Scott Morrison leaves no legacy to be proud of, but he does leave a sour taste

Brett Barrett writes: The eminent, deceased Australian historian Manning Clark once quipped that history is written by the winners (“The gospel of Scott Morrison is his most poisonous legacy”). So what will Scott Morrison’s legacy be? Clearly that will depend on who wins the history, and particularly the cultural debates that presently mar Australian politics.

This goes to the point of Morrison’s political legacy because virtually everything about the public man and his politics is shaped by what I would say is an obsessive back-reach to his predecessor, John Winston Howard.

It was Howard who began the brazen cultural wars in our nation from the moment he came to power in 1996. The kernel of Morrison’s legacy began there. His memory will be of one who championed the same. Selfish, incendiary and with a nasty, little suburban-lawyer-based thinking, the mentality writ large across the very diverse, interesting and real nation that Australia is.

Morrison continued the hate of “the other”, inflected by the same mortal fear of self-analysis and self-deprecation which marred Howard’s prime ministership. There was the toxic mix of far-right politics and attitudes, a misdirected Christian chutzpah, and an arrogance and selfishness that can really only be compared with what happened in America with Donald Trump and Trumpism, which occurred at roughly the same time.

His legacy, then, will be one of self-willing arrogance and a character of defiance to the end of self-protection (and that of “his” family). In other words, no legacy. Instead, his will be a distant memory of a small man, following other small men.

Lisa Jones writes: Morrison actively honed the narrative of demonising welfare recipients into a grand, 1984-style meta-narrative: we as a society are at war with welfare recipients; we have always been at war with welfare recipients; this is a good and necessary thing for the sustainability and health of the state.

In a world where we can demonise the most powerless, yet treat the wealthy (including business — almost any business) as politically untouchable because they have relatively better credentials for the sacrosanct economy (which actually doesn’t exist without the people!), we no longer have a democracy.

Morrison’s legacy is sheer plutocracy. And it is going to take a great deal of effort, courage, tears and sweat for us to remember who we used to be.

David Simpson writes: Hopefully Scott Morrison’s legacy will be a positive one, one which provides an example for future governments of all flavours of what not to do. The dismal performance of him and his government looks like keeping the Coalition in opposition for the next two or three elections — not something any party would wish to emulate.

Rodney Green writes: Let’s start with Morrison’s utter disrespect for the Australian people. There was a lack of anything like an energy policy for his entire time in government. He failed to manage the detention of COVID-positive people, and hand-balled everything to do with quarantine to the states. He failed to have enough vaccines on hand when needed. He told Australians stuck overseas that they would be brought home by Christmas.

All in all, a bullshit artist who did not govern for the good of Australia.

Joseph Ceccato writes: When I watched footage of Morrison driving into the fire-ravaged community of Cobargo three years ago and trying to shake the hand of a firefighter, I was gobsmacked. Then when I heard that he came in an entourage of SUVs and didn’t bring even a single bottle of water or a scrap of food, I was filled with disgust and rage.

Here was a man whose only interest was self-promotion. He didn’t give a damn about the people of Cobargo or Australia, just self-interest and looking after the wealthy. His governance over robodebt and his position on climate denial, to name just a few, is testament to that self-interest. 

His only legacy is to show that most Australians and the media have also lost their conscience. Why could so few Australians see what the man really stood for? 

Bob Pearce writes: While I try to avoid American politics I can see parallels with what happened under Morrison and I can see no way to right those wrongs. Like Trump, Morrison and co showed little regard for the law and succeeded in taking Australia to places that those working on Federation never imagined possible.

Australia needs to revisit our constitution to update it by taking into consideration the changes that have evolved over hundreds of years. Unfortunately the Voice referendum shows how all-but-impossible that is.

John Hamer writes: Morrison’s legacy will be our lasting memory of the worst prime minister in Australian history.

A crying shame

Urda Herbst writes: I am one of Australia’s seniors who has spent a lifetime interested in history, politics and psychology (“Australian politics suffers from a new shamelessness”). In my youth I was acutely ashamed of my German heritage, and I loved what Australia offered. My family received amazing assistance as a migrant — I received a university education without a debt, I purchased a house that I could afford, and I’ve lived a good life. Politicians resigned when they showed a lack of judgment, and my bank manager knew my name. It was an era when integrity was valued and to be an Australian was an honour and privilege. Even flying with Qantas made me feel proud. 

How things have changed. Now to be an Australian is cringeworthy. We make life hard for migrants and impossible for refugees and in 2023 are still debating if we dare to vote Yes to give Indigenous Australians a Voice. Our kids leave university with a massive debt, housing is unaffordable for the young, the gap between the rich and the poor is growing daily and our governments on both sides support policies that ensure this continues. Corruption in politics is now normal and accountability has been replaced with blaming. Even spinning the narrative has become an art of its own. I am no longer a proud Australian. 

Barry Welch writes: The two most gutless acts by Australian politicians are: Morrison running away and hiding from flood victims in Lismore and Peter Dutton being too scared to attend the Garma Festival because there would be Yes supporters there.

Morrison and Dutton don’t stand by their convictions because they have no convictions to stand by. In contrast when the rabid right-wing Convoy of No Confidence mob turned up outside Albanese’s electorate office, he went out, fronted them, and he took them on.

The Coalition leaders have gone a deep shade of yellow since Howard took on the gun lobby, bulletproof vest and all.

Marcia Church writes: I’m not only ashamed of the politicians but I’m becoming increasingly ashamed to be an Australian. For years my family laughed at me because of my patriotic feelings (eleventh-generation Aussie with Indigenous links as well) and the love and respect I’ve had for my country and its peoples, as a whole — for all its ups and downs, highs and lows.

But everything changed for the worse, in my opinion, from when Howard was elected, but more so after Morrison became prime minister: class division; welfare division; home and property division; education division; medical division… You name it, we have it, encouraged and fed by the major media players in the country who thrive it seems on discontent, hatred and greed.

I’m old, tired and in bad health and no longer accept that “Things are like this everywhere.” It’s here that matters, because that’s where we all are, all blindingly following like sheep to the slaughter, a bunch of fools intent on destroying the land and the lives of innocent people to suit their own narrative — and to hell with the “sheep”, the every-person and the land itself. When I read Morrison’s reply in Parliament on the robodebt report, I actually cried — for the ruined lives, the lost family members, the children — certainly not for the politicians who destroyed those lives, especially Morrison.

I’ve never been so disillusioned, disturbed, disgusted by what’s happened here in our once beautiful “lucky country” and yes, wholeheartedly ashamed at the utter shamelessness of our “elected politicians” as I’ve been over the past several years.

As for Anthony Albanese as prime minister? I never held much hope that he would bring about half of the changes he promised and I still don’t. They’re all career politicians after all, and all tarred with the same brush as far as I’m concerned.

Paulette Jones writes: Our politicians are getting away with being shameless because a large portion of our media landscape is shameless. But what on earth is the agenda? What is worth crippling our democracy? Money and power? I despair as we TikTok our way to oblivion.