Flint ignites a light on truth
Melbourne Age May 2 2004
By Terry Lane Perspective
What a great week this has been for pseudo-Marxist cynics. We have laughed and cheered. The Spouse has chided us for not taking the affaire Flint seriously enough, but really?
I remind her of all those times she has poured scorn on my cynicism and admonished me for being, in her words, "a bit tough on politicians".
"Conspiracy theorist, hey?" I say, reminding her of the times she has suggested that I find schemes and plots where none exist.
Remember the words of Marx and his pal Engels: "The executive of the modern state is but a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie." Engels adds a helpful commentary: "By bourgeoisie is meant the class of modern capitalists . . ."
The malign genius of modern democratic government - something that Marx's utopian and dictatorial disciples never seemed to understand - is that you can have a biddable proletariat if you go to a little trouble to disguise the interests of the ruling class in a pretence that something is happening that is not really happening at all.
The greatest single stroke of genius of capitalist democracy has been the creation of the regulatory authority, such as the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA), or any of the other boards, commissions and tribunals that have been set up ostensibly to protect the public's interest against the depredatory tendencies of the rich and powerful.
The myth of the regulatory authority is that it is distanced from government and consists of disinterested persons motivated by the desire to do good for the people.
The Flint fiasco has exposed the truth at the core of the regulatory authority pea-and-thimble trick. Nothing is quite what it seems - except in the case of the ABA, where everything is exactly as it seems and we can see it as it is.
David Flint has let the side down by being too open and honest. He is partisan and proud of his Tory enthusiasms. He writes books about "elites", vigorously defends the monarchy and derides the ABC. We now know that he is at one with Mr A. Jones on matters of politics and society. He goes with the Prime Minister to a wedding in the Packer family, an honoured guest of the very man he is charged with restraining in the public interest. Mr A. Jones was also there. What a fun-filled fiesta that must have been.
I see that some are calling this a conflict of interest and are saying Mr Flint must resign in disgrace. Heaven forefend! He should stay on as chairman of the authority for as long as the Man of Steel remains Prime Minister. Mr Flint is the very model of a modern partisan authority chairman. No dissembling. No pretence. He has, in a stroke, made the ABA more transparent (at last, a proper place to use that overworked cliche loved by mendacious politicians to justify keeping the citizens in the dark) than any other statutory authority.
When the time comes for the Man of Steel and Mr Flint to move on to their corporate rewards, the position of chairman of the ABA should be brought more into line with procedure in other professional regulatory boards and a member of the profession should be appointed to run the show. After all, doctors sit in judgement on doctors, lawyers on lawyers, stockbrokers on stockbrokers - why not broadcasters on broadcasters?
How about golden whistleblower, J. Laws, as next chairman of the authority? (Beware! Cynic's humour.)