Despicable lies are on the rise


Politicians lie compulsively, it’s sometimes said. Maybe. Certainly they don’t let reality interfere too much with their promises before elections. At the same time, I am reluctant to badge them all as liars. For example, both George Bush senior and Paul Keating failed to deliver tax cuts which they’d promised. Tony Abbot introduced tax measures which he’d never promised. I don’t think they lied by commission or omission. There was no intention to deceive. They just got it wrong. They shouldn’t have got it wrong and deserve criticism for that. But not, in my view, for lying.

There’s even an argument for Antony Albanese, when he promised, ninety-seven times before the last election, held in May 2022, that annual household electricity prices would fall by $275 by 2025. Apparently, the promise was based on some modelling by the firm RepuTex, commission by the Labor Party. I tend to think that Mr Albanese and his sidekick Chris Bowen are so besotted by the siren call of “costless” sun and wind energy, the “cheapest” form of energy, that they’d fall for any old rope. I have so little confidence in their attachment to reality that I am willing to believe that they both actually believed that electricity prices would fall. In which case Albanese is a fool; but not, at least in respect of electricity prices, a liar.

A bit of explanation is in order on lying. We all lie at times. Obviously it’s forgivable if its inadvertent, as perhaps are all of the examples above. It’s forgivable if we lie to protect another’s feelings. I think its forgivable too, if unfortunate, and I suppose weak, if we lie to protect our own position or reputation. Bill Clinton claimed: “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” That was a deliberate lie. But I thought at the time, and still do, that where went Bill so might we all. Protecting our own posterior is an endemic human weakness. Who is going to cast the first stone?

Now to lying of the despicable kind in order to deceive other people into acting against their best interests. Think of a conman. Here “the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) I have three very recent example in mind.

First to the aforementioned Albanese and two strikes. The first was his claim that the Voice was a modest proposal and a generous offer. He tried to fool voters by mischaracterising the far-reaching and racially-divisive nature of the proposition. He clearly knew what he was about. Maybe I’m wrong, but I can’t think of any more egregious lying by a politician; made worse when you think he is the Prime Minister of this great nation, out to dupe its citizens.

The second was his comment that the 860 Gazan refugees let into the country were on “temporary” visas. He full well knows that the courts will prevent them from ever being returned if they don’t want to go. The man has such chutzpah. He lies by deception, even when blind Freddy can see through it.

A third example is by courtesy of Penny Wong; our Minister for Foreign Affairs, no less. With singular smugness, she said that the government had also issued visas to Israeli Jews. The rational patriotic mind is thrown into utter despair at this patently false equivalence. Again, the chutzpah of this government minister is something to behold.

The three despicable lies, which I’ve laid out, are not normal. Don’t think that they are. They’re not. They are a sign of a latter-day creeping rottenness in the body politic. There is now a preparedness on the part of government ministers to deliberately mislead the Australian people. I don’t think we’ve seen the like before in Australia. No doubt they have in China, North Korea and Iran.


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Muddy
Muddy
November 25, 2023 11:33 pm

If the state is not afraid of the populace – as, ideally, they should be – there is no reason to be honest with them.

When there are no consequences to one’s actions – be they intentional, as a result of incompetence, or having been deceived (despite copious resources available to predict, or even suspect, such deceit) – why be concerned about either one’s own motivations, or the potential outcome?

Fear is the most powerful and primal human motivator.
When it is absent – as in politics and, arguably, the media – all that remains to anchor moral choice is a system of values.

When those values have been undermined for decades … oh dear.
What remains is an internal vacuum in which movement in any direction is possible.

Values are gone. Dead. Fossilised.
All that remains, in a practical sense, is fear. The instillation of fear (of consequences) in our decision-makers.

Who will dust-off fear and set boundaries for our overlords?
Conservatives?
Pffft.

Charles
Charles
November 26, 2023 8:26 am

Penny Wong is the classical example of toxic femininity.

Although I could be guilty of misgendering someone by saying that.

Bootstrapper
Bootstrapper
November 26, 2023 8:44 am

They’re the symptom, not the disease. We’re now ruled by an unelected, unaccountable “managerial elite” – the “Experts”. Our elected representatives handed power to them decades ago. “Trust the Science!” They were once the organ grinder. Now, they’re the monkey.

Aaron
Aaron
November 26, 2023 8:53 am

Albanese is a compulsive liar.

I’m starting to think he is either retarded or has become conditioned to it through his machinations inside the Labor factions where he has been cocooned since leaving the education system.

Either way, I’m beginning to think his absent father was called Geppetto.

Bruce
Bruce
November 26, 2023 10:16 am

“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities”

Voltaire.

Politics 101?

Roger
Roger
November 26, 2023 10:31 am

Another example of Albanese’s lies is his campaign promise to cut immigration.

Instead, under his watch we’ve seen our largest annual intake ever.

One has to conclude that he despises the Australian people.

Ceres
Ceres
November 26, 2023 10:48 am

Electricity rebate of $275 – employed an ALP cheer squad firm to give Albanese the answer he wanted. No contrary modelling Company advice entertained.
The Voice – knew full well it was not modest that’s why it had to be in the Constitution to avoid the horrors of it, ever being wound back. He probably lied about not having read the full 126 pages as that scenario beggars belief.
The Gazans now coming to a suburb near you (but not him), of course he knows they’re here permanently.
One can engage in semantics about whether this is lying, obfuscation, misleading, etc but to me at the very least it is intentional deception learnt over decades to ensconce most, not all, of these pollies in power and to financially enrich themselves at what was ONCE, a great country.

Indolent
Indolent
November 26, 2023 11:48 am

Every word that comes out of their mouths about ‘renewables’ and ‘climate change’ is a lie and don’t try to tell me they’ don’t know. But the most egregious lie of all is unstated. It’s the supposed underlying understanding that they represent us and act in our best interests, which couldn’t be farther from the truth.

The Beer whisperer
The Beer whisperer
November 26, 2023 10:00 pm

We were discussing lying as a legitimate fight or flight response, agreeing that living a lie in perpetuity is what is fundamentally wrong.

Hello, politicians! Hello, Albo! Yeah, they live the lie, using it as casually as eating breakfast. The lie as they breathe.

Simple Simon
Simple Simon
November 26, 2023 10:05 pm

We all lie at times. Obviously it’s forgivable if its inadvertent

‘Inadvertent’ means ‘not deliberate’.

‘To lie’ means deliberately to make a false statement.

A lie cannot, therefore, be inadvertent, and inadvertently making a false statement is not a ‘lie’, it is a ‘mistake’.

(‘Deliberate lie’ is tautologous, but used for rhetorical emphasis.)

Judge Dredd
Judge Dredd
November 28, 2023 1:55 pm

860 Gazan refugees let into the country were on “temporary” visas

Immigration is akin to invasion. We only need to look at history to know that close multi-cultural proximity results in bloodshed and war.

Look at what is happening in Ireland as an example, and yet the wicked politician’s keep up the immigration. The problem is compounded when the nation is led by a foreigner, who is not even of Irish decent.

So, the answer should be; stop all immigration, cancel all dual-citizenship, and re-patriate anyone you can. That will prevent future conflicts and escalating crime.

I think Europe has a shot at kicking out the invaders, given their native populations. But in Australia, it has irrevocably changed and is no longer Australia for Australians.

Boambee John
Boambee John
November 30, 2023 9:40 am

A third example is by courtesy of Penny Wong; our Minister for Foreign Affairs, no less. With singular smugness, she said that the government had also issued visas to Israeli Jews.

IIRC, she said “Israelis”, with no reference to Jews.

There are many Arabs with Israeli citizenship. I wonder how many are in that group receiving citizenship?

Boambee John
Boambee John
November 30, 2023 12:57 pm

visas, not (yet) citizenship.

  1. When all the CA votes are counted, the total vote count will be roughly similar to 2020.Kamal-toe sits on about…

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