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Quarterly Essay #79
The End of Certainty: Scott Morrison and Pandemic Politics
Epidemics are mirrors. What has COVID-19 revealed about Australia, and about Scott Morrison and his government? In this gripping essay, Katharine Murphy goes behind the scenes to tell the story of the response to the crisis. Drawing on interviews with Morrison, Brendan Murphy, Josh Frydenberg, Sally McManus and other players, she traces how the key health and economic decisions were taken.
Her account is twinned with a portrait of the prime minister. She explores his blend of pragmatism and faith, and shows how a leader characterised by secrecy and fierce certainty learnt to compromise and reach out – with notable exceptions.
Now, as the nation turns inwards and unemployment rises, our faith in government is about to be tested anew. What does “We’re all in this together” truly mean? Will Morrison snap back to Liberal hardman, or will he redefine centre-right politics in this country?
“Morrison’s a partisan, blue team to the core, but his political philosophy is hard to pin down, because it is predominantly trouble-shooting. By instinct, Morrison is a power player and a populist, not a philosopher; a repairer of walls, not a writer of manifestos … [his] conservatism is extreme pragmatism in defence of what he regards as the core of the nation.” Katharine Murphy, The End of Certainty
Her account is twinned with a portrait of the prime minister. She explores his blend of pragmatism and faith, and shows how a leader characterised by secrecy and fierce certainty learnt to compromise and reach out – with notable exceptions.
Now, as the nation turns inwards and unemployment rises, our faith in government is about to be tested anew. What does “We’re all in this together” truly mean? Will Morrison snap back to Liberal hardman, or will he redefine centre-right politics in this country?
“Morrison’s a partisan, blue team to the core, but his political philosophy is hard to pin down, because it is predominantly trouble-shooting. By instinct, Morrison is a power player and a populist, not a philosopher; a repairer of walls, not a writer of manifestos … [his] conservatism is extreme pragmatism in defence of what he regards as the core of the nation.” Katharine Murphy, The End of Certainty
144 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 7, 2020
19 people are currently reading
57 people want to read
About the author
Katharine Murphy
8 books9 followersKatharine Murphy has worked in Canberra’s parliamentary press gallery since 1996 for the Australian Financial Review, The Australian and The Age, before joining Guardian Australia, where she is the political editor. She won the Paul Lyneham Award for Excellence in Press Gallery Journalism in 2008 and has been a Walkley Award finalist twice. She was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Canberra in 2019. She is a director of the National Press Club and the author of On Disruption and Quarterly Essay The End of Certainty.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
September 22, 2020
While this essay has value as a description of the timing and content of the Australian Government's response to Covid-19, it falls flat when it comes to offering useful insight or analysis.
'The End of Certainty' is Murphy's review of how Australia has responded to Covid-19, using this lens to analyse Scott Morrison as a political actor, and complemented by interviews with other relevant figures, not just politicians. As a plain synthesis of the steps taken by the Australian government, it succeeds: there is value in this work as a catalogue of what happened and when, in reconstructing the timeline. The work also serves to document the talking points used by the federal government in describing their own response, which Murphy happily regurgitates.
However, if the QE is meant to present a range of political, intellectual and cultural opinion, if Murphy, as she writes, has tried to offer "interpretation and meaning", then something has gone wrong here. I was very disappointed in the lack of analysis or critique offered in the 100 pages of this essay.
Far too often, Government spokespeople are quoted giving their own version of events, which Murphy seems hesitant to question or push resist. For example, Murphy observes that the Coalition engaged in stimulus spending despite having been critical of the ALP's stimulus in response to the GFC. Rather than enquire as to whether the Coalition's objections in 2009 represented bald-faced political opportunism with no regard for the public interest, Murphy uncritically allows the contention that the Liberials were merely concerned in 2020 with avoiding the "mistakes" of Labor's stimulus spending. Similarly, Murphy notes that JobKeeper had various gaps, including universities, explaining this, she writes "...the sector was likely excluded to try to contain the cost of the program". Although she also notes that some in the Coalition consider universities "factories of left-wing thought", she elects not to consider whether there could perhaps have been an ideological component to the Government's response.
It is perhaps when it comes to questions of ideology that Murphy's readiness to recapitulate Morrison's personal branding is most striking. "The end of certainty" attempts to give a depiction of Morrison; this is valuable. But Murphy fails to examine the image that has been deliberately crafted. She describes Morrison as a "project manager" lacking "ideological flame", "a pragmatist", someone "practical". Firstly, when evaluating Morrison's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, one might argue for a higher standard than a PM who listened to experts and focused on solving the problem at hand and not fighting ideological wars. Secondly, there are plenty of examples of Morrison's engaging in ideological battles even in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis. The criticism of Labor premiers comes to mind, not to mention the cheerleading for a "gas-led recovery". While Morrison may be interested in solving problems, the problems dominating his mind seem to be (a) re-election and (b) propping up uneconomic and polluting industries. But you wouldn't know this from reading Murphy's essay.
As a caveat to the above, I began reading this essay pre-disposed to dislike Morrison, and probably resistant to any positive portrayal. I do accept, however, the accuracy and value of Murphy's endorsement of various aspects of Morrison's Covid-19 response. We're certainly lucky not to have had a Boris Johnson or a Donald Trump at the helm. I'm not annoyed because Murphy was willing to praise Morrison. It's just the utter muteness on criticism that is striking.
In wrapping up her essay, Katherine Murphy writes "I have documented a crisis and a response. I have tried to record history, and dive beneath those facts and timelines in search of interpretation and meaning." This is a useful summary of what Murphy sees as her purpose with the essay, and she is half-right. Murphy has documented a crisis and response. When it comes to interpretation and meaning, however, I'm doubtful that she has even tried.
'The End of Certainty' is Murphy's review of how Australia has responded to Covid-19, using this lens to analyse Scott Morrison as a political actor, and complemented by interviews with other relevant figures, not just politicians. As a plain synthesis of the steps taken by the Australian government, it succeeds: there is value in this work as a catalogue of what happened and when, in reconstructing the timeline. The work also serves to document the talking points used by the federal government in describing their own response, which Murphy happily regurgitates.
However, if the QE is meant to present a range of political, intellectual and cultural opinion, if Murphy, as she writes, has tried to offer "interpretation and meaning", then something has gone wrong here. I was very disappointed in the lack of analysis or critique offered in the 100 pages of this essay.
Far too often, Government spokespeople are quoted giving their own version of events, which Murphy seems hesitant to question or push resist. For example, Murphy observes that the Coalition engaged in stimulus spending despite having been critical of the ALP's stimulus in response to the GFC. Rather than enquire as to whether the Coalition's objections in 2009 represented bald-faced political opportunism with no regard for the public interest, Murphy uncritically allows the contention that the Liberials were merely concerned in 2020 with avoiding the "mistakes" of Labor's stimulus spending. Similarly, Murphy notes that JobKeeper had various gaps, including universities, explaining this, she writes "...the sector was likely excluded to try to contain the cost of the program". Although she also notes that some in the Coalition consider universities "factories of left-wing thought", she elects not to consider whether there could perhaps have been an ideological component to the Government's response.
It is perhaps when it comes to questions of ideology that Murphy's readiness to recapitulate Morrison's personal branding is most striking. "The end of certainty" attempts to give a depiction of Morrison; this is valuable. But Murphy fails to examine the image that has been deliberately crafted. She describes Morrison as a "project manager" lacking "ideological flame", "a pragmatist", someone "practical". Firstly, when evaluating Morrison's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, one might argue for a higher standard than a PM who listened to experts and focused on solving the problem at hand and not fighting ideological wars. Secondly, there are plenty of examples of Morrison's engaging in ideological battles even in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis. The criticism of Labor premiers comes to mind, not to mention the cheerleading for a "gas-led recovery". While Morrison may be interested in solving problems, the problems dominating his mind seem to be (a) re-election and (b) propping up uneconomic and polluting industries. But you wouldn't know this from reading Murphy's essay.
As a caveat to the above, I began reading this essay pre-disposed to dislike Morrison, and probably resistant to any positive portrayal. I do accept, however, the accuracy and value of Murphy's endorsement of various aspects of Morrison's Covid-19 response. We're certainly lucky not to have had a Boris Johnson or a Donald Trump at the helm. I'm not annoyed because Murphy was willing to praise Morrison. It's just the utter muteness on criticism that is striking.
In wrapping up her essay, Katherine Murphy writes "I have documented a crisis and a response. I have tried to record history, and dive beneath those facts and timelines in search of interpretation and meaning." This is a useful summary of what Murphy sees as her purpose with the essay, and she is half-right. Murphy has documented a crisis and response. When it comes to interpretation and meaning, however, I'm doubtful that she has even tried.
September 20, 2020
A fascinating historical essay cataloguing Australia's pandemic decision-making and the Australian Prime Minister, albeit perhaps uncritically.
This essay achieves what it sets out to do. Centering around the author's interview with Morrison in the 'eye of the storm' responding to COVID, it explores his character and the supporting cast surrounding him as COVID-19 hits Australia. Interspersed and bookending the essay are the authors personal reflections and experience, which gives the essay a compelling hook into the experience of most Australians. It certainly held my attention - a great feat, as I'm on four hours sleep with a newborn!
In capturing the frantic and frenetic government response, we're taken through interviews with the key players - decision makers, politicians, bureaucrats and experts across federal, state and international bodies - who reflect on both their professional and personal roles and circumstances. Christian Porter's reflection on his near miss with COVID in his Perth office, for example, is a real stand out. These insights are the main strength of the essay.
Where the essay is weakest is its argument. It feels like the essay doesn't unpack some of its key concepts. We're told Morrison is a blokey bloke - a matey guy - but this idea and its implications aren't really pulled apart. Yes, this isn't a character essay on Morrison, but in my mind, this point has real implications. It perhaps explains, for example, the horrid gender imbalance in the influencers that Morrison surrounds himself with and perhaps why all three stimulus packages disproportionately advantaged men over women. Women aren't absent in Morrison's orbit- the NSW Premier, Doherty Institute expert or ACTU president - but they feel like mere punctuation. This, and some of the concepts embedded within Morrison's faith, might have been worth exploring more.
So is it a stinging critique of the unfairness of the Morrison government's approach? No - but then, Sean Kelly has done that in The Monthly.
Is it a feminist critique of the inequitable and unrepresentative decision making in federal government? No - but how can it be this close to events.
Don't read this essay to better understand the intricacies of Scott Morrison's mind. Read this essay as an answer to "how the hell is it August 2020 already?"
This essay achieves what it sets out to do. Centering around the author's interview with Morrison in the 'eye of the storm' responding to COVID, it explores his character and the supporting cast surrounding him as COVID-19 hits Australia. Interspersed and bookending the essay are the authors personal reflections and experience, which gives the essay a compelling hook into the experience of most Australians. It certainly held my attention - a great feat, as I'm on four hours sleep with a newborn!
In capturing the frantic and frenetic government response, we're taken through interviews with the key players - decision makers, politicians, bureaucrats and experts across federal, state and international bodies - who reflect on both their professional and personal roles and circumstances. Christian Porter's reflection on his near miss with COVID in his Perth office, for example, is a real stand out. These insights are the main strength of the essay.
Where the essay is weakest is its argument. It feels like the essay doesn't unpack some of its key concepts. We're told Morrison is a blokey bloke - a matey guy - but this idea and its implications aren't really pulled apart. Yes, this isn't a character essay on Morrison, but in my mind, this point has real implications. It perhaps explains, for example, the horrid gender imbalance in the influencers that Morrison surrounds himself with and perhaps why all three stimulus packages disproportionately advantaged men over women. Women aren't absent in Morrison's orbit- the NSW Premier, Doherty Institute expert or ACTU president - but they feel like mere punctuation. This, and some of the concepts embedded within Morrison's faith, might have been worth exploring more.
So is it a stinging critique of the unfairness of the Morrison government's approach? No - but then, Sean Kelly has done that in The Monthly.
Is it a feminist critique of the inequitable and unrepresentative decision making in federal government? No - but how can it be this close to events.
Don't read this essay to better understand the intricacies of Scott Morrison's mind. Read this essay as an answer to "how the hell is it August 2020 already?"
December 23, 2020
I walk and listen to audiobooks to relax me and this had the opposite effect. I don’t know who these competent efficient politicians are; this is not how I recalled 2020. [this was published in Sept 2020]
Dutton got covid and they hushed it up. Blurry shots of cleaners deep cleaning his offices for no reason. They LIED about it. Don’t try to garner sympathy for Porter from me.
Christian Porter? Don’t even get me started on how much that guy has messed up, and will NEVER be held accountable. Even the four corners sex scandal in Parliament House left him unscathed and his lover, the whistle blower, [not a metaphor] out of a job. The fact that the Australian Parliament does NOT have a staff HR section is very telling.
Frydenberg? Yeesh. Swan as treasurer got Australia through the GFC unscathed and the Liberal party beat them up for years over the spending. Debt and deficit… etc. This guy is hopeless. He was worried about lines at Centrelink? In what universe? Given they’ve just HALVED the unemployment benefit again and the pandemic is NOT over.
Morrison is skilled at reading a room? Are you kidding me? We’ve all seen the utterly awful invasive film of him forcing a pregnant woman who has just lost her home to bush fires to shake his freaking hand so they could get film for a commercial about what a great job the PM was [not] doing. Twelve months later, those people still don’t have homes.
He can’t read a single person’s body language, I really doubt he can read a room.
I don’t mind that the PM prays, but I mind that he is a prosperity Christian, and I think it greatly affects his application of social welfare policy.
What I found really interesting is the author’s constant explanation of what she ‘thinks’ people meant by what they just said. No; they said what they said.
And don’t try to argue that it was admirable that Morrison ‘followed expert advice’ on the pandemic, because he is completely ignoring experts on climate change science, and he totally ignored bushfire experts, too.
The one thing I am certain of, is that I’ve had enough of Morisson’s endless marketing campaign slogans and press conferences where he gets snippy if he gets asked a question he wasn’t prepared for.
2 stars
And by the way, why WAS he sacked from Tourism Australia? We’ve never heard the truth on that one.
And today he silenced the inquiry result into the Australia Post scandal, word is because it exonerated the woman he labelled as criminal. Cost her, her job too. There’s a pattern here, eh? The public purse paid for that enquiry, we want to read the result.
Dutton got covid and they hushed it up. Blurry shots of cleaners deep cleaning his offices for no reason. They LIED about it. Don’t try to garner sympathy for Porter from me.
Christian Porter? Don’t even get me started on how much that guy has messed up, and will NEVER be held accountable. Even the four corners sex scandal in Parliament House left him unscathed and his lover, the whistle blower, [not a metaphor] out of a job. The fact that the Australian Parliament does NOT have a staff HR section is very telling.
Frydenberg? Yeesh. Swan as treasurer got Australia through the GFC unscathed and the Liberal party beat them up for years over the spending. Debt and deficit… etc. This guy is hopeless. He was worried about lines at Centrelink? In what universe? Given they’ve just HALVED the unemployment benefit again and the pandemic is NOT over.
Morrison is skilled at reading a room? Are you kidding me? We’ve all seen the utterly awful invasive film of him forcing a pregnant woman who has just lost her home to bush fires to shake his freaking hand so they could get film for a commercial about what a great job the PM was [not] doing. Twelve months later, those people still don’t have homes.
He can’t read a single person’s body language, I really doubt he can read a room.
I don’t mind that the PM prays, but I mind that he is a prosperity Christian, and I think it greatly affects his application of social welfare policy.
What I found really interesting is the author’s constant explanation of what she ‘thinks’ people meant by what they just said. No; they said what they said.
And don’t try to argue that it was admirable that Morrison ‘followed expert advice’ on the pandemic, because he is completely ignoring experts on climate change science, and he totally ignored bushfire experts, too.
The one thing I am certain of, is that I’ve had enough of Morisson’s endless marketing campaign slogans and press conferences where he gets snippy if he gets asked a question he wasn’t prepared for.
2 stars
And by the way, why WAS he sacked from Tourism Australia? We’ve never heard the truth on that one.
And today he silenced the inquiry result into the Australia Post scandal, word is because it exonerated the woman he labelled as criminal. Cost her, her job too. There’s a pattern here, eh? The public purse paid for that enquiry, we want to read the result.
September 8, 2020
Originally intended as a biographical sketch / study of Scott Morrison, but as the covid crisis hit, increasingly morphed into being a study of that, while still largely centred on Morrison. It's not the best of the Quarterly Essays - it's trying to do too much in too little space - but it raises many interesting points, not least that no one can identify a hill that Scott Morrison would die on...
January 6, 2024
This is a skilfully written contemporary history of the 2020 leadership of Prime Minister Scott Morrison and decision making.
You will find some wonderful imagery describing Canberra politics, the corridors of power and political life.
Katharine Murphy documents what it is like to be Prime Minister during this crisis.
She suggests that 2020 has been like a decade and asks if we are seeing Morrison “Before the defenestration or a trip to the stone courtyard”?
There is excellent background information about the early days of COVID-19 from a global and Australian perspective.
Katharine Murphy presents a fast fire sequence of decision making and government operation.
Her profile sketch of Morrison is revealing.
She provides a description of his Pentecostal faith and how he projects this image and uses it.
The analysis of his “getting things done” approach is examined as his “non-ideological” stance.
“I’ve seen him try on a Trump suit to see if it fits And discard it as it’s not quite right but I suspect it’s still in the wardrobe in case he needs it.”
Murphy presents a view of Morrison, a politician who is competent, up to the job and focused.
She leaves the reader to judge whether he is compassionate and one who is making the correct decisions for the nation or expediently waiting for politics as normal to resume.
Katharine Murphy has done a wonderful job in documenting this crisis and a response that will be useful as we seek to analyse 2020, Scott Morrison and Pandemic Politics with the benefit of hindsight.
You will find some wonderful imagery describing Canberra politics, the corridors of power and political life.
Katharine Murphy documents what it is like to be Prime Minister during this crisis.
She suggests that 2020 has been like a decade and asks if we are seeing Morrison “Before the defenestration or a trip to the stone courtyard”?
There is excellent background information about the early days of COVID-19 from a global and Australian perspective.
Katharine Murphy presents a fast fire sequence of decision making and government operation.
Her profile sketch of Morrison is revealing.
She provides a description of his Pentecostal faith and how he projects this image and uses it.
The analysis of his “getting things done” approach is examined as his “non-ideological” stance.
“I’ve seen him try on a Trump suit to see if it fits And discard it as it’s not quite right but I suspect it’s still in the wardrobe in case he needs it.”
Murphy presents a view of Morrison, a politician who is competent, up to the job and focused.
She leaves the reader to judge whether he is compassionate and one who is making the correct decisions for the nation or expediently waiting for politics as normal to resume.
Katharine Murphy has done a wonderful job in documenting this crisis and a response that will be useful as we seek to analyse 2020, Scott Morrison and Pandemic Politics with the benefit of hindsight.
September 14, 2020
An excellent analysis of the effects to date of COVID-19 on Australia. The response by politicians back in March 2020 and their acceptance of the advice of the medical experts, helped save the country from being overwhelmed by the first wave. The multiple mistakes and disasters which created the second wave in my city of Melbourne is still being lived through as I write, but we are getting there.
August 25, 2021
A somewhat interesting portrait of Morrison. However, you get the vibe that the author has spent too much time around these people in power, and is unable to adequately critique these players as she humanises them over and over again with little anecdotes that they told her, which appears to have altered her judgement. She approaches very clear points where critique can be made but continually falters to bring those into light until the end, but even there she is very soft.
It is writing like this that I despise most from mainstream media. Simply reporting without critique and analysis, whilst we veer ever closer to climate catastrophe as a direct result of the policies by this government in question, and the lives of working people get degraded further and further.
P.s. Hearing Morrison described and describe himself as someone who does not act ideologically is as the Sniffmaster Slavoj Žižek would say *is* pUre IdEoLogY
It is writing like this that I despise most from mainstream media. Simply reporting without critique and analysis, whilst we veer ever closer to climate catastrophe as a direct result of the policies by this government in question, and the lives of working people get degraded further and further.
P.s. Hearing Morrison described and describe himself as someone who does not act ideologically is as the Sniffmaster Slavoj Žižek would say *is* pUre IdEoLogY
May 12, 2021
Good timeline of the early months of the pandemic in Australia (which is essentially what I read this for). Decent portrait of Scott Morrison - a certain man adapting to uncertainty. Not a great meshing of the two elements. But well-written and very readable.
September 19, 2020
An important contribution to our collective memory of the actions of government throughout 2020, this essay blends intimate recounting of decision-making in the early stages of COVID with a curious, detached portrait of Morrison. It leaves the reader somewhat more familiar with our illusive PM, or at least provides us with a framework to understand his behaviour. Murphy details the rapid-fire actions of state and federal politicians in crisis-response mode; a fascinating insight into the machinations of Australian governments leading our COVID response.
September 15, 2020
I was grateful for the timeline of Australia's pandemic response. I was so flustered at the time, I couldn't really remember exactly what happened and in what order. There were a few places this felt a bit rushed, for example not finding the name of the South Australian radio program Scott Morrison goes on sometimes, not really having a handle of the fact that there's phylogenetic data showing a strong likelihood of US community transmission that went under the radar before borders closed (hence the very different outcomes in the US and Australian situations despite similar border policies). As well, I still have so many questions about Scott Morrison and his pandemic response, especially his take on News Corp persistently trying to undermine bipartisanship and on his speaking out about BLM protests but not conspiracy theorist protests. Much is made of the PM's faith, which would be interesting to know about and probably does inform his politics but he seems to want off-limits. But actually there's still plenty I want to know about his politics, his actual public life, and it's frustrating how little he says on the record about that, and this essay doesn't really give you a whole lot extra (I'm thinking this is probably not Katharine Murphy's fault, to be fair).
November 12, 2020
My opinion of this essay echoes that of other reviewers. While it is certainly useful as a catalogue of the ideas and thoughts of Government MPs at the beginning of COVID, it does not offer much beyond this.
The first half is a well-written and thorough account of the early days of the crisis and the institutional chaos that followed. It accounts for the solutions that worked, how they came together, and what they did to help, without pulling punches on what went wrong.
However, the second half is less engaging. This is where Murphy begins to discuss Scott Morrison as a leader, politician, and thinker. She repeatedly characterises him as a "pragmatist" and a "non-ideological conservative". However, much of Scwartz Media's other publications have already pointed out that this is merely a façade and that Morrison is, through and through, a conservative. When discussing the clear, conservative bend of Morrison's policy ideas and overall political philosophy, this is often attributed to the Liberal Party, rather than Morrison himself.
I think perhaps what is really lacking in the second half is a sense of cohesion. Murphy is attempting to balance a portrait of Morrison with the circumstances under which this portrait is being produced. Sure, the Prime Minister is dealing with a difficult scenario, but this does not excuse his failures and it certainly doesn't substantiate the claim that he is non-ideological. The past few months certainly warrant at least some critique of Morrison, but Murphy's account is far too sympathetic to attribute this to anything other than the unfortunate reality of politics and the dynamics of the Liberal Party - some people must miss out!
You come away from this essay with questions. Will Scott Morrison redefine centre-right politics and the Liberal Party? Will Australian politics shift irreversibly left? Given the characterisation of Morrison and his Government, you will instinctively answer absolutely not. But Murphy's essay refuses to come down on one side or the other. She doesn't argue that he will or that he won't, so the implication that he's unlikely to must suffice.
The first half is a well-written and thorough account of the early days of the crisis and the institutional chaos that followed. It accounts for the solutions that worked, how they came together, and what they did to help, without pulling punches on what went wrong.
However, the second half is less engaging. This is where Murphy begins to discuss Scott Morrison as a leader, politician, and thinker. She repeatedly characterises him as a "pragmatist" and a "non-ideological conservative". However, much of Scwartz Media's other publications have already pointed out that this is merely a façade and that Morrison is, through and through, a conservative. When discussing the clear, conservative bend of Morrison's policy ideas and overall political philosophy, this is often attributed to the Liberal Party, rather than Morrison himself.
I think perhaps what is really lacking in the second half is a sense of cohesion. Murphy is attempting to balance a portrait of Morrison with the circumstances under which this portrait is being produced. Sure, the Prime Minister is dealing with a difficult scenario, but this does not excuse his failures and it certainly doesn't substantiate the claim that he is non-ideological. The past few months certainly warrant at least some critique of Morrison, but Murphy's account is far too sympathetic to attribute this to anything other than the unfortunate reality of politics and the dynamics of the Liberal Party - some people must miss out!
You come away from this essay with questions. Will Scott Morrison redefine centre-right politics and the Liberal Party? Will Australian politics shift irreversibly left? Given the characterisation of Morrison and his Government, you will instinctively answer absolutely not. But Murphy's essay refuses to come down on one side or the other. She doesn't argue that he will or that he won't, so the implication that he's unlikely to must suffice.
September 20, 2020
I’ve been a subscriber to QE since Issue 1 and it’s fair to say that I gloss over some reads a little more rapidly than others.
I actually surprised myself with this one, being drawn in from page one and reading with focus and interest throughout, which was not what I had anticipated.
Murphy, a journalist of long standing in the parliamentary press gallery, set out to write a portrait of Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, during a crisis. Instead, what she has offered is a clear and objective timeline of the events that occurred as COVID-19 presented itself as a global challenge. The reason it didn’t turn out to be a portrait seems, for the most part, to be due to the lack of substance to the man. (An anecdote from Nick Xenophon about the kind of man Morrison is will probably stay with me for some time).
What the reader gets instead, is a well rounded understanding of how decisions made so far have brought us to where we are - a country in a world that is on the brink of something new. How new, remains to be seen, but the trajectory of this pandemic, and of governments’ handling of it around the world, shows us that there’s a chance nothing will ever be the same again.
This was an interesting read. If you haven’t read any QEs, I recommend them for their in-depth exploration of current affairs. The publishers, Black Ink Books, do an excellent job of drawing on writers across the political spectrum.
I actually surprised myself with this one, being drawn in from page one and reading with focus and interest throughout, which was not what I had anticipated.
Murphy, a journalist of long standing in the parliamentary press gallery, set out to write a portrait of Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, during a crisis. Instead, what she has offered is a clear and objective timeline of the events that occurred as COVID-19 presented itself as a global challenge. The reason it didn’t turn out to be a portrait seems, for the most part, to be due to the lack of substance to the man. (An anecdote from Nick Xenophon about the kind of man Morrison is will probably stay with me for some time).
What the reader gets instead, is a well rounded understanding of how decisions made so far have brought us to where we are - a country in a world that is on the brink of something new. How new, remains to be seen, but the trajectory of this pandemic, and of governments’ handling of it around the world, shows us that there’s a chance nothing will ever be the same again.
This was an interesting read. If you haven’t read any QEs, I recommend them for their in-depth exploration of current affairs. The publishers, Black Ink Books, do an excellent job of drawing on writers across the political spectrum.
January 13, 2022
Far too complimentary for a PM who has been occasionally adequate at best (and barely). I deadset reached a point where I had to Google 'Katharine Murphy, LNP' just to double-check there was no conflict of interest. And I get it--Murphy is probably only trying to cultivate or preserve a future relationship with Morrison, but parts of this essay honestly sounded like it was written by a PR team.
Considering the absolute arrogance, the sheer hubris and ignorance of a leader who finger-waggles the struggle classes with the whole 'have a go, get a go' bullshit, it's really disappointing what Katharine has done here. Scott Morrison was born with a go; he said so himself that he 'doesn't hold a hose' (or a trowel, or a drinks tray, or a lease, for that matter). I cannot accept that Scumpo is our nation's everyman, just the same as that I do not regard the fact that 'things could've been a lot worse' is a basis for his commendation. No person deserves a pat on the back purely for doing the job they were employed (or elected) to do. And yes, we get it, you love God and your family, but you don't get to have a holiday whilst your workplace is literally on fire, you don't get to act like you already booked that time off with HR, and you don't get to chastise people who now know what it's like to have to wipe their arses with things other than toilet paper. And let's not forget the forced handshakes, robodebt (both the debt itself and the hush-hush settlement which was reached), the need to have to beg our landlords for rent mercy, the coal fondling, the punitive refugee policies and inner-city hotel detention centres, hotel quarantine debacles, the vilification of climate protestors, the shunning of universities as 'merely factories for left-wing thought'--the list goes on and on.
The thing is that you would literally have to go out of your way to dodge these misgivings in a reportage of the Morrison prime ministry, let alone find reason to praise this pie-faced wowser. I'm just a little disappointed that Katharine Murphy didn't give Morrison the kick in the bollocks he deserves.
Considering the absolute arrogance, the sheer hubris and ignorance of a leader who finger-waggles the struggle classes with the whole 'have a go, get a go' bullshit, it's really disappointing what Katharine has done here. Scott Morrison was born with a go; he said so himself that he 'doesn't hold a hose' (or a trowel, or a drinks tray, or a lease, for that matter). I cannot accept that Scumpo is our nation's everyman, just the same as that I do not regard the fact that 'things could've been a lot worse' is a basis for his commendation. No person deserves a pat on the back purely for doing the job they were employed (or elected) to do. And yes, we get it, you love God and your family, but you don't get to have a holiday whilst your workplace is literally on fire, you don't get to act like you already booked that time off with HR, and you don't get to chastise people who now know what it's like to have to wipe their arses with things other than toilet paper. And let's not forget the forced handshakes, robodebt (both the debt itself and the hush-hush settlement which was reached), the need to have to beg our landlords for rent mercy, the coal fondling, the punitive refugee policies and inner-city hotel detention centres, hotel quarantine debacles, the vilification of climate protestors, the shunning of universities as 'merely factories for left-wing thought'--the list goes on and on.
The thing is that you would literally have to go out of your way to dodge these misgivings in a reportage of the Morrison prime ministry, let alone find reason to praise this pie-faced wowser. I'm just a little disappointed that Katharine Murphy didn't give Morrison the kick in the bollocks he deserves.
December 12, 2020
I'm really enjoying the Quarterly Essays and correspondence. I started reading these when Annabel Crabb penned "Men at Work" and now I look forward to each issue.
October 4, 2020
More useful for its timeline of the pandemic and the political response, than as an analysis of Scott Morrison.
For my review, please visit: https://residentjudge.com/2020/10/04/...
For my review, please visit: https://residentjudge.com/2020/10/04/...
December 16, 2020
‘This whole idea that things need to be bipartisan – I don’t understand this. … I don’t know what that means.’
This statement from Prime Minister Scott Morrison is one of the few from him I agree with. ‘Bipartisanship’ is invoked in politics as an inherently good thing, and a sign of high seriousness. However, as Morrison points out - bipartisanship is a slippery concept: when is it ‘needed’ and what does it actually involve in practice? E.g. does the government of the day decide what’s bipartisan, and does it just shield them from criticism?
The centrepiece of Murphy’s Quarterly Essay ‘The End of Certainty: Scott Morrison and Pandemic Politics’ is an interview with Morrison. It was originally intended to be entirely a profile of him - one of the first - however a global pandemic got in the way, so the Essay is also about the Australian government response to COVID-19.
Morrison’s quote about bipartisanship is in the context of discussing the National Cabinet: Australia’s intergovernmental decision-making forum composed of the prime minister, state premiers, and territory chief ministers, which was formed in response to the pandemic. Murphy’s Essay makes clear that the idea of the National Cabinet was a spontaneous innovation which is now becoming a permanent feature of Australian governance. So flexible is the National Cabinet concept that it could even be temporarily expanded to include New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden in order to discuss trans-tasman matters. Morrison makes clear the ad hoc decisions that led to its creation:
‘It wasn’t bipartisanship in the national cabinet, it was government, and government is a practical exercise. The people who needed to be in the room were not people who needed to represent different political ideologies and philosophies. It needed to be people in the room who were responsible for people’s health and safety and could make decisions and apply resources. If you couldn’t do that, there was no place for you at the table.’
This fixer, problem-solver approach to politics and government is both Morrison’s strength and his weakness. Murphy highlights his origins as a state director of the NSW Liberal Party’s organisational wing. ‘In the Liberal Party’, she writes, ‘directors are troubleshooters’.
‘They fix problems. The mindset is about winning and creating pathways to victory, …. Get the experts in, get the finance people in, get the pollster in, and war-game the problem. Morrison doesn’t rhapsodise about “reform” (full stop?) At his core, he’s a populist, and a fixer, not an ideologue.’
This proved useful in the pandemic - as Morrison set aside traditional Liberal Party commitments to free markets and small government in order to effectively force a recession while directly subsidising households. Putting the economy into hibernation while closing the borders has proved highly effective in mitigating the spread of COVID-19, and both Morrison and the state Premiers were able to get onto the same page through the National Cabinet process, at least at first.
However, while Morrison might not be an ideologue, he is a tribalist - with the habit of fighting ‘culture wars’ against the Left. Morrison's Pentecostal Christian faith is often held up by his progressive critics as a sign of his secret right-wing agenda for Australia. Murphy finds him reluctant to talk about his faith in detail, but Morrison is also ‘Scotty from Marketing’ - and he is quite prepared to ‘show not tell’. E.g. inviting cameras to film him worshipping at his church, Horizon, in southern Sydney, in order to cultivate the view that he is a religiously minded family man. Pentecostalism is light on specific beliefs. Catholicism has a detailed tradition of social thought, but there’s no ‘Pentecostal’ view on policy questions such as industrial relations. However it does emphasise a direct connection to the Love of God via salvation by Jesus. At its core, the Pentecostal worldview has us either in the camps of saved, or the damned. The damned could be saved by being shown the way to Jesus, but they have to (in Morrison’’s phrase) ‘have a go’ in order to get there.
An ideologue might find a ‘hill to die on’ in politics as Murphy puts it. A tribalist however would see the goal as the survival of the ‘tribe’ - both day to day and long term. This outlook lends itself much better to the ‘problem-solver’ mindset, as the tribe dying on any hill for any reason would be a failure for the tribalist.
In practice, this means that tribalists will always be looking for the chance to exploit the weaknesses of their opponents, and strengthen their own side. Morrison has built up an enormous amount of goodwill in the electorate with his handing of the pandemic, but he had to start from a very low base with his disastrous handling of the earlier colossal bushfire crisis of 2019-20. Morrison is right that bipartisanship is a fiction, but his instinct to opportunistically attack his opponents, then withdraw if the heat gets too much, may eventually prove wearisome and tedious for voters. Particularly if there is another disaster to which he does not respond as adroitly.
This statement from Prime Minister Scott Morrison is one of the few from him I agree with. ‘Bipartisanship’ is invoked in politics as an inherently good thing, and a sign of high seriousness. However, as Morrison points out - bipartisanship is a slippery concept: when is it ‘needed’ and what does it actually involve in practice? E.g. does the government of the day decide what’s bipartisan, and does it just shield them from criticism?
The centrepiece of Murphy’s Quarterly Essay ‘The End of Certainty: Scott Morrison and Pandemic Politics’ is an interview with Morrison. It was originally intended to be entirely a profile of him - one of the first - however a global pandemic got in the way, so the Essay is also about the Australian government response to COVID-19.
Morrison’s quote about bipartisanship is in the context of discussing the National Cabinet: Australia’s intergovernmental decision-making forum composed of the prime minister, state premiers, and territory chief ministers, which was formed in response to the pandemic. Murphy’s Essay makes clear that the idea of the National Cabinet was a spontaneous innovation which is now becoming a permanent feature of Australian governance. So flexible is the National Cabinet concept that it could even be temporarily expanded to include New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden in order to discuss trans-tasman matters. Morrison makes clear the ad hoc decisions that led to its creation:
‘It wasn’t bipartisanship in the national cabinet, it was government, and government is a practical exercise. The people who needed to be in the room were not people who needed to represent different political ideologies and philosophies. It needed to be people in the room who were responsible for people’s health and safety and could make decisions and apply resources. If you couldn’t do that, there was no place for you at the table.’
This fixer, problem-solver approach to politics and government is both Morrison’s strength and his weakness. Murphy highlights his origins as a state director of the NSW Liberal Party’s organisational wing. ‘In the Liberal Party’, she writes, ‘directors are troubleshooters’.
‘They fix problems. The mindset is about winning and creating pathways to victory, …. Get the experts in, get the finance people in, get the pollster in, and war-game the problem. Morrison doesn’t rhapsodise about “reform” (full stop?) At his core, he’s a populist, and a fixer, not an ideologue.’
This proved useful in the pandemic - as Morrison set aside traditional Liberal Party commitments to free markets and small government in order to effectively force a recession while directly subsidising households. Putting the economy into hibernation while closing the borders has proved highly effective in mitigating the spread of COVID-19, and both Morrison and the state Premiers were able to get onto the same page through the National Cabinet process, at least at first.
However, while Morrison might not be an ideologue, he is a tribalist - with the habit of fighting ‘culture wars’ against the Left. Morrison's Pentecostal Christian faith is often held up by his progressive critics as a sign of his secret right-wing agenda for Australia. Murphy finds him reluctant to talk about his faith in detail, but Morrison is also ‘Scotty from Marketing’ - and he is quite prepared to ‘show not tell’. E.g. inviting cameras to film him worshipping at his church, Horizon, in southern Sydney, in order to cultivate the view that he is a religiously minded family man. Pentecostalism is light on specific beliefs. Catholicism has a detailed tradition of social thought, but there’s no ‘Pentecostal’ view on policy questions such as industrial relations. However it does emphasise a direct connection to the Love of God via salvation by Jesus. At its core, the Pentecostal worldview has us either in the camps of saved, or the damned. The damned could be saved by being shown the way to Jesus, but they have to (in Morrison’’s phrase) ‘have a go’ in order to get there.
An ideologue might find a ‘hill to die on’ in politics as Murphy puts it. A tribalist however would see the goal as the survival of the ‘tribe’ - both day to day and long term. This outlook lends itself much better to the ‘problem-solver’ mindset, as the tribe dying on any hill for any reason would be a failure for the tribalist.
In practice, this means that tribalists will always be looking for the chance to exploit the weaknesses of their opponents, and strengthen their own side. Morrison has built up an enormous amount of goodwill in the electorate with his handing of the pandemic, but he had to start from a very low base with his disastrous handling of the earlier colossal bushfire crisis of 2019-20. Morrison is right that bipartisanship is a fiction, but his instinct to opportunistically attack his opponents, then withdraw if the heat gets too much, may eventually prove wearisome and tedious for voters. Particularly if there is another disaster to which he does not respond as adroitly.
October 15, 2020
I am not sure why Murphy titled her essay with the same words that Paul Kelly used for his 1992 tome on the Hawke/Keating years. I guess she believes that post 2020 will be a similar time to the reformist Hawke/Keating years.
Her essay is a review of Scott Morrison in the time of COVID. Scott Morrison is no Bob Hawke or Paul Keating. (With apologies to Lloyd Bentsen.)
As I read this quarterly essay I thought of Phil Graham’s quote, “Journalism is the first rough draft of history.” So much that has been spoken and written about COVID-19 has been based much on opinion and little on knowledge. The definitive history of this period in Australia’s history will have to wait a decade or two to be accurately written.
Some would have us believe that he is the ‘accidental PM.’ I am not so sure. The opportunity arose and Morrison jumped for it. Murphy does not touch on his gaining the PM position and then his election win but focuses on his political style since the Black Summer fires and the outbreak of COVID.
In many ways this is more of an observing essay rather than an analytical one. Murphy needs to ask more questions. Also, things have moved on since she put fingers to keys, they evolve daily. COVID-19 is not a stagnant epidemic.
Morrison was statesman like during the early days of COVID-19. As many have acknowledged he learnt from his mistakes from the Black Summer bushfires. He led a response that relied on science and he created a unified response with his National Cabinet. Him and the premiers were successful in containing the spread of the virus and the subsequent death rate. His government’s Jobkeeper and Jobseeker were widely well received.
The question has been asked how would have the LNP responded if it was a Labor government spending these billions of dollars, considering their, and the Murdoch response to Labor’s expenditure during the GFC. But then hypocrisy never seems to trouble conservatives!
It is early days yet and the economic and social consequences of COVID and the associated lockdown have not fully hit. The introduction of Jobkeeper and the rise in value of Jobseeker have softened the impact of lost employment. As these two programs either disappear or are diluted the long-term effects of high unemployment will have to be dealt with. At this stage it appears that Morrison and the LNP will return to its usual playbook by severely limiting support for the unemployed and use the ‘blame the victim’ script.
Morrison and his party’s bias were on display when they denied universities, the arts and temporary visa holders access to any support. Now (October 2020) we see it resort to its traditional actions of tax cuts especially for the wealthier end of the income spectrum.
Murphy never mentioned Morrison’s poorly planned and executed call for an independent inquiry into the origins of COVID-19 and what appears to be serious consequences for this country and its economy. The ramifications of this diplomatic disaster could be profound. China is a nasty superpower, most superpowers are! I would be as critical as anyone of China, its treatment of minorities, it's authoritarian regime, its aggressive foreign policies but I would be guarded and conscious of what I would achieve by bad mouthing it so publicly. By all means support allies and the UN declarations but do not go out on a limb, especially if sitting on that limb is the profoundly erratic Trump.
I guess there was a need for a “Morrison essay”, it reminds me of an early Peter Fitzsimons’ book on Kim Beazely, written when Beazley was half-way through his career.
This essay is worthwhile in that it collates a timeline of the political responses to COVID. We do witness Morrison’s political style but he has a long way to go before we can make a definitive statement on his effectiveness as Australia’s Prime Minister.
Her essay is a review of Scott Morrison in the time of COVID. Scott Morrison is no Bob Hawke or Paul Keating. (With apologies to Lloyd Bentsen.)
As I read this quarterly essay I thought of Phil Graham’s quote, “Journalism is the first rough draft of history.” So much that has been spoken and written about COVID-19 has been based much on opinion and little on knowledge. The definitive history of this period in Australia’s history will have to wait a decade or two to be accurately written.
Some would have us believe that he is the ‘accidental PM.’ I am not so sure. The opportunity arose and Morrison jumped for it. Murphy does not touch on his gaining the PM position and then his election win but focuses on his political style since the Black Summer fires and the outbreak of COVID.
In many ways this is more of an observing essay rather than an analytical one. Murphy needs to ask more questions. Also, things have moved on since she put fingers to keys, they evolve daily. COVID-19 is not a stagnant epidemic.
Morrison was statesman like during the early days of COVID-19. As many have acknowledged he learnt from his mistakes from the Black Summer bushfires. He led a response that relied on science and he created a unified response with his National Cabinet. Him and the premiers were successful in containing the spread of the virus and the subsequent death rate. His government’s Jobkeeper and Jobseeker were widely well received.
The question has been asked how would have the LNP responded if it was a Labor government spending these billions of dollars, considering their, and the Murdoch response to Labor’s expenditure during the GFC. But then hypocrisy never seems to trouble conservatives!
It is early days yet and the economic and social consequences of COVID and the associated lockdown have not fully hit. The introduction of Jobkeeper and the rise in value of Jobseeker have softened the impact of lost employment. As these two programs either disappear or are diluted the long-term effects of high unemployment will have to be dealt with. At this stage it appears that Morrison and the LNP will return to its usual playbook by severely limiting support for the unemployed and use the ‘blame the victim’ script.
Morrison and his party’s bias were on display when they denied universities, the arts and temporary visa holders access to any support. Now (October 2020) we see it resort to its traditional actions of tax cuts especially for the wealthier end of the income spectrum.
Murphy never mentioned Morrison’s poorly planned and executed call for an independent inquiry into the origins of COVID-19 and what appears to be serious consequences for this country and its economy. The ramifications of this diplomatic disaster could be profound. China is a nasty superpower, most superpowers are! I would be as critical as anyone of China, its treatment of minorities, it's authoritarian regime, its aggressive foreign policies but I would be guarded and conscious of what I would achieve by bad mouthing it so publicly. By all means support allies and the UN declarations but do not go out on a limb, especially if sitting on that limb is the profoundly erratic Trump.
I guess there was a need for a “Morrison essay”, it reminds me of an early Peter Fitzsimons’ book on Kim Beazely, written when Beazley was half-way through his career.
This essay is worthwhile in that it collates a timeline of the political responses to COVID. We do witness Morrison’s political style but he has a long way to go before we can make a definitive statement on his effectiveness as Australia’s Prime Minister.
November 30, 2020
Some of this is about Our Esteemed Leader and why he acts the way he does which is of no interest to me at all, but most of it is a survey, from Canberra, of course, about what's happened, what has been done, and what we've learned. In other words, the Big Picture that we sometimes couldn't see at the time.
One thing I learned is that the nation was just lucky to have a prime minister who's a pragmatist. Contrary to his usual scorn for experts, he decided to value the expertise of the public service and the Chief Health Officer, thanks to Stephen Kennedy, a Treasury Secretary who was a nurse in a past life and therefore has what Murphy calls a flicker of emotional intelligence. Lucky for us that Kennedy's PhD in economics examined whether changes in economic outcomes had an impact on people's health.
Lucky for us that Kennedy knows how to win people over to positions. A 5% drop in GDP is the kind of number that would give pause to any PM focussed on the Big End of Town and a belief in Trickle-Down Economics. Lucky for us Our Esteemed Leader accepted Kennedy's recommendation of discretionary fiscal policy because even a small number of deaths would have a large, short-run economic impact. [It would have been nice to have a PM who cared about the deaths for compassionate reasons, but that, it seems, was a luxury we had to do without.]
'Discretionary fiscal policy' is just another name for economic stimulus, a label that Our Esteemed Leader steadfastly refuses to use because of the ideologues in his party and a long history of berating My Side for using it during the GFC to stave off recession. And although it wasn't enough — and Murphy clearly doesn't accept that there were no ideological reasons why some groups were not eligible for Jobseeker and Jobkeeper — anyone who saw those terrible, heart-breaking queues of people lined up at Centrelink because hundreds of thousand of jobs were lost, would have to concede Kennedy is a bit of a hero.
Will this new reliance on expertise last?
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2020/11/30/t...
One thing I learned is that the nation was just lucky to have a prime minister who's a pragmatist. Contrary to his usual scorn for experts, he decided to value the expertise of the public service and the Chief Health Officer, thanks to Stephen Kennedy, a Treasury Secretary who was a nurse in a past life and therefore has what Murphy calls a flicker of emotional intelligence. Lucky for us that Kennedy's PhD in economics examined whether changes in economic outcomes had an impact on people's health.
Fortuitously, Kennedy had conducted research on the economic impact of a pandemic, his interest triggered by avian flu and SARS. Back in 2006, he was the lead author of a departmental working paper that had concluded that a highly contagious pandemic could knock 5 per cent off GDP during the first year. (p.37)
Lucky for us that Kennedy knows how to win people over to positions. A 5% drop in GDP is the kind of number that would give pause to any PM focussed on the Big End of Town and a belief in Trickle-Down Economics. Lucky for us Our Esteemed Leader accepted Kennedy's recommendation of discretionary fiscal policy because even a small number of deaths would have a large, short-run economic impact. [It would have been nice to have a PM who cared about the deaths for compassionate reasons, but that, it seems, was a luxury we had to do without.]
'Discretionary fiscal policy' is just another name for economic stimulus, a label that Our Esteemed Leader steadfastly refuses to use because of the ideologues in his party and a long history of berating My Side for using it during the GFC to stave off recession. And although it wasn't enough — and Murphy clearly doesn't accept that there were no ideological reasons why some groups were not eligible for Jobseeker and Jobkeeper — anyone who saw those terrible, heart-breaking queues of people lined up at Centrelink because hundreds of thousand of jobs were lost, would have to concede Kennedy is a bit of a hero.
Will this new reliance on expertise last?
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2020/11/30/t...
May 19, 2021
The date at the end of this essay is 19 August 2020. I have completed reading it on 19 May 2021. So, how does it stand up, nine months on?
The essay ends by talking about "a pandemic when there is no vaccine and no guarantee there will ever be one" (p. 95). Now the world has several vaccines, and the UK and USA, whose responses to covid19 are described in this essay as dystopian and chaotic, have done exceptionally well at vaccinating their people. Australia, on the other hand, after managing the pandemic itself well, is failing miserably on vaccinations. There is every possibility that Australia's international borders will remain closed until 2022. Murphy writes about trust in political parties being up 11% during the pandemic (p. 89). It would interesting to see what the figures are now. It would also be interesting to see whether Australians, who have rewarded all the incumbent state governments, have noticed that the areas that Commonwealth government was responsible for: aged care; quarantine; vaccination - are the areas that have failed.
Murphy writes of Morrison as "a bloke's bloke" and wonders "how he tests with women" (p. 70). 2021 has been the year in which Australian women have spoken as a gender and Morrison has completely failed to listen, despite the pink-washing of the Budget. Again, it will be interesting to see what this means at the ballot boxes if an election is held in 2021. Will Morrison have spoken narrowly enough to 'men who might otherwise vote ALP' to stay in power as women demand better?
Murphy is good on Morrison as a religious man who refuses to allow his faith to be discussed (pp. 66-69) and as a non-conviction politicians who "can be anything he thinks he needs to be" (p. 65). Morrison may be able to stay in power because with a few exceptions there is nothing he is not willing to do or to jettison to be electable. And that is worrying.
The essay ends by talking about "a pandemic when there is no vaccine and no guarantee there will ever be one" (p. 95). Now the world has several vaccines, and the UK and USA, whose responses to covid19 are described in this essay as dystopian and chaotic, have done exceptionally well at vaccinating their people. Australia, on the other hand, after managing the pandemic itself well, is failing miserably on vaccinations. There is every possibility that Australia's international borders will remain closed until 2022. Murphy writes about trust in political parties being up 11% during the pandemic (p. 89). It would interesting to see what the figures are now. It would also be interesting to see whether Australians, who have rewarded all the incumbent state governments, have noticed that the areas that Commonwealth government was responsible for: aged care; quarantine; vaccination - are the areas that have failed.
Murphy writes of Morrison as "a bloke's bloke" and wonders "how he tests with women" (p. 70). 2021 has been the year in which Australian women have spoken as a gender and Morrison has completely failed to listen, despite the pink-washing of the Budget. Again, it will be interesting to see what this means at the ballot boxes if an election is held in 2021. Will Morrison have spoken narrowly enough to 'men who might otherwise vote ALP' to stay in power as women demand better?
Murphy is good on Morrison as a religious man who refuses to allow his faith to be discussed (pp. 66-69) and as a non-conviction politicians who "can be anything he thinks he needs to be" (p. 65). Morrison may be able to stay in power because with a few exceptions there is nothing he is not willing to do or to jettison to be electable. And that is worrying.
October 18, 2020
Katharine Murphy is one of Australia's premier political journalists and always worth readin or listening to. Here ahe writes about the current Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.
This essay provides two things: an overview of government responses to the pandemic and some observations on Morrison himself, including material from persona issues.
I found the information on the government response to be very useful in understanding what might have gone on at the outset. How organised responses were and co-operation and politicking are put to the side.
Murphy's observations on Morrison are interesting:
Elsewhere she's called him a shapeshifter, which I think isn't technically accurate, as he's pretty much the same person all that time, from my perspective, anyway. I think it would be better to call him evasive, as far as giving direct answers or going further than "announceables" goes.
Here there are two insights: the first being that Morrison doesn'r "get" bipartisanship, curious in a time when collaboration is important; the second is a reported personal comment that he is "transactional" i.e. that he'll only meet with someone if there's a purpose, or something he wants, perhaps.
It's unwise to rely on single sources, but I wonder if commentators like Murphy might have a glance at what C.G. Jung wrote about extraverted rational types, because a lot of what Jung writes there appears to relate to both him and many other politicians.
It's in his Psychological Types Chapter 10 -the type descriptions. The original English translation is more readable to me; there's also a recently issued booklet of the type descriptions, presumably in a later translation.
As with all the Quarterly Essays, there are responses to the previous QR publication which was by Judith Brett.
This essay provides two things: an overview of government responses to the pandemic and some observations on Morrison himself, including material from persona issues.
I found the information on the government response to be very useful in understanding what might have gone on at the outset. How organised responses were and co-operation and politicking are put to the side.
Murphy's observations on Morrison are interesting:
Elsewhere she's called him a shapeshifter, which I think isn't technically accurate, as he's pretty much the same person all that time, from my perspective, anyway. I think it would be better to call him evasive, as far as giving direct answers or going further than "announceables" goes.
Here there are two insights: the first being that Morrison doesn'r "get" bipartisanship, curious in a time when collaboration is important; the second is a reported personal comment that he is "transactional" i.e. that he'll only meet with someone if there's a purpose, or something he wants, perhaps.
It's unwise to rely on single sources, but I wonder if commentators like Murphy might have a glance at what C.G. Jung wrote about extraverted rational types, because a lot of what Jung writes there appears to relate to both him and many other politicians.
It's in his Psychological Types Chapter 10 -the type descriptions. The original English translation is more readable to me; there's also a recently issued booklet of the type descriptions, presumably in a later translation.
As with all the Quarterly Essays, there are responses to the previous QR publication which was by Judith Brett.
September 27, 2020
An enjoyable read and a valuable summary of what has been a truly unique, pandemic-ridden 6 months. I am a massive fan of @mupharoos writing style, the way she talks to her readers, always makes me feel warm and cosy, the bibliophiles' equivalent to a hot toddy. I also enjoyed the pen portrait of ScoMo, although, as Murphy admits, the guy is "protean". I also enjoyed the subtle barb's, particularly when stating that Tony Abbott's legacy to public life is completely screwing the Coalition's ability to have a reasonable conversation on climate change. 😏
Where the essay falls down for me is its inability to draw any distinctive conclusions. I do not lay the blame for this at Murphy's door. We simply do not know where we are or where we are going in relation to this virus. Perhaps, a more longitudinal examination in a year or two, drawing on this essay for inspiration will be able to provide answers? Here's to hoping, at least.
Where the essay falls down for me is its inability to draw any distinctive conclusions. I do not lay the blame for this at Murphy's door. We simply do not know where we are or where we are going in relation to this virus. Perhaps, a more longitudinal examination in a year or two, drawing on this essay for inspiration will be able to provide answers? Here's to hoping, at least.
November 30, 2020
A somewhat interesting but kind of annoying look at Morrison's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic in Australia. Katharine Murphy kind of irritates me and her left-wing bias shows, but nonetheless this was a pretty fair assessment of our prime minister who, for the most part, I think has been solid and the most reliable leader we've had in a long time. Likability-wise, I'd say he's about on par with Gillard (I also like her, despite being probably her least favourite demographic). Policy wise, he's more up my street.
Time will tell how his legacy will look one day.
Time will tell how his legacy will look one day.
June 14, 2021
This essay is descriptive and does somewhat catalogue the events surrounding the start of the pandemic. However, it lacks critical analysis to the extent that it reads like a series of newspaper columns rather than cohesive whole.
The exception is a few pages on Scott Morrison, which may be relevatory to those not encapsulated by politics, but will be painfully obvious to those who are. To them, whether you support the PM or not, this book will offer very little for you.
There is a disconnect between the people who will buy this book and the audience it is written for.
The exception is a few pages on Scott Morrison, which may be relevatory to those not encapsulated by politics, but will be painfully obvious to those who are. To them, whether you support the PM or not, this book will offer very little for you.
There is a disconnect between the people who will buy this book and the audience it is written for.
September 12, 2021
I will start by saying that I absolutely love Katharine Murphy. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to this essay until now (September 2021) and so much has changed in Australia that it felt very out of date and somewhat disorienting - a risk I suppose of any writing about the pandemic as it continues to evolve. I though Murphy made some interesting points throughout, but none of them have really stuck with me. I think she has made a valiant attempt to elucidate the inner workings of a man (Scott Morrison) who really seems to lack substance and capacity for self reflection.
December 13, 2020
Reading this quite a few months after its release, I was worried this might have dated. But I really appreciated Murphy's history of the early months of the pandemic and her portrait - albeit incomplete - of PM Scott Morrison.
The key pandemic insight that resonated with me: 'Politics, fundamentally, is the art of making decisions based on imperfect information... experts get you a distance, but they only get you so far.'
The key pandemic insight that resonated with me: 'Politics, fundamentally, is the art of making decisions based on imperfect information... experts get you a distance, but they only get you so far.'
April 5, 2021
I’m not sure this will stand the test of time. Written in the middle of the covid pandemic, the essay essentially takes all of its talking points from the government’s own mouth and offers little of the critique that could be expected from this format. Murphy seems in relative awe of Morrison’s leadership, and brushes over the only too recent memories of his gross (and ongoing) failures over the bushfires and climate crises.
October 1, 2020
Found this a highly informative insight into the politics of management of a pandemic. The essay builds a cohesive account of the response to the pandemic in Australia and its successes and drawbacks. This book led me to gain more respect to the management of the pandemic and appreciation of the enormity of the task at hand.
August 30, 2021
Fascinating overview of the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and the government response. In such a crazy and hectic year with so many things happening, it is helpful to have a good historical account of how the situation developed. It also explains some of the politics involved and what decisions were made and why.
November 7, 2020
This serves as a great timeline of the early days of the pandemic in Australia which is undoubtedly history we are living through. But given the title 'scott Morrison and pandemic politics' I expected more critical analysis and felt this essay was overall quite shallow. Missed opportunity.
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