Honest John

So Donald McGauchie is the new chairman of Telstra. He's a farmer. I don't care. On the wireless today John Howard was asked if it was a political appointment. In keeping with ATI policy I haven't bothered to get a transcript but I can remember the gist of it:

Interviewer: Was it a political appointment?
JH: Of course not, he was appointed by the board.
I: But you appointed the board, didn't you?
JH: No, the board is appointed by the shareholders.
I: But, isn't the government the majority shareholder?
JH: Well..., yes, but...(spin, spin, spin.)

I really don't give a rat's arse who's the Telstra chairman and neither does anybody else I know. Telstra is going to be fully privatised and nobody is going to change that. I don't think that it's a very good idea, I don't subscribe to the whole economics-is-God thing that seems to be the go these days. I think the point has got to be reached eventually when you have to stop and ask yourself why there needs to be a profit in every human interaction. (If anybody can explain this to me I'd be very interested in hearing from you, but don't bother if you can't do it without statistics) Offhand, I can't think of a single instance where my quality of life has been improved by the privatisation of anything.

But that's by-the-by. What annoyed me was Mr. Howard reverting to lawyer-type by not answering the question in a straightforward manner. Of course it was a political appointment. So what? What's the point of being in politics if you can't make a political appointment? It's not as if any other party is so pure that they would refuse to do the same thing. I really don't like Mr. Howard, which may or may not colour my opnion of his actions. I do try to be objective, but any time something happens and there is room for doubt, I find myself on the opposition benches - and not very happy with the company I find there. The above interview goes a little way to showing why I distrust our P.M. Even if he isn't being dishonest in the Webster's sense of the word, he is being deceptive. Or attempting to.
I firmly believe John Howard is a liar, for one reason; in 1996, prior to the Federal Election, somebody*, I think it was Kerry O'Brien (cue the cynical outbursts from the RWDB's) was interviewing John about privatising Telstra and after a period of evasion which would make the above exchange look like "yes", Mr. Howard said"If I am elected, my government, or any future government of which I am leader, will never,ever(his bad grammar, not mine)(this time) sell more than one third of Telstra." On The Country Hour earlier this year, Mr Costello, our Treasurer was quoted as saying "Full privatisation of Telstra was always the plan, a partially privatised entity just doesn't make sense."
One of them is a liar, I know who my money is on.

*Research it yourself, I'm not your fucken slave.