really surprises me, as I have tuned into the commentariate about this is how many people actually believe the Prime Minister acted illegally all those years ago - that is how effective scapegoating can be.

But all this should be seen for exactly what it is - classic workplace bullying.

As the memories of observers have revealed over the course of these debates, Tony Abbott has serious form as a bully.  He is aggressive and will not allow any opposition to stand in his way unchallenged, and he will stoop to any tactics he think will remove them from his way.  He and the former Labor Attack Dog, Graeme Richardson live by the same motto - "Whatever it takes!"

I am hoping that the new year will bring a different character to the political stage - one that is much more civil and respectful - but I fear I may be disappointed.