Joe Aston鈥檚 accusation in his new book聽聽that Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was chummy with disgraced former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce, and received flight upgrades on request, is adding to the public distrust towards politicians.
础濒产补苍别蝉别鈥檚听聽is that he declared these perks; his supporters have been quick to point to Coalition MPs who also enjoyed upgrades. Opposition leader聽Peter聽Dutton used the private jet of Australia鈥檚 richest billionaire Gina Rinehart on聽.
The "other pollies get perks too" excuse doesn鈥檛 pass the pub test, just as "my mum lived in public housing" didn鈥檛 take the sting from the headlines about the PM鈥檚 $4.3 million real estate purchase.
However, it is reinforcing the growing distrust of politicians and the political system.
础听聽to a 2020聽聽into nationhood, national identity and democracy reported that 74% of those surveyed believed politicians 鈥渓ook after themselves and their mates, at the expense of the public interest鈥 and that trust in government was at an all-time low. 聽聽
It said many 鈥渁re worried that interest groups with the resources or connections to lobby and influence politicians get special treatment鈥.
A public survey showed 56% of respondents had 鈥減ersonally witnessed or suspected鈥 public officials 鈥渕aking decisions that favoured a business or individual who gave them political donations or support鈥. It said the number was higher among those working in federal government.
The Senate inquiry heard that 68% of politicians had declared corporate-sponsored hospitality or travel and 7% accepted overseas trips sponsored by a foreign government or agency.
It also heard that, in the previous decade, around a quarter of former federal MPs or assistant ministers have taken up roles with special interests, including in the tobacco, mining and weapons鈥 industries.
More recent surveys by聽聽show a continuing decline in trust in public institutions, including scientific institutions like CSIRO, universities, health departments, the police and court system, the public service and state and federal governments 鈥 the last being the most distrusted.
Essential Research found that global corporations are even聽.
Its October survey found 21% 鈥渢otally distrust鈥 the federal government and 42% have 鈥渘ot much trust鈥, while 30% 鈥渢otally distrust鈥澛爄nternational corporations and 46% have 鈥渘ot much trust鈥.
This well-founded distrust comes after decades of privatisation, tax cuts, subsidies and concessions for the corporate rich that has corrupted public institutions. The rich benefit at the expense of the common good, the climate crisis being one of the strongest examples.
Labor and the Coalition, the traditional parties of government, completely agree on this neoliberal economic course.
A bipartisan generation of neoliberal politicians has increasingly abandoned the pretence of propriety, often appearing puzzled at why the public should be so upset about their shameful eagerness to get to the trough.
The majority belief that corporate interests dictate the direction of government may be a result of decades of neoliberalism but, in reality, it long predates this.
The system of supposedly democratic parliamentary rule has its origins in a system of more naked class rule.
The first parliaments were to represent the owners of property and not the majority of citizens. Universal suffrage was only gradually won, through struggle, hundreds of years later. The South Australian Legislative Council was elected on a property-based franchise until 1973!
As the vote was extended, property owners developed other ways to make sure that the elected government continued to defend their interests.
Numerous small ways of co-opting or corrupting politicians exist: every perk, privilege and corporate donation is part of a system of 鈥済olden chains鈥 that ensure the politicians and heads of government departments and other public institutions (including the police and armed forces) serve the ruling class.
We鈥檝e seen the conga line of PMs trooping to the United States to pay homage to Rupert Murdoch 鈥 underlining the power of the old and new media monopolies.
But the biggest of these golden chains is the billionaires鈥 threat to withdraw their capital. In the era of globalised monopolies, this is called 鈥渃apital flight risk鈥.
There are good reasons for the growing distrust of the political system. However, in absence of a strong progressive alternative to the major capitalist parties, that distrust can build the conditions for the rise of far-right populism, as we are seeing in Europe and the US.
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