Hopefully, an end to the 24-hour spin cycle

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ScreenHunter_24 Sep. 14 08.48

By Leith van Onselen

The internet and modern technology are wonderful. They allow fast dissemination of information, break down barriers to business and social interaction, and can enhance overall productivity and living standards by lowering costs and raising output.

But there is also a dark side, an example of which is being on-call 24 hours a day to answer work emails and queries. Anyone that has ever been employed by a multinational company will know what I am talking about.

Similar forces appear to have affected Australian politics where, for the past six years, politicians from both sides seemed to spend much more time and effort “massaging” their message and responding to the latest media attack, rather than just getting on with the job and developing sound policy.

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I have often wondered whether the big micro-economic reforms of the mid-1980s and early-1990s would even be possible today. Back then, before the rise of the internet and “instant media”, politicians only had to contend with a few television and radio bulletins a day and generally only one news print, leaving them plenty of time to get on with the job.

By contrast today, those reforms would likely have faced constant attack from vested interests and opposition political parties, likely resulting in many of the reforms being either watered down or abandoned altogether, in favour of populism.

That said, it is wrong to merely blame the 24-hour news cycle on the policy black hole that seems to have infected Australian politics. Political parties are equally responsible, too often choosing to feed the media beast, increasing its influence in the process. The former Rudd/Gillard Labor Governments were legendary at this, and it arguably contributed to their downfall once their lofty expectations of returning the Budget to surplus (amongst other things) – spruiked en masse through a hungry media – could not be met.

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Thankfully, the newly elected Abbott Coalition Government so far appears to be taking a different approach, instead starving the media developing its policies and implementation program quietly and methodically, according to Laurie Oakes:

Never before in Australian politics has there been such a quiet transition to a new administration. Not a single news conference from the prime minister-elect. Hardly a peep from MPs who will be sworn in as ministers within days.

Abbott and his team ignored the hungry media beast’s demands to be fed. Instead, they worked away quietly and methodically behind the scenes, preparing for an orderly and unhurried takeover of the levers of power. And the country got on perfectly well…

The quiet from the coalition contrasted with what was happening on the other side of politics. Labor figures couldn’t stop talking – about themselves, as usual…

Even out of government Labor still dominated the news cycle. There was certainly no danger of voters forgetting why they had turfed them out…

Abbott likes to say that while opposition is 90% theatre and 10% hard policy grind, government is the reverse of that. Although he is not yet sworn in, he spent long hours during the week with Dr Ian Watt, head of the prime minister’s department, getting things in place…

For the incoming government to effectively take a week off from media exposure has helped the transition process, and given the rest of us a welcome relief after what amounted to three years of constant campaigning. But even after the swearing-in, Abbott wants the new government to be aware of the perils of the speeded-up news cycle.

While it’s early days, and the proof will ultimately be in the pudding, the Coalition’s tempered approach to the media is welcome respite from the farce of the past six years.

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It also increases the likelihood that the Coalition will abandon the populism that helped get it elected in favour of policies confronting the serious challenges facing the nation as the once-in-a-century mining boom fades and the population ages.

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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.