The Dreyfus Files - The Age
In modern day politics, a birth certificate or a birthday cake can bring a politician undone.
US President Barack Obama said this week that ''we don't have time for this kind of silliness. We've got better stuff to do'', after he was pressured in to publishing his birth certificate to quash rumours that he wasn't really born in the United States.
After incessant questions about his birthplace led by TV personality Donald Trump, whipped into a frenzy on US talkback radio and culminating in a poll that showed that only 38 per cent of Americans believed Obama was born in the US, the President decided to publish his long-form birth certificate.
The certificate confirmed what the President and every publicly available document had already confirmed, that Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, and therefore is a US citizen.
US newspapers are reporting his decision to publish grew out of a moment two weeks earlier, when the President delivered a speech about the budget. As he watched the television coverage, he found pundits were talking about something else: where he was born.
A senior administration official reportedly explained: "Finally, it was painfully obvious to him and to all of us, the debate was starting to be crowded out by this lunacy."
Back here in Australia, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has been travelling the country seeking to do some crowding out of his own.
He flew to Whyalla for a press conference on Wednesday, and flew out that same day. He came to tell the workers and families of one of South Australia's largest regional centres that they should fear the future, because if Australia moves to address climate change, their jobs will be at risk and their town will become a 'ghost town' and 'economic wasteland'.
Mr Abbott got what he came for, making headlines with a one-liner about wallets and cleanliness, leaving a trail of worry and confusion in his wake.
The next day I spoke to Andrew Male, the host of ABC North and West SA's regional breakfast program to try and put right what Mr Abbott had said.
Also on Male's show, was Scott Martin, Whyalla organiser for the AWU, who summed up what he thought Tony Abbott was up to. "As far as Tony Abbott's visit, I think he is drumming up a lot of hysteria and look it's a pure vote getting adventure for him. There's no way Tony Abbott would have come to Whyalla if he didn't think he could get some votes out of it. He's never been to places like Whyalla or the Pilbara in his life."
But Scott Martin went on to say: "But we're more concerned as a union about our members and how it impacts their lives and the problem we've got at the moment is we need some satisfaction. We need some finer detail, we need to know exactly how this is going to impact the workforce in the industry."
Scott Martin is right to ask questions on behalf of his members, and that's why the government is working with unions, with business and with industry to develop a carbon price, and the assistance package that will go with it.
But Tony Abbott's campaign is not about fact, it's about distraction. It is based on untruths and a desire to crowd out the genuine debate. And he's proven to be a master at it.
In President Obama's press conference this week, he gave a warning about this kind of politics. ''If we just make stuff up and pretend that facts are not facts, we are not going to be able to solve our problems if we get distracted by side shows and carnival barkers."
As the world faces up to the global challenge of climate change, and as we collectively emerge from the biggest shock to the world's financial system since the Great Depression, it's right that we engage in vigorous political debate. That's the only way to make sure we're getting major reforms right.
But as Australia takes the bold steps towards a low carbon economic future, Tony Abbott would do Australians a better service by stepping away from the carnival tent and on to the main stage.
