Analysis: Morrison, the political animal who missed the political opportunity to lead | GMegalogenis
Morrison has a ferocious work ethic and a Kevin Rudd-like propensity to micro-manage. But he felt no immediate compulsion to intervene while the country burnt because he didn’t see the early start, and epic scale of the fires, or the smoke choking Sydney and Canberra as a cause for his concern. Even if it was, what could he do? The responsibility for fighting fires belonged to the states. That was his argument before he went to Hawaii in mid-December.
The window for national action did not close with those setbacks. The question was whether leaders and their parties were prepared to step up again when circumstances changed. A common thread between these two examples was the ability of Howard and Keating to cross the normal language barriers of politics to reveal their true idealistic selves. This was a critical element in inspiring colleagues to continue the fight when vested interests pushed back, or the party base had second thoughts.For Keating, Gareth Evans, the government leader in the Senate, and Bill Kelty, the secretary of the ACTU, were invaluable lieutenants.
Mabo, in particular, faced a perfect storm of opposition. The Coalition refused to negotiate, forcing Labor to deal with a Senate that had just dismantled the budget. State Labor and Coalition governments were running scare campaigns, warning without evidence that native title could apply in suburban backyards, and talkback radio seemed to be giving voice to every racist in the country. And yet both sides are grateful that Keating prevailed.
But he wasted the best part of a month resisting the call. When he finally accepted his burden, his public language remained painfully inadequate. He lacked the clarity of conviction that came so easily to Howard, Keating and Hawke in previous crises because he hadn’t given the issue enough thought beforehand to recognise a tipping point. He had to be hounded into doing his job, and humiliated again until he found his voice.
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