Morrison Government: Secrets, Smokescreens and a “Marketing Department”

(Op-ed) It’s a grim reality that Australians need to face…The government is no longer a government for governing, but it is a marketing department, led by a marketing director, which employs the same skill sets that advertising uses — Smoke screens, and secrecy when it comes to the truth, and this is becoming even more evident with the current estimates sessions that are happening in Canberra.

The Australian marketing department, i.e. The Government doesn’t want you to know what is actually going on. There are at least 258 unanswered questions. And this is rising by the day.

A classic example of this secrecy and smokescreen, which has been perpetrated by the government can be seen in the way that the government has investigated the sports grants program and its role in the lead up to the election.

The Prime Minister (also the marketing leader of Australia’s marketing department), only asked his former chief of staff, and now secretary of his department to look into the Minister’s conduct instead of investigating the broader issue of the misuse of taxpayers money under the grants program. And this was further exacerbated when yesterday it was confirmed at Senate Estimates that no staff in the Prime Minister’s Office were interviewed about the Sports Grants Program, because the report terms of reference issued by the Prime Minister were very narrow with the clear intent of hiding the truth behind a massive smokescreen.

To maintain this smokescreen and deception of the Australian people, The Prime Minister has established himself as a one person Cabinet Committee, which is called the Cabinet Office Policy Committee. With the unfortunate acronym of COP Committee has just one member – The Prime Minister.

The role of COP is both a device for internal control and a vehicle to shield and hide documents from parliamentary security and freedom of information laws. To build and maintain the smoke screen.

The Australian Labor Party says in a statement, “We know Mr. Morrison doesn’t trust his cabinet colleagues, and this one person Cabinet Committee proves it. Even Caligula sought the counsel of his horse. Mr. Morrison thinks he needs no advice, except his own.”