Opinion: Anthony Albanese vows to defend ‘democracy itself’
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been on a Fantasyland Tour vowing to defend ‘democracy itself’, but a sly move in Canberra promises the exact opposite, writes Mike O’Connor.
We can sleep soundly in our beds tonight, for in one of the most boring speeches of his career – and there have been some absolute rippers – Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced to the world that he is going to defend democracy.
Speaking in the UK as part of his recent Fantasyland Tour, Albo sent tremors rattling through the corridors of power in Beijing and Moscow by declaring an absolute resolve to defend not only democracy but “democracy itself”’, whatever that means.
It’s a bit like saying that you are going to have steak tonight. Not any old steak, but “steak itself”.
Credit, however, where it’s due, and Albo has nailed his colours to the mast. What a man. What a warrior.
Does this mean defending democratic Taiwan against Chinese aggression and threatened invasion, increasing aid to democratic Ukraine and standing shoulder to shoulder with the only democracy that exists in the Middle East in the form of Israel?
Well, not exactly, because we don’t want to upset the Chinese, because we all know how cranky they can get if things don’t go their way.
God forbid they stop buying our lobsters and Grange Hermitage, and there’s no votes in helping Ukraine.
As for Israel, well that’s a tricky one.
If only the Israelis weren’t so touchy about terrorists murdering, torturing and raping their citizens, and if they didn’t take democracy so seriously life would be so much easier.
Defending democracy itself is no easy thing for a political warrior mindful of the Muslim vote in their electorate.
Anyone suffering under the undemocratic heel of brutal oppression which is about half the world could, on hearing Albo’s battle cry, be forgiven for being reminded of Winston Churchill’s memorable dismissal of an opponent as “a sheep in sheep’s clothing.”
Democracy, then, will be defended by Albo, which is nice but a bit like a plumber announcing, “I will fix the leaking tap! Not just the leak but the leak itself!” Of course you will, mate. It’s your job.
One of the tenets of democracy is transparency of government and one way of guaranteeing this is by giving citizens access to freedom of information.
Freedom, however, is a bit like democracy in meaning different things to different people and so to Attorney-General Michelle Rowland’s plan to overhaul our FOI laws.
Politicians and bureaucrats hate FOI for it allows Honest John Citizens and the media to lodge requests for documents which can reveal the incompetence, murky backroom deals and the lies pedalled as incontrovertible truth by politicians who would sell their first born for a five per cent lift in the opinion polls.
However, given Albo’s pledge to die in a ditch defending democracy, you would reckon that any move to amend FOI laws would be intended to make them more accessible to us all.
Quite the reverse as it turns out with the Centre for Public Integrity saying the changes risk “deliberately enshrining secrecy and obfuscation.”
“The Freedom of Information Amendment Bill 2025 represents an unprecedented and unjustified attack on the right of all Australians to access government information, which is an attack on the proper functioning of our democracy,” it said.
The Environmental Defenders Office which is funded by the taxpayer accused the government of attempting to “reduce access to government-held information, meaning this bill will be detrimental to good governance, public trust and democracy in Australia”.
“We know from our work with clients that public access to information is critical to securing and maintaining a healthy environment and enable people to engage in decisions,” it said.
The Australian Conservation Foundation has said the bill should not be passed as “barriers to information are barriers to the accountability of our elected government for critical decisions affecting nature and the climate”, while the Human Rights Law Centre said the changes were a “step in the wrong direction”.
Ms Rowland has defended the bill, claiming that it was designed to prevent “foreign actors” from trying to game the FOI system and to save public service resources from being used on frivolous applications.
Given that the Labor government has hired more than 40,000 extra public servants since it came to power, you might think that there might more than a few who could be pried from their working-from-home couches to process FOI applications.
It’s all about democracy, remember. Not just democracy, but “democracy itself”. Some days you don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
