PETER VAN ONSELEN: Anthony Albanese sinks to his very own ‘I don’t hold a hose’ moment

Spin, secrecy and passing on the money. These are the approaches that Team Albanese is increasingly using instead of taking responsibility for improving the government’s job.

A hallmark of Labour’s election victory would be the improvement in government after the ins and outs of the Morrison years.

However, the gap between what the new government says and what it promised before the elections is widening.

This week the Prime Minister was embroiled in a war of words with an anti-domestic violence campaigner. He tried to put the weekend saga behind him by claiming that what really matters are the actions taken to curb the scourge of domestic violence. Few would disagree.

But when Daily Mail Australia revealed that of the 500 emergency workers promised two years ago as part of a $165 million funding allocation, only 17 are active and actually working now, the Prime Minister took to morning radio to dismiss the discrepancy.

Remember when Scott Morrison (pictured) took no responsibility for controlling the bushfires?

Scott Morrison (pictured center) on holiday in Hawaii when Australia was on fire during the bushfires in late 2019

When asked on Thursday ‘why so few people were deployed?’ Albo replied, “Well, we’re not responsible for deploying them.” That’s where the ABC hearing ended, with Albo throwing the blame at the feet of the states.

It was buck passing 101. The Commonwealth allocated the funds to the State and Territory Government to do this. So he just blamed them, brushing his hands off. The Prime Minister’s responsible minister, Amanda Rishworth, did the same when responding to questions from Daily Mail Australia, refusing to tell us whether the dismal figure of 17 had risen in recent months.

Remember when Albo attacked Scott Morrison for his money during the bushfires? “I’m not holding a hose, mate” was the phrase Morrison used. It even featured in Labor attack ads. Is this really different?

Surely the federal Labor government will not simply give up if states – which have already received the money – do not continue to hire the promised staff? That’s just pathetic, especially when seven out of eight states and territories are Labor. Pick up the phone Albo!

Moreover, when announcing the policy, the Albanian government stressed the importance of the 500 new positions and set timelines for the delivery of the workers. Yet it now acts as if its responsibility for the program ended entirely when the checks were written and mailed.

If the money is out the door, but only 17 of the 500 new staff on the frontline of domestic violence are actively working, how can all that money do anything to tackle domestic violence? It just sits there. Is that also how this government casually diverts taxpayers’ money into other policy areas? Don’t you worry about it once it is allocated, put to good use? That’s a troubling possibility as we count down to budget week.

Then there’s the horrific bashing of 73-year-old Perth woman Ninette Simons, allegedly by a former inmate released into the community. Bail was not opposed by the Commonwealth and the Prime Minister has blamed the federal Community Protection Board for making the “wrong decision” when it agreed to remove the former detainee’s ankle monitor.

The horrific injuries of Ninette Simons (photo), allegedly inflicted by a released prisoner

“I think this is a wrong decision by the board, but they make the decisions,” Albo said. Buck passes again. Let alone that the government is responsible for the legal rules within which the board operates. The responsibility of the federal government, not the state governments.

CHEAT SHEETS

This week there were also revelations that briefing notes had been prepared showing bureaucrats had to answer to parliamentary committees how to avoid giving comprehensive answers.

An exercise in preventive cover-up. The cheat sheets, drawn up under the Prime Minister’s nose – in his parliamentary office – instruct senior civil servants on how to behave like spin doctors.

Before he was elected Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese said that “the Australian people deserve accountability and transparency, not secrecy.” It was a powerful attack on the Morrison government, deployed again and again by Team Albo in opposition.

Fast forward to today and as Prime Minister he is embracing the same approach, with the Prime Minister’s Office even putting the cynical tactic in writing as a guideline for bureaucrats who are supposed to be independent of political spin.

Albo’s office created a cheat sheet to help bureaucrats avoid answering Senate QTs (the Senate is pictured)

There is an argument that teaching lessons on how to be unclear when serving as chairman of Senate committees could be a slight to the chamber. At the very least, it goes against the principles of open government, as Albo said before the elections.

If this were to happen in a legal proceeding, it would be akin to tampering with witness statements, undoubtedly illegal actions.

Did the Prime Minister know this memo had been sent? If he didn’t, and let’s hope he doesn’t, will he condemn it and reverse the directive to prevent democratically elected members of parliamentary committees from getting tough answers? Will we find out who in his office saw fit to send out such a directive?