by Clive Bibby
I rarely feel the need to publicly express my concerns about a politician who is in trouble — one senior journalist even came out on Sunday saying that Kiri Allan’s future as a Cabinet minister is hanging by a thread. Serious indeed.
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However, my involvement in this unfortunate episode, which doesn’t bode well for a government already on the ropes, is to try to put some perspective into the discussion and by so doing, remove it from the “lynch mob” environment that these reports about high-profile parliamentarians almost inevitably descend into.
And to ward off those who say my remarks are politically motivated — l reject that notion and point to my philosophy which is: “Politicians in high office should be judged solely on how they have performed in the position they have been elected or appointed to.”
That is the only way to determine whether the individual in question deserves a more respectful examination of their time at the top.
I say that because all politicians, especially those who occupy the highest office (President or Prime Minister) carry so much individual negative baggage, it becomes almost impossible to make comparisons that are fair or meaningful.
For example, Donald Trump, for all his faults, produced a record while President that was better or at least as good as most of his modern predecessors and certainly way better than his successor Biden. Yet he is condemned more for his personal indiscretions than for his time as President ensuring the safety of his people both physically and economically.
It is well to remember — we are all failed human beings.
Only Kennedy and perhaps Reagan could match the “Orange” Trump for competency as President, but even JFK had a reputation for moral bankruptcy that beat them all.
So, we are left trying to make sense of the accusations being levelled at Kiri Allan which really should have little influence on whether she stays or goes.
From my perspective, as a constituent struggling to survive under extreme pressure, she has more than been there for us at a time when it would have been understandable if she was too occupied attending to others worse off than ourselves.
Where we live, small things mean a lot when you are in survival mode.
It can be a simple act of kindness from someone we did not know or an agreement by creditors to defer payments until we are in a position to pay — these are things that those who live in the larger metropolitan areas often fail to understand.
We need help completing even the most basic activities and, in that context, meeting someone in a position to make it happen who is taking their responsibility for our plight seriously is a Godsend.
For us Kiri (even in the relatively insignificant part she played putting us in touch with people who can help) answered our cry for assistance by responding in the (for us) best way possible at the time.
She altered her busy schedule, made the trip off the beaten path, down the closed road, through the metre-deep silt to our home at the coal face in order to see it for herself.
We asked for nothing more but it was nice to have it happen when it was so unexpected. We are grateful and this is our way of returning the favour.
She is the one who now needs help, even if it is to ensure she is not judged unfairly when all the facts emerge.