Political self-harm brings collateral damage to the party

The internet has become the global equivalent of Hansard — a lasting record with minefields aplenty for unsuspecting politicians.

Scott Morrison was pinged last week for saying something that contradicted what he had said a decade ago. A decade is more than enough to be able to change your mind and more than enough to forget what you may have previously said.

READ MORE: Labor on attack as PM backs Angus Taylor

We love to rubbish our political class as being inferior, yet we expect them to have the memory of an elephant. Our frustration with politicians is writ large in the drama centred on Angus Taylor, the Minister for Energy. This is your typical political scandal. Taylor failed the detail test and tried to pretend he hadn’t. As the old saying goes, the cover-up is always worse than the scandal.

Had Taylor possessed the good sense to put his hand up, acknowledge his error and apologise, Labor would have been lucky to stretch its question time on him into a second day. By opting to plead not guilty, Taylor sentenced himself to more pain and humiliation.

Even if Taylor was innocent of any wrongdoing, and I am far from convinced he is, by allowing him to be the focus of all that negative attention, he did himself and the government considerable damage.

In politics, self-harm rarely ceases at the door of the original offender. It has a tendency to spread like a virus through the ranks of those friendly with the accused. Morrison by now would be defending Taylor through gritted teeth.

On Saturday, I attended a dinner in honour of Armenian National Day. The dinner was also attended by Australia’s most successful person of Armenian heritage, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

If you can’t do well in front of your own devoted crowd, you wouldn’t be able to rise up the political ladder to the very top rung like Gladys has done. She showed why she is so difficult to beat. She is scandal-free, determined and single-minded. She is also a superb manager of her cabinet. Nary a whiff of dissent emanates from her colleagues. What’s more, she shows no signs of stopping. There is a confidence that comes from being unassailable and she is revelling in that now.