Scott Morrison’s Final Speech to Parliament

Just over two weeks ago, the former Prime Minister gave his final speech to parliament. It contained many standard features of a farewell speech. Thanks to some core supporters, reaffirmation of his core turns of phrase, defence of some of his disputed decisions, thanks and praise for his family, and acknowledgement of his faith in Jesus.

One theme in particular stood out to me. Morrison offered his reflection – that Australians place too much faith and hope in politics and politicians. “While a noble calling, politics can only take you so far, and government can only do so much.” “I suspect that much of our disillusion with politics today and our institutions is that we have put too much faith in them. At the end of the day, the state and the market are just run by imperfect people, like all of us.”

This is an interesting reflection from anyone, let alone an ex-prime minister. Perhaps an ex-prime minister has felt the burden of people’s dreams and expectations, as well as hurts and frustrations aimed at him and the governments he led. His answer is not that we could have done better or they (the opposition) stopped us. His answer is that we are asking of politics things it cannot deliver.

There is an old definition of politics – it’s about who gets what, when, how, where, how and why. In other words, politics is about creating a stable platform for the economy and then distributing the proceeds from taxation appropriately.

Morrison’s point is that neither politics nor the market can deliver meaning or purpose to life, nor can they fulfil our hopes and dreams. At best, governments provide a stable economy and society in which individuals can prosper and, from that platform, pursue ultimate meaning. Politics and the market are the means, not the end.

I think Morrison makes a valid point. Australians, in particular, are quick to blame the government for societal problems and see government interventions as the essential solution. We look to the government for answers, but some of our yearnings can only be fulfilled by ourselves and our relationships with God and our neighbours.

Rev. David Rietveld