Truth Swamping Pm

Illawarra Mercury

Tuesday August 10, 2004

Kerrie O'Connor

THERE is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; and there are tidal waves that can flush the most battened-down of governments out of a duplicitous comfort zone.

The call by 43 former military and naval brass, diplomats and bureaucrats for "truth in government" may represent the most courteous of tidal waves for the Howard Government.

Ignore the careful language of their weekend statement; this unprecedented public stance packs more punch in Howard's heartland than a gaggle of Michael Moore movies.

When former spy Andrew Wilkie resigned in protest over Australia's involvement in the war on Iraq, Mr Howard, Tony Abbott et al rode out the storm.

One disgruntled ex-spy does not a flood make. Yes, Wilkie made waves, but he was relatively easy to sideline, scapegoat and isolate.

We went to war on the argument that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. Wilkie played Cassandra, shouting loud and long that the "intelligence" this position was based on was spurious.

But he was just one voice. Mr Howard had already ignored an outpouring of public discontent in the lead-up to the war, expressed in the largest demonstrations since the Vietnam War.

"So what?" was Canberra's response - and a profound feeling of impotence and powerlessness set in within the community.

Those who had spoken out watched helplessly as our views were ignored and the war went ahead.

For those who cared to listen, a raft of documentaries, books, articles and radio programs progressively demolished the pro-war arguments of the Howard and Bush administrations.

Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 reached the widest audience. Some dismissed it as populist propaganda.

Yet its central tenet, that the argument for war was based on a lie, has been backed up again and again, in programs held together with far more scholarly glue than a mass audience would sit through.

Mr Howard will find it much harder to keep his head above water this time around and will not be able to dismiss this latest criticism as biased or rash.

My favorite quote from this affair comes from yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald, in an interview with Cavan Hogue, former high commissioner to Malaysia, ambassador to Thailand and the UN Security Council.

On the joint decision to sign the "truth in government" statement, Mr Hogue said: "We analyse things from experience. We're not a bunch of pinkos. There are Liberal, Labor and swinging voters among the signatories. If these people feel like this, it's not unreasonable to assume that people still in harness think like this."

Indeed they do. This storm has been brewing for several years, ever since the Tampa affair. It gained intensity with the now discredited "babies overboard" claims.

In the wake of these, Commodore Sam Bateman AM, retired from the Royal Australian Navy, told me Navy morale had been swamped.

Neither sailors nor top brass appreciated the blatant politicisation of their role.

Mr Howard can no longer get away with pleading "I didn't know" or "I was given poor advice".

Not good enough John. As the leader of the country, the buck stops with you.

What the weekend joint statement reveals is that a critical mass of conservative opinion has shifted publicly against the Government.

Mr Howard has survived many storms, but battening down the hatches won't work if the hull of the ship of state has been breached from within.

It is worth repeating the sentiments expressed in the weekend statement:

"We believe that a re-elected Howard Government or an elected Latham Government must give priority to truth in government.

"This is fundamental to effective parliamentary democracy.

"Australians must be able to believe they are being told the truth by our leaders, especially in situations as grave as committing our forces to war.

"We are concerned that Australia was committed to join the invasion of Iraq on the basis of false assumptions and the deception of the Australian people ... It is a matter for regret that the action to combat terrorism after 11 September, 2001, launched in Afghanistan, and widely supported, was diverted to the widely opposed invasion of Iraq.

" ... Terrorist activity, instead of being contained, has increased ... Above all, it is wrong and dangerous for our elected representatives to mislead the Australian people. If we cannot trust the word of our Government, Australia cannot expect it to be trusted by others.

"Without that trust, the democratic structure of our society will be undermined and with it our standing and influence in the world."

Hear, hear!

Tomorrow: Shirley Shead writes on asbestos - the silent killer