Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee shows what she really thinks of me. It’s not a good look for someone wanting a high-pressure job such as Chief Minister. Photo: ABC.
Is this the moment that will end up defining the 2024 ACT election campaign?
It’s a great pity if it does – with so many important issues at stake, a candidate ‘flipping the bird’ is hardly earth-shattering news – but it definitely calls into question whether the Opposition Leader has the temperament for the top job.
I was unaware of the infantile gesture being made behind my back, having already moved on from yet another testy exchange with Ms Lee.
As she told the ABC, we have history – a history of me asking questions she doesn’t like, pressing her for a genuine answer and then Ms Lee losing her bundle.
Only this time, it was caught on film.
These exchanges have marked the campaign, and they have been unpleasant, but I won’t be deterred from doing my job.
Ms Lee has deflected, evaded and obfuscated, especially on key questions to do with tax and spending. They have not been gotcha questions but genuine attempts on behalf of the public to get to the detail of Liberal policies and how they would work in practice.
Instead of Ms Lee seeing them as an opportunity to explain them fully, she has become defensive. And I’m not interested in answers that simply attack the other side.
It is not about me. It is not a game. I do not have to follow a script prepared by whichever party is holding the press conference.
Ms Lee has apologised – to whom she didn’t say. The party, her staff, family, voters? But certainly not to me. In fact, she has attempted to blacken my name, calling me unprofessional and playing the sexist card. What if the genders had been reversed?
I’ll stand on my reputation and welcome the support I’ve had from my peers. A press conference is also my workplace, and I expect to be treated respectfully, too.
She describes our relationship as tense. From my perspective, that is only true in the few minutes we cross swords at press conferences. As far as I’m concerned, what happens on the field stays on the field.
Yesterday we joked with each other before the Leaders Debate.
As I left the venue, unwitting of what had occurred, Ms Lee called out from the lift whether I was going to ask Andrew Barr the same questions.
I responded that I ask him all the time but he tends to answer them.
This goes to her and the Liberals’ belief that the media – particularly me – are against them. At a major speech at the National Press Club last November, MLAs heckled an ABC journalist, asking a question with the cry of “Canberra media”.
I, as do every other Canberra journalist, constantly grill Mr Barr, but he is a much more experienced politician and has the benefit of long incumbency.
I’ve lost count of the number of times I have pressed him on debt and deficit, light rail and his commitment to the job.
He usually responds in the spirit of the inquiry and does not take things personally.
That wasn’t always the case. Only last week, he told me how he had to develop a thick skin, that he had to toughen up. In the past, he would not talk to one ABC journalist, and there is the infamous “I hate journalists” remark.
Either Mr Barr had some serious reflection on his attitude or an adviser told him a few home truths. These days he is much more comfortable in his own skin and with handling the media.
Other ministers would attest to me asking tough questions of them, too, for instance, on public school performance. But I certainly don’t get the grief that Ms Lee dishes out.
It is tougher for the Opposition, especially in such a left-leaning town and after being out of power for such a long time. It is not enough to ride the ‘it’s time’ factor back into power. It has to make a case for government and policies will have to stand up to scrutiny. Just ask Bill Shorten.
Daily Digest
Politicians are asking to be given the keys to the kingdom, the purse strings and great power. They should not expect to get a free pass, especially in an election campaign.
Journalists doing their job are a vital part of our democratic process, but in recent times, it seems politicians see them as fair game, taking the phrase shooting the messenger to new levels.
In other countries, this is being taken literally.
Giving me the finger may have been an impulsive, silly gesture, but it sends an awful message to the community.
Ms Lee says she respects journalists and regrets her behaviour. Time to start walking the talk.
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