The prime minister who vowed earlier than the final election to herald a “kinder, gentler parliament” has now hailed Australia’s rowdy, strong and combative model of political debate as proof of a functioning democracy, warning “only dictatorships pretend to be perfect”.
In remarks to a worldwide democracy convention in Sydney a day after the US returned Donald Trump to the presidency eschewing warnings about his autocratic model, Anthony Albanese instructed the adversarial tendencies of the Westminster political system have been “a virtue, not a flaw”.
“A fierce contest can be a good thing, as long as it’s a contest about substance, about things that matter to people and issues that affect the country,” Albanese advised the Commonwealth Parliamentary Affiliation, in a speech distributed prematurely.
“Sometimes this means things can be loud or unpredictable, sometimes the arguments are more sledgehammer than scalpel. When the stakes are high, passions run high. But these are not warning signs, they are vital signs. Proof of life and cause for hope. Because only dictatorships pretend to be perfect.”
As lately as July this yr, Albanese repeated his need for much less aggression in politics, after vandals lit fires outdoors the workplace of Victorian Labor MP Josh Burns in what Burns referred to as “a politically motivated attack”.
“We just need to be a little bit kinder and gentler in the way that we conduct our politics,” Albanese advised the Fox FM radio community in Melbourne on 24 July. “We don’t want to go down the American road, which has seen real polarisation and just people being angry all the time. People can have disagreements, but can we do it respectfully.”
In his speech on Thursday night time, Albanese referred to as parliament a “proving ground for ideas and policies”, providing “the sternest possible test” of their power and rigour.
He described democracy as “in every sense, a work in progress”.
The prime minister didn’t refer on to the US presidential election outcome. He spoke of “the corrosive forces of cynicism and division”, saying the strongest antidote to these and best argument for democracy was in governments demonstrating their capability to “make a positive difference”.
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“Delivering for people, proving worthy of their trust, living up to our shared values, and taking on the big challenges – even if the causes are complex and the solutions unknown,” Albanese mentioned.
Addressing what’s successfully a democracy membership constructed across the British Commonwealth, he mentioned no nation’s democracy was past enchancment and whereas custom may educate, unite and encourage, it was “not enough to sustain us” in an period of eroding belief in establishments, fragmenting media and unverified data.
On the subject of democracy, governments should make the individuals “partners in this task”, he mentioned, displaying “the humility to listen and explain and advocate, not just assert” and the braveness and capability to “push back against cynicism and extremism, division and disinformation”.
“In many ways, this has never been more difficult. But in every way that matters, it’s never been more important.”
