We are witnessing history being made. Unfortunately, it is a
history-making decline in standards of political behaviour. At least it
proves we are not merely imagining that things were better in the old
days.
Tempting though it is, one of the things incoming governments don't do is delve into the affairs of their predecessor. The papers of the old government are not made available to the new masters.
But all that is out the window with the Abbott government's
decision to establish a royal commission into the Rudd government's
handling of the home insulation program and provide it with Labor's
cabinet documents.
It takes innocence greater than I can muster to believe the
motive for the inquiry is to bring justice to the program's victims
rather than to embarrass the Coalition's political opponents by raking
over one of their more celebrated stuff-ups.
Labor can take its lumps. The real pity is that a
long-standing convention seeking to limit political vindictiveness has
been cast aside, possibly forever.
One thing we can be sure of is that when next Labor returns
to power, it will lose no time in retaliating, as will that government's
eventual Coalition successor. Advantage-seeking retaliation will become
a bigger part of the political debate.
The man who set new lows in negativity and obstructionism
while in opposition is now taking us to new lows in government. In a
more godly world, Labor would resist the temptation to sink to the level
of misbehaviour set by its opponents, thus giving substance to its
repeated claims of moral superiority.