Oath of office
THERE’S nothing wrong with taking annual leave.
There is no point ‘ banking it’ when you need to recharge the batteries. HR wants you to come back from holidays well-rested and ready for the next challenge.
So, who knew that a week in Hawaii could land anyone in so much hot water?
The problem is not with the ‘holiday’ — it’s the way the holiday was initiated.
You see, Scott took leave without informing his team.
Apparently he sent an SMS to ‘Albo’. He must have squared it with his 2IC, but those on the factory floor had no idea the bloke in the big chair was having his second overseas family holiday in six months. There was no announcement, no ‘out of office’ on the emails, so people began to feel embittered and the hashtag ‘ Where the bloody hell are you?’ took off.
Yes, Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s decision to fly to Hawaii with family and friends in the middle of a bushfire crisis (in the leadup to Christmas) was one of the most miscalculated political choices since Tony Abbott unilaterally brought back knights and dames.
The PM’s lack of transparency about leaving the country contradicted his carefully curated personal brand as ‘Australia’s best mate’.
In times of crisis, good mates don’t go missing, but that’s exactly what the ‘Daggy Dad’ did.
The bloke who runs water for the Wallabies packed his bags without even a post-it note of explanation, and this absence created a vacuum in the public discussion about bushfires, community and climate crisis. The gap was immediately backfilled with confusion and speculation.
Despite reports he was on a plane bound for the US, the PM’s office denied he was in Hawaii.
Some said he was visiting troops. There were rumours his father was ill, and the Morrison clan were apparently on “a mercy dash”.
But eventually — as is the case with so many public scandals — the facts were uncovered via a pic on social media account of “some random”. PM Morrison was pictured flashing the Hawaiian “hang loose” sign with a couple of smiling Aussie tourists; T-shirt, board shorts, baseball cap and cheesy grin. Not a good look when the east coast was choking.
This was when it blew apart.
The PM’s office announced the PM was indeed on a well-earned family break, and then the man himself did an interview on the radio from Hawaii to explain how he would be home as soon as possible, but it was “complicated”, and it was going to be difficult to get a plane back home.
Which begged the question: What kind of leader goes on holiday somewhere so remote that you can’t return immediately in the case of emergency?
Nobody thinks the PM should work seven days a week, 52 weeks of the year. But it’s time he acknowledged that job he sought demands a lot more than being a plumber or CEO of a local real estate firm.
It requires truth, transparency, leadership and devotion to duty. This is why they ask you to swear an oath on the Bible.
“I, (insert name), do swear that I will well and truly serve the people of Australia … I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second. So help me, God.”
That’s why you get the keys to The Lodge and Kirribilli. That’s why your family has a taxpayerfunded security detail and expense accounts, and you garnish a six-figure pension for life.
When he won the election he said he believed in miracles. He told the country: “I will burn for you”. Well, now is the time.
Volunteer firefighters missed out on Christmas this year even though they are ‘entitled’ to a break. Australia is entitled to a PM who is prepared to put the interests of his country before the interests of ‘Jen and the kids’.
It’s going to be a long, hot summer for Australia — and an even longer fire season for the Prime Minister.
Ross Mueller is a freelance writer and director