Dead Centre: How political pragmatism is killing us

Have you ever wondered why our politicians don’t implement popular and evidence-based policies that would improve Australia’s health, education or public transport systems? Or why they ignore scientific research that tells us things like approving new gas and coal projects is bad for the environment?

Like an old street directory, the left/right/centre map of Australian politics is dated, disorienting and dangerously incomplete. The focus on the ‘sensible centre’ has created a bad map where the road leads to nowhere, ignoring evidence when it is convenient and stifling democratic debate about how we can create the country that Australians want.

We need a new map. If the government is serious about their commitment to progressive patriotism, they need to tackle the big problems, rather than relying on a centrist narrative that maintains the status quo. Join Dr Richard Denniss and Amy Remeikis as they discuss the breadth of the choices the Australian government has, and the bravery and boldness they need to address Australia’s biggest challenges.

The second in Australia Institute Press’ seasonal essay series, Vantage Point, Dead Centre: How Political Pragmatism is Killing Us, written by Dr Richard Denniss, will be available for purchase at the event. There will be the opportunity to get your copy signed after the formalities conclude. Copies of Dead Centre are also available for purchase on The Australia Institute website.

SPEAKERS:

Dr Richard Denniss - Executive Director, The Australia Institute

Dr Richard Denniss is the Executive Director at The Australia Institute. He is a prominent Australian economist, author and public policy commentator. Formerly a regular columnist for Australian Financial Review and The Guardian, he has published six books, including Econobabble, Curing Affluenza, Dead Right: How Neoliberalism Ate Itself and What Comes Next? and Big: The Role of the State in the Modern Economy.

Amy Remeikis - Chief Political Analyst, Australia Institute Press

Amy Remeikis is the Chief Political Analyst at The Australia Institute, and one country’s most respected political journalists. Her chapter, "If Australia Could be Brave", describes Australian politics as a bucket of crabs, each pulling the other down back into the bucket. Amy asks what could be achieved if we were brave instead, seizing our place in the world to made real change for good.

ABOUT DEAD CENTRE:

Dead Centre: How political pragmatism is killing us | Vantage Point Issue 2

The sensible centre. Evidence-based policy. These are not the same. In fact, they are at odds with each other.

The scientific evidence tells us that building new gas, oil and coal mines will cause catastrophic climate damage this century. Yet politicians describe a call for the end of new mines as extreme. Likewise with online gambling, junk food advertising or incarcerating children: the evidence of harm is clear, but the sensible centre is defined not by evidence but by politics. Media reports on such issues presuppose that there are two sides and a centre to every debate, but evidence shows there is not. The political right thrives in such fear-fuelled, fact-free arenas, where traditional media and subject matter experts struggle to fight fear with facts.

In this essay, economist and Executive Director of The Australia Institute Richard Denniss, explores the contradiction between centrism and evidence that sits at the heart of democratic debate in Australia. He shows that when both major parties oppose reform then the position of the sensible centre becomes indistinguishable from blind support for keeping things as they are.