Politics with Purpose: occasional observations on public and private life
Lindsay Tanner
Politics with Purpose: occasional observations on public and private life
Lindsay Tanner
We cannot blame particular individuals for modern Labor’s malaise, because it is part of a systemic global phenomenon. We are all under the sway of politics without purpose. And politics without purpose is pointless.‘ Nothing could better sum up Lindsay Tanner’s forthright attitude to politics and the public interest than these resounding concluding sentences to Politics with Purpose. In a parliamentary career spanning 18 years, culminating in his position as the minister for finance and deregulation in the Rudd-Gillard governments, Lindsay Tanner always talked straight, and was always worth reading or listening to. Now we can see why. In this edited selection of his press articles, speeches, and occasional essays from 1990 to 2012, Tanner discusses a range of major subjects- Labor’s problems and prospects; globalisation and its discontents; the family ties that bind; facing up to important values; the need for compassion; and lessons from his own life. Some pieces are short and lighthearted; others are longer and deeply serious. But whether the subject matter is economic, political, or personal, his range of interests and insights is remarkable. Lindsay Tanner’s thoughtfulness and humanity shines through every page, and demonstrates once again what the nation lost when he departed from national politics.
Review
Andrew Carter
[[lindsay-tanner-rev]]Lindsay Tanner has followed up his first book, Sideshow, with a collection of essays and speeches penned while a federal MP and Minister for Finance and Deregulation, brought together in Politics with Purpose.
The breadth of Tanner’s engagement and knowledge is astounding. He moves effortlessly from commentary on Dostoyevsky and Rushdie to the difficulties facing divorcees to ‘soft-power’ and government regulation. All the while he sounds like a normal person just talking common sense.
Perhaps what is most striking about Lindsay Tanner is his absolute fearlessness and commitment to principle, hitting the high notes on his criticism of former Prime Minister John Howard’s asylum seeker policies. Tanner, in the Herald Sun no less, openly discusses the prevalence of racial discrimination and xenophobia that mostly goes unsaid. And mired as we are in the debate on asylum seekers, his words could hardly be more relevant or important today.
Tanner is also highly attuned to the effects of a changing economy, not only in terms of usual statistics of employment and GDP growth, but in the way we interact and form relationships. Where it seems most are able only to focus on the big picture or the minutiae, Tanner’s view is multi-focal and has a certain wisdom to it.
There is a real sense of honesty in these essays, with plenty of thought behind the words. And that honesty makes his views compelling and often very funny.
This presentation of his works is at once saddening and encouraging. Saddening because I wish we had actually listened more carefully to him while he held public office. It is encouraging because if our current crop is anything remotely like him, the store of talent in Australia’s political circles in all parties is richer and deeper than we give it credit for.
And I think I have found my epitaph: ‘Any sentence with 22 punctuation marks deserves to die.’
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