Jeff Kennett says voters want strong government with a simple vision — not ‘visionless’ pollies
POLITICAL elder Jeff Kennett has blasted the current of Australian politics, declaring “We are visionless” as he demands governments start to plan to the year 2050.
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JEFF Kennett has issued a blistering assessment of the current state of Australian politics, declaring: “We are visionless” as he demanded governments start to plan ahead to the year 2050.
In an exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph, the former Victorian premier called for policymakers to show leadership over an electorate that had been left floundering.
But he warned it wouldn’t be easy.
Mr Kennett, who was interviewed as part of the Daily Telegraph’s Project Sydney — Bradfield campaign, said electorates often chose not to reward good governments.
Pointing to recent elections in New Zealand where John Key led until recently, and to Angela Merkel’s Germany, he said: “The sad thing is even those two very good governments did not recently gain sufficient support at the polls to govern in their own right. It doesn’t augur well, for any state election here in Australia, nor does it augur well for the federal government.”
However, he singled out NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and her predecessor Mike Baird for rare praise given their commitment to Mr Baird’s bold state asset sales plan which is currently funding the state’s major infrastructure overhaul.
His overall advice to leaders was: “give the people the leadership they’re craving and crying out for. “Articulate it simply, advocate it strongly and consistently, then you’ve got a chance.
“No point getting in the car and turning on the engine and putting your foot on the accelerator if you don’t know where you’re going.
“Not everyone will like what you are trying to do but if they have an understanding as to why you’re doing it, and as long as you deliver on that over a period of time, you’ve got a chance.”
In today’s political arena he cautioned; “no one knows why politicians are doing what they are doing, where it’s meant to lead us and what it’s going to deliver”.
He said his “great worry” over the failure of good governments to reap success at the polls was that it could pave the way for Labor to take power at the next state election in March 2019.
“The very thought — and there’s always a chance — that Labor could return to office in NSW after all that they did and they represented in those last years, is absolutely frightening.”
“It really says these people — and so many of their members are corrupt, so many are in jail — but within a very short period of time they’ve been forgiven and they’re back in office.
“You have a sovereign risk in terms of representation to people beyond our shores.”
The recently reinstated chairman of the Hawthorn AFL club bemoaned the legacy of “a society that is so complacent” and “visionless”.
“In the old days we used to say in elections ‘It’s all about the economy stupid’. For me, it’s all about the vision, stupid,” he said.
Mr Kennett criticised all governments, along with the federal opposition, for failing to set out a plan for communities to thrive through to 2050 — just 32 years from now.
He said his granddaughter was aged four and 32 years was “a third of her life ... what are we trying to create for her and all of her generation?”
He rated the performance of the NSW government a five-and-a-half or six out of 10, on par with Victoria, but ahead of Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
He praised the “great legacy” of Mr Baird and then-treasurer Ms Berejiklian in conducting the audit on the state’s assets and using the proceeds of the subsequent sale to balance the budget and invest in infrastructure.
“I was up in Sydney a couple of weeks ago and a taxi driver was complaining to me about George St light rail construction and I said: ‘Mate, that project is not being built for today, it’s being built for your comfort, your business’s comfort and the community’s comfort for 50 years beyond when it is completed and we have to put up with short-term disruption’.”
Premier Berejiklian who took over “unexpectedly” from Mr Baird in January in “difficult circumstances” and was doing an “honourable job”, Mr Kennett said.
Ms Berejiklian had inherited tough issues, including the greyhounds ban and backflip and the council amalgamations backlash. He said the wind-back of amalgamations was a “shandy”.
“It surprised me the government didn’t go and abolish the lot (of councils), and say: ‘This hasn’t worked as it should have, we’re doing away with it’, rather than only try and address half of it. That was a shandy that again caused confusion, reduced confidence, had people fighting over issues that didn’t matter.”
JEFF KENNETT
ON INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS: In a taxi in Sydney recently Kennett lectured the driver who had complained about George Street light rail road works: “I said mate, that project is not being built for today, it’s being built for your comfort, your business’s comfort and the community’s comfort for 50 years beyond when it is completed and we have to put up with short term disruption”.
ON VISION IN POLITICS: In the old days we used to say in elections ‘It’s all about the economy stupid’. For me, it’s all about the vision, stupid. Give the people the leadership they’re craving and crying out for. No point getting in the car and turning on the engine and put your foot on the accelerator if you don’t know where you’re going.
ON COUNCIL AMALGAMATIONS: It surprised me that the government didn’t go and abolish the lot, and say, this hasn’t worked as it should have, we’re doing away with it, rather than only try and address half of it. That was a shandy that again caused confusion, reduced confidence, had people fighting over issues that didn’t matter.
ON NSW LABOR: The very thought, and there’s always a chance, that labor could return to office in NSW after all that they did and they represented in those last years is absolutely frightening.
ON FEDERAL POLITICS: The confidence deficit due to the lack of vision is Australia wide. And it’s particularly the case with the federal government and the federal opposition. They just do not see beyond today.