Senator Andrew Bartlett
Sunday, November 21, 2004
 
The current big political story is the allegation by Independent MP Tony Windsor that the Deputy Prime Minister was behind an offer of a possible ambassadorship in return for resigning his seat. Obviously I can't know the full facts, so I'll just make a few observations about things I do know.

I don't know any of the politicians involved exceptionally well, but I have worked with Tony Windsor on a few issues over recent years and in my experience I have found him a straight shooter.

Regardless of the truth behind these particular allegations - and that’s a matter for the Federal Police to determine - the fact that anyone making alleged offers like this can be seen as believable is a clear indication of how corrupted the process of Government appointments is.

Perhaps the most famous offer of an ambassadorship for blatantly politically motivated purposes was Whitlam making DLP Senator Vince Gair ambassador for Ireland in a failed attempt to tilt the balance in the Senate his way. This sort of 'wink and nod' behaviour is so common from Governments, particularly ones that have been in power for some time, that it is easy to become accustomed to it. It is only when it is presented baldly and blatantly as bribery, as is the case with the Windsor allegations, that the stark reality of the true nature of this sort of behaviour is manifest.

What has got little attention, but is in its own way equally damning is the reported concern of the Tamworth businessman who allegedly made the offer, that millions of dollars in Government funding for a worthwhile local project would not be forthcoming because Mr Windsor was not a member of the Government. The funding was eventually provided and is probably well merited, but it is a reminder that the factors that influence distribution of large amounts of public funds often include political and partisan consideration.

The only way to prevent these sorts of offers being made (and acted on) is to have a proper, merit-based system for determining Government appointments. The Democrats have pursued this repeatedly over the years, but have always been rebuffed by both major parties for the obvious reason that it removes a key area of patronage and largesse from their political arsenal and would be a loss of what is still seen as one of the spoils of office.

The fact is that these appointments can matter enormously whether we are talking about an ambassadorship, a High Court Judge, a Departmental head or the thousands of other positions that are the subject of Ministerial appointment. At key times or on key issues, people in these roles can affect the course of history and change lives dramatically. The better the quality of person in them, the better the chance that it will change for the better rather than the worse.

posted by Andrew Bartlett @ Sunday, November 21, 2004 Permalink
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