"What I See, You See." In Chris Mullins' political thriller, A Very British Coup, the democratic-socialist prime minister, Harry Perkins, empowers the people by sweeping away all government secrecy. In the process, he makes it easier for his colleagues to resist the temptation to keep the media and the electorate in the dark. What a coup it would be if the Labour-NZ First-Green Government did the same.
ONE OF THE MOST MEMORABLE aspects of A Very British Coup,
is the left-wing prime minister’s commitment to open government. Thirty years
may have passed since the television adaptation of Chris Mullin’s novel was
broadcast on Britain’s Channel 4, but with a left-wing pacifist Leader of the
Opposition poised to become the UK’s next prime minister, the series has taken
on a surprisingly contemporary feel. Certainly, the question of how much of the
day-to-day business of government should remain hidden from public view has
become a very live issue in New Zealand.
Much has been made of the National Party Opposition’s
“spamming” of the new Labour-NZ First-Green government. The thousands of
written parliamentary questions piling-up in Ministers’ offices have been
decried as a cheap political stunt by the Government’s supporters, but other
commentators, determined to uphold the principles of government accountability
and transparency have defended the Opposition’s actions.
When A Very British Coup first screened here, back in
the late 1980s, I very quickly came to think of it as a wonderful primer in how
a genuinely left-wing Labour government should behave. Nowhere was the
radicalism of the fictional British PM, Harry Perkins, more vividly on display
than in the way he treated his government’s “official information”.
Rather than force political journalists and Opposition MPs
to file endless OIA requests and ask endless parliamentary questions, Harry
simply announced that what he saw, they would see, also. Everything, from his
daily appointments schedule, to Cabinet briefing papers and departmental
reports, would be released to the news media, and the public, immediately and
without distinction. Government secrecy would become a thing of the past.
Chris Mullin (a British Labour Party MP, as well as a
thriller writer) was making a truly revolutionary point about political
information.
The moment a government decides that some information is
simply too sensitive, problematic and/or embarrassing to be shared with the
voters, it is entering into a conspiracy against the public good. Why shouldn’t
ordinary citizens know who Cabinet Ministers are meeting with – and the nature
and content of their discussions? It is, after all, in their name that
government decisions are made, and their money which pays for them. Surely,
only a politician with something to hide would raise objections to a policy of
full and immediate disclosure?
Civil servants and lobbyists would, of course, object that
by exposing their interventions to public scrutiny such a government would very
quickly end up being told only those things that their advisers would be happy
to see on the front page of the NZ Herald. To which I would respond:
“And what’s wrong with that?” If their advice is well-founded in fact and
devoid of any hint of self-interest, then what possible objection could they
have to the public being copied in? Surely, it would only be those offering
tendentious, ideologically-driven advice to ministers, or appealing to them on
their private clients’ behalf, who would find such a radical open government
policy objectionable?
The old adage: “Information is Power”; imposes a real moral
burden on democratic socialist politicians. If democracy is all about giving
power to the people, then withholding information from them is, objectively, an
act of deliberate disempowerment.
A radical open government policy, such as that adopted by
Harry Perkins in A Very British Coup, offers something else to
democratic socialist politicians: protection from themselves. Unable to hide
their words and deeds from the public, deviating from their own principles
and/or their party’s policies becomes much more difficult!
Harry Perkins, unlike Steve Maharey, could never quietly
abandon a policy with the cynical observation that it was “just one of those
things you say in Opposition and then forget about in Government”. His radical
open government policy was, at once, a means of further empowering the people
who elected him, and of making sure they were governed by decent and more
honest politicians.
No wonder the Establishment was so desperate to bring him
down!
This essay was
originally posted on The Daily Blog
of Tuesday, 28 November 2017.
Open government is great in theory but not such a good idea in practice...why..well for starters putting everything out into the public domain also ensures your opponents (political and others) are also fully informed...and now have a handy stick to beat you with..
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more. But wasn't it Roger Douglas and company who promised us transparency? How did that work out?
ReplyDeleteWhat is said in opposition is not always possible to implement in government, but as long as it is openly explained the public would usually accept it.
ReplyDeleteThere has to be knowledge of background informing the opinions and decisions that would flow from the public and others on revealed political information from a pollie with transparent intentions.
ReplyDeleteVoters would need to perhaps annually take a vow on the bible or some other Good Book, that they would judge matters under two different hats. One as to whether the political action or inaction would be good for the country, and the second as to whether it would be good for that individual. And then they would have to define what 'good' meant in this context, and whether it would add to the lustre of the human race, or simply man and woman's animal-like expediency.
Could this somehow be done or attempted do you think? Forcing people to sit a test and when successful, giving them a dedicated code number and they could put in their tuppence worth to the pollies on the revealed information. That would mean less knee-jerk response and perhaps some of that combined wisdom of the masses could flow effectively and usefully.
Wise comments. But although I tend to agree with total transparency as it is libertarian and I like them lot, I know it does not work.
ReplyDeleteIt stifles government work which is not all a conspiracy. Much of what they do is just 'plumbing' so best not done in public. But other things should be open. Boring I know but there is a balance, for our good. It's a bummer.
Why won't the COL release the coalition agreement (as National have)? They said they would, and are now backtracking. Obviously, there must be something to hide. So far, this government has been anything but open and transparent, but why am I not surprised. It's not a good look from an already shaky looking admin. This is what MMP has delivered; A coalition of losers who are spinning, lying and backtracking as every day goes by. So far, Richard Prebble is being proven right in his prediction of what this govt would be like...
ReplyDeleteAnon Nat.
Good movie;
ReplyDeleteNew Zealand's present Establishment seems to be very secret. WHY.
What's going on?.
Is time near?.
BOOMB!.
An insightful Post @ Chris Trotter. In my view anyway...
ReplyDeleteI want to take a moment here to remember Metiria Turei, who’s blatant and uncomfortable honesty sunk her. By liars, swindlers, crooks, cheats and a cadre of organic, homespun, tie died, hand knitted hypocrites and fuck you all for your cowardice as YOU have YOUR hands out for a generous share of OUR money while you achieve nothing.
NZ/Aotearoa.
Size of UK but with 4.7 mil’.
Excessively rich in vital and essential resources with a sound export history.
Yet broke-as Bro.
Why?
Secrets. That’s why.
Secret little deals done in secret little offices done here and off-shore by politicians well oiled by lobbyists.
From massey, fraser, holland, holyoak, nash, rowling, muldoon,lange,palmer,moore,bolger,shipley,clark,key,english......
What about you Adern? Are you going to be a prime minister with Secrets too?
Many little secrets. $-Billions and $-billions of dirty little $ecret$.
The ones not yet dead ( For you @ Greywarbler https://youtu.be/eJlN9jdQFSc ) watch on as people rot in the gutters, as kids go to slavery-school, as old people work-worn out and live in poverty. Those above fuckers can watch on.... With their little secrets.