Christopher Pyne: Poor personal decisions do not of themselves constitute a reason to be forced from the job
Should Gladys Berejiklian resign as NSW Premier? Christopher Pyne argues the astonishing ICAC revelations are a personal humiliation – but shouldn’t kill her political career.
Opinion
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“What, am I taking crazy pills or something”! So says Will Ferrell’s character, Mugatu, in the Ben Stiller movie classic, Zoolander. If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favour – it’s fabulous.
That’s how I felt this week while I watched the full horror of the Independent Commission Against Corruption hearings unfold in Sydney, into the activities of Daryl Maguire, the former Member for Wagga Wagga in the New South Wales State Parliament.
Before this very public denouement, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian was regarded as a “safe pair of hands” on the wheel of the NSW Government.
Not only in relation to the handling of the coronavirus but also for the last three years in the decision-making that has continued to allow NSW to perform well economically, build necessary infrastructure and competently manage its schools, hospitals and community assets.
Berejiklian has been a strong political performer. As premier and leader of the Liberal Party, she has positioned her state’s Labor Party in a cul-de-sac and, having won the last election in her own right as premier, she could look forward to being re-elected when the time came in 2023.
Now all that is up in the air. All because of her relationship with a “bad egg”.
Maguire has admitted to so many questionable decisions there isn’t room to detail them all here.
Suffice to say, he is accused of misusing his position as a state MP to feather his own nest, to make money through commissions for helping developers and to use that money to clear his personal debts.
He has also admitted to destroying evidence that he knew would be incriminating in order to frustrate ICAC in its investigation.
From what we have seen this week in the media, the jury is well and truly in on the question of whether he was a good romantic interest for Berejiklian. He wasn’t. She has freely admitted that much.
But Berejiklian isn’t the first woman in the public eye to fall for a cad and a bounder.
Marie Antoinette lost her head over her marriage to Louis XVI of France.
Cleopatra drove her hand into a basket of asps after her relationship with Mark Antony went rather pear-shaped.
In hindsight, Clara Petacci might have preferred a quiet life rather than ending up hanging upside down in Milan alongside Benito Mussolini. You get the picture.
There has been public clamouring from Berejiklian’s political opponents and some segments of the media for her to resign as premier. Why?
No one has been able to produce any evidence of any wrongdoing on her part yet. There has not been any suggestion that she covered up the activities of Maguire or that she even knew about his inappropriate use of his position.
Sure, the revelations are acutely embarrassing.
Made worse by the transcript of supposedly closed sessions of the ICAC hearings being uploaded to the ICAC website for all to see when they were ruled never to be released!
But poor personal decisions haven’t routinely led to premiers being forced out of office.
They might damage their reputation. They might lead them to losing office because the public lose faith in their judgment. But they do not of themselves constitute a reason to be forced from the job.
Nor should they.
I happen to think that, unless Labor finds a smoking gun amid all the blizzard of claims and counterclaims about who knew what and when, that Berejiklian will survive.
There is some sympathy for her in the electorate. Being premier is a lonely job at the best of times.
Even with a partner and a number of children to come home to, the leader bears the brunt of every decision their government makes, good and bad. But doing that intense job as a single woman or man is another level of difficulty.
I know Gladys. I have known her since before she was president of the NSW Young Liberals.
She is a hardworking, caring, earnest and decent person.
She’s also good fun — not that premiers are allowed to show their fun side.
I am certain she is mortified by this unwanted attention being devoted to her private life.
But that’s the life she chose. If her colleagues stay true and tough it out, she will most likely win the next NSW election. In fact, she will emerge stronger from this if they stay the course.
The best thing the NSW state Liberals can do is get out and talk to the electors.
They will find they are more clear-eyed about these matters than the politicians often think.
If they stay in the hothouse atmosphere of the NSW Parliament House, they will start to believe the unreality that those places often engender.
Trust Bob and Nancy Stringbag’s opinion — they usually get it right.