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Following from ALP leader Anthony Albanese’s gaffe, Greens leader Adam Bandt fails to answer a basic query about the economy. What kind of a political leader is this?

Imagine your doctor recommends you undergo a particular medical treatment and then, when you ask about the success rate, he tells you to “Google it, mate.”

He’s either hopelessly incompetent, or else wholly unserious. Either way, no sane person would ever agree to be treated by him.

Greens leader Adam Bandt is neither competent, nor serious. And he thinks voters are insane.

Evading the Question

Yesterday, when telling journalists that wages needed to rise, Mr Bandt refused to answer a question about the current wage price index, telling the reporter to “Google it, mate”.

Bandt said the public was sick of “gotcha questions”.

Not quite. The public is sick of politicians dismissing every question they don’t know the answer to as “gotcha questions”.

We all know they are only gotcha questions if politicians haven’t gotcha answer.

Incompetent

When you’re paid six figures and given a platform at the National Press Club to spruik your policy of higher wages a month out from an election, voters should reasonably expect you to know current wage figures.

Greens supporters thought his churlish answer was brilliant. And, of course it was a brilliant answer, if you didn’t know the answer.

But while simpletons are happy to excuse unprepared politicians offering condescending non-answers, sensible people expect federal party leaders to know things.

Starry-Eyed

Mr Bandt went on to lecture journalists …

“Elections should be about a contest of ideas. Politics should be about reaching for the stars and offering a better society.”

Someone needs to tell the Greens leader we don’t mind him reaching for the stars, so long as his head is not in the clouds.

He continued …

“Instead, there’s these questions that are asked — can you tell us this particular stat, or can you tell us that particular stat?”

So next time Mr Bandt announces an economics policy, journalists should refrain from asking for pertinent stats about employment or wages or interest rates, and instead ask “are you reaching for Sirius or are you reaching for Vega?”

He would be happier, and we would be no less informed than if he had been asked a serious question.

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Originally published at The James Macpherson Report.
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Photo by Matt Hrkac/Wikimedia Commons.