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Showing posts from 1996

Lobbying: Speech by Richard Farmer to conference organised by Victorian Branch of the Liberal Party, November 1996

Thank you for inviting me here today and thank you for the description in your brochure as "Richard Farmer - government relations consultant". That was very polite of you. Whenever I describe myself as a lobbyist there is always something of an embarrased pause so becoming a government relations consultant suits me just fine. In my trade we understand why lavatory cleaners became sanitary inspectors. For one with my political background, a little to the left, or perhaps more libertarian, than most of you here, it is indeed a privilege to be invited to a function organised by the Victorian Branch of the Liberal Party and, because I was once described by a Minister of the Howard Government as "the lobbyist of last resort" I can only assume the reason for the invitation is that every other ... government relations consultant ... in the country - many of them former workers for the Liberal not the Labor Party - is actually out earning a living. That being so, I am

Politics, lies and promises by Simon Longstaff

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I suspect that very few people enjoy telling a deliberate lie. Yet, if history is anything to go by, a reasonable part of what is promised during the federal election campaign will turn out to be impractical (or unpolitic) to deliver. Whoever wins, we might reasonably expect to count the usual list of broken election promises in a few years' time. This is one reason why politicians may strenuously seek to avoid making too many specific commitments. Another is that, like most of us, they would prefer not to be locked into positions that limit their freedom once safely ensconced on the treasury benches. I also suspect that very few people enjoy being called a liar. So we might look for evasion and equivocation. Indeed, anything to avoid giving an uncompromisingly straight answer that could be used to identify a contradiction at a later date. So, we can expect plenty of ambiguity and a volume of ‘weasel words’. In these conditions, it will be just as important to take note of wha