John Roskam from the Institute of Public Affairs highlights the failures of the fourth estate to hold our politicians (and other institutions) to account.
The silent majority are not content being silent any more. Across the world, the political grassroots are using their voice (and vote) to affect change.
In the United Kingdom, the Tory grassroots have used Conservativehome.com to change the policies and direction of the next government.
The Tea parties and protests against health care reforms in the United States have put Obama on notice that his stay in the White House could be a brief one. The spectacular result in Massachusetts that saw a republican senator elected in the strongly democrat state was a direct result of grassroots campaigns bringing discontent to the forefront of public awareness.
Last year saw the biggest grassroots political campaign by the centre-right arise to oppose Labor’s great green tax they misleadingly called the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. This unprecedented rejection by Liberal supporters of the direction that the Liberal Party leadership were taking resulted in both policy and leadership change.
Neither would have happened if not for a strong voice from the very heart of our nation.
The left of the political spectrum have been active in this public lobbying space for years. They concoct ‘independent’ groups with impressive names, little credibility and even less responsibility, and then claim endorsement for their crazy policies.
With little scrutiny by the mainstream media, their claims and statements often go unchallenged and regrettably often slip into the ‘everyone knows that’ category of public acceptance.
The centre-right haven’t been as active in rallying the troops to affect change or debunk the myths of the left. Individuals can speak up, but a community can be heard above even the shrillest cries of the political left.
But to do so requires an open and transparent discussion; a discussion that doesn’t revolve around the issues politicians want you to talk about but a discussion about the issues that are important to you.
Official party websites can’t provide a forum for such dialogue. There will always be the temptation to support the party line lest it be portrayed in the media as rebellion.
The new website Menzies House can offer such a forum.
It isn’t a moderate site or a conservative site or a libertarian site. It isn’t just for wets or just for dries. It is for everyone who identifies themselves as broadly supportive of a non-Labor agenda. After all, that is what Sir Robert Menzies did. He brought the non-Labor forces together and in doing so constructed a house that has delivered prosperity, stability and progress for our nation.
It is also a forum through which you can affect change similar to what has been achieved in the UK and USA; the sort of change that can influence the future direction of a nation and the policy agenda that will impact us all.
That’s why I support the concept behind Menzies House. It will help politicians (like me) to have a broader dialogue with many more Australians. It can provide a window into the soul of our nation and the very heart of our supporters.
Importantly, it can help reassure the many who are part of the hitherto ‘silent majority’ that there are others who share their views and concerns, their hopes and their dreams.
Cory Bernardi is the author of seven books and has been a member of the Australian rowing team, a publican, an investment portfolio manager and spent nearly 14 years as an Australian Senator.
