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Turnbull berates The Australian for promoting climate denial (independentaustralia.net)
submitted 3 years ago by to c/australia@aussie.zone
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News Corp’s blurring of news and views damaging society

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[–] 11 points 3 years ago (6 children)

Yeah I don't buy in to that "omg their hands were tied! They LITERALLY couldn't do ANYTHING about it!" when it comes to people in positions of power. When there's people out there with no power still willing to risk everything to stand up for what's right it's pretty lightweight to forgive people backing down on major issues when they're risking nothing more than the potential for a few extra dollars in their pocket.

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  • [–] 5 points 3 years ago (5 children)

    But if they stand up for what's right then they won't get reelected so they can actually make things better Our they could maybe actually do the right thing regardless, is not like Mal needed the pension to pay his mortgage.

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  • [–] 4 points 3 years ago (4 children)

    But if they stand up for what’s right then they won’t get reelected so they can actually make things better

    The dudes was literally the PM. If you're still making excuses from the top position in the country, you clearly weren't ever actually going to do anything.

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  • [–] 6 points 3 years ago (2 children)

    And he stopped being the PM the second he took a microstep on climate change. So that's really proof that he didn't have any real power.

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  • [–] 6 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    And it was the second time it's happened to him because he lost the shadow leadership on similar grounds.

    A lot of people shit on Turnbull because they think you can just do whatever you want with no repercussions when you're PM. But that is such a narrow minded way of thinking.

    We've got one of the most left leaning PMs in recent history right now who still needs to appease both sides of politics. You don't just get a blank cheque in a democracy.

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  • [–] 4 points 3 years ago

    A similar thing is happening with the stage 3 tax cuts and people thinking Albo can be an authoritarian dictator and just delete that policy since he's the PM, ignoring that it's a piece of policy that won the Coalition the unwinnable election of 2019.

    I'm no fan of the tax cuts myself, but he also can't just do what he likes as PM without consulting his colleagues and convincing the electorate. PMs are not dictators here and nor would we want them to be.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago

    To show you an extreme example, even literal dictators can't do whatever they please. Those in positions of power must either appease those who put them in that position, or be ousted for someone who will. They are bound by the system as much as anyone else. That's not to say that they can't have any influence of course, but the point is it's not that easy.

    Watch season 3 and 4 of The Wire if you're interested in watching an idealistic, "I'm gonna not be as bad as my predecessors" man become the mayor and then become a complete slave to the system. It's inevitable.

    You can also read this, it might help you realise that things are the way they are for reasons beyond malice sometimes, and we need to understand that if we want to have a chance at reforming anything: https://www.slatestarcodexabridged.com/Meditations-On-Moloch

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