Making Arses of Themselves

Australian politicians and media have an enviable record when it comes to telling it as they see it. None of those coy double standards that typify other, comparable, countries.
In Australian politics a prick is a prick, or worse. And an Arse, as the NSW Planning Minister confirmed, is an arse.
The straight shooting Sartor fell foul of all and sundry, not for the first time, for his robust, down to earth tongue. The former Lord Mayor of Sydney had previously berated the current Lord Mayor and Town Hall staff via telephone. His choice epithets, in that instance, had been recorded and played back for all to hear.This time out sartor cut out the middleman, so to speak. He got straight to the point on Koori (Aboriginal) radio to challenge one of their leaders: "I'm glad he wrote this long letter - got him off his backside for a change. He won't like that much, but I should say that to him more. Get off your backside, Mick, and bring your black arse in here to talk to me about it," Mr Sartor said.
In his public apology, Sartor admitting he had "stuffed up" after he told the Aboriginal Housing Company's chairman, Mick Mundine, on radio to "bring his black arse" in to talk about a dispute over the redevelopment of the Block in Redfern, Sydney.
I’ve already referred, in a previous post, to an extremely robust car phone conversation between a former Premier of Victoria, Jeff Kennett, and former Australian foreign Affairs Minister Andrew Peacock. The expletive laden conversation is something of a classic of the country’s political culture.
Kennett has felt comfortable using robust, if not plain offensive, language in public discourse. He defended his use of ‘pricks’ by pointing out that William Shakespeare used this word ‘well and often’. Of course Shakespeare was never a member of parliament, but I don't suppose that matters.
Of course, some would say ‘culture’ is hardly the word to describe political language in the wide brown land. Former Federal opposition leader and current federal whiner, Mark Latham, spoke for many of us when he made that comment about Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, being an "arse-licker" and ‘brown-nose’ to the Bush Administration
Of course Johhny Howard has been insulted by far more illustrious and effective people than Latham. Former PM Paul Keating almost made an industry out of adding colour to the otherwise drab PM, the then "...brain-damaged Leader of the Opposition..."
"What we have got is a dead carcass, swinging in the breeze, but nobody will cut it down to replace him." Keating told us, among other things:
"I do not want to hear any mealymouthed talk from the Member for Benelong."
"I am not like the Leader of the Opposition. I did not slither out of the Cabinet room like a mangy maggot...
However Keating shared his colourful turn of phase with other MPs:
On Wilson "Iron Bar" Tuckey (Liberal head kicker)
"...You stupid foul-mouthed grub." "Shut up! Sit down and shut up, you pig!" "You boxhead you wouldn't know. You are flat out counting past ten."
Keating was even content to vent on some he had a grudging admiration for, such as former Liberal Party Leader and Shadow Treasurer, Andrew Peacock:"...if this gutless spiv, and I refer to him as a gutless spiv..." "...what we have here is an intellectual rust bucket." "We're not interested in the views of painted, perfumed gigolos." "It is the first time the Honourable Gentleman has got out from under the sunlamp."
But dear old Paul did stay within reason. He spoke eloquently to the Redfern Aborigines, and didn’t once allude to ‘black arses.’

Straight talk
There is a real, if perverse value in straight talking. Yes, can be hurtful, although one is not supposed to have feelings and mix in Australian political circles. But more to the point, intentional or accidental, straight talk reveals the underlying realities of the culture.
Sure it would be nice to think that our elected and appointed public officials were doing nothing less than working on behalf of the people they represent. Dreamland! There will always be agendas, hidden or otherwise.
Australian Police forces (force being their preferred word) have been toiling for some years to overcome an often deserved reputation for racism and bigotry. Among the efforts by NSW police is the Aboriginal community liaison officers, a program to help deal with Aboriginal drunkenness and other volatile situations in their communities.The force's uniform services branch chose a one-size-fits-all vest in "high visibility" lime green, with the acronym ACLO on the back to identify these ‘deputies’. Somehow, during the printing of the vests, these letters were rearranged to read ALCO, and then distributed to the communities without inspection.These were vests designed to identify Aboriginal liaison officers sent into dangerous situations - often alcohol-fuelled, potentially violent - had been produced with "ALCO" printed on the rear. (ALCO is an abbreviation for alcoholic) It might have been an innocent error, but still manages to convey, as do the ‘foot in mouth’ comments of politicians and others, otherwise unspoken realites.