Lucy Carne: Scott Morrison needs to listen to real Australians, like those on Gogglebox
Tokenistic reshuffles, MPs on leave, empathy training and female quotas have failed to alleviate public concern — just ask Gogglebox, writes Lucy Carne.
Opinion
Don't miss out on the headlines from Opinion. Followed categories will be added to My News.
When it comes to gauging society’s political mood, who would have thought it would be a TV show about people watching TV that could best sum up a nation?
Yet, that is exactly what Gogglebox Australia did last week.
The usual route would be to rely on unreliable polling or panels of patronising talking heads on the ABC to tell us what we’re apparently thinking.
But with a brief segment on Scott Morrison’s A Current Affair interview with Tracy Grimshaw, the Foxtel and Network Ten reality show seemed to nail exactly what most Australians were saying in the uncensored privacy of their own living rooms.
The Logie and AACTA winning show has been around since 2015 and its premise is to watch ordinary people in their homes watching TV.
When it first launched it was subjected to ridicule that it marked the end of original television content.
Why on earth would we want to watch strangers watching TV shows we’ve already watched, we sniffed.
But it was this authentic simplicity, lack of scripting and the cast – a diverse collection of age, race, income, beliefs and sexuality – that quickly turned Gogglebox into a true gem.
We watch them laughing, crying, bickering, wearing face masks, getting tipsy and wrestling with their dogs.
Gogglebox has become a modernised “man on the street” (to use that outdated vox pop phrase) or a window into our busy, modern lives, now that we’re rarely able to go down to the pub.
Former Conservative British PM David Cameron once called it “a fascinating program” for the insight it provides into public opinion.
The UK version has also been credited with chronicling community fatigue over Brexit and lockdowns.
And if the show really has become an accurate reflection of society, the Australian cast’s widespread anger should be a serious wake up call to Mr Morrison over how he has handled the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins and the treatment of women.
The show’s producer Leanne Tonkes said the show was “a pretty good litmus test” for how Australians feel.
“The LNP need to get their heads around what a large proportion of Australians are thinking right now about @ScottMorrisonMP’s inadequate management of what happened to @BrittHiggins_,” she tweeted.
In the clip, which has gone viral, the Gogglebox cast respond with shock, outrage and disgust over the handling of the sexual misconduct scandals engulfing the government.
“A month, what have you done?” Gogglebox favourite Keith, 60, of Melbourne, yelled at the screen.
When Mr Morrison asked what further action he should have taken regarding Ms Higgins, Sydney dad Les Elias, 47, replied: “Maybe reach out and say are you OK?”
“He hasn’t even met with her?” asked a shocked Isabelle Silbery, 35,
At the end of the clip, when Mr Morrison says he would like to see a woman follow him when he chooses to retire from politics, the replies were scathing.
“Can that be soon?” Leanne Lai suggested, while Anastasia Katselas replied: “I think that’s not very far away!”
It’s worth noting that Gogglebox is not some public broadcasting Lefty construct.
It aims to provide an honest representation of real Australians – including the Quiet ones.
And what it has done is voice what so many – regardless of political persuasion – have felt in the past few weeks.
Even the treatment of Queensland MP Andrew Laming in the wake of allegations that he took a photograph of a female employee’s underwear as she bent down to fill a fridge at a Brisbane landscaping company has caused fury among the most devoted LNP voters I know.
They are embarrassed and appalled at the Prime Minister’s lack of consistent action.
It’s unfathomable that Australia Post boss Christine Holgate had to resign after spending $20,000 on Cartier watches for senior staff after the completion of a project worth $70m to the Commonwealth-owned company.
Even an independent report by law firm Maddocks found that Ms Holgate’s gifts were within Australia Post policy and were not in breach of any act.
But Dr Laming, who admitted he took the photo but was found to not be in breach of any laws by police, gets to stay on, albeit on leave for a stint before he steps down at the next election.
The mind boggles at the hypocrisy.
Mr Morrison’s tokenistic reshuffles, MPs disappearing on leave, empathy training and ridiculous suggestions of female quotas have failed to alleviate the public’s concerns.
It’s time our Prime Minister stopped being guided by internal polling and narrow-minded advisers and listened to what real Australians are saying
For this no longer passes the “pub test”, let alone the “Gogglebox test”.
More Coverage
Campbell: Albo proves he’s out of touch in own ‘Hawaii moment’
A prime minister splashing $4.3m on a beach house would be dumb politics at the best of times. Doing it in the midst of a cost of living crisis makes you wonder if he’s already checked out.
Deery: Has Labor lost its heart? Just ask victims of abuse
Tormented Victorians that had their childhoods ripped from them in state care have been yet again betrayed by Labor’s new redress scheme — so shocking it could cost the government the election.