farmdoc's blog post number 116

Jeffrey Gibb Kennett was Premier of Victoria from 1992 to 1999. In last Saturday’s Age, journalist Tracee Hutchison wrote ‘…I despise the man and everything he represents…’ I’m right there with you, Tracee. My only previous Farmdoc’s Blog mention of Kennett was on 10 June 2008 regarding the F1 Grand Prix and Albert Park. Oh he played a role in that alright – aggressive, provocative, arrogant. In short, disgusting. As Premier he was front man for other assaults on public fairness, decency and democracy: he replaced municipal councils with administrators and then amalgamated the councils, he abolished voluntary community-elected boards of public hospitals and amalgamated hospitals into network groups with paid government-appointed boards, he gave the Tullamarine Freeway to Transurban to charge tolls on, he sited the casino where the museum should have been, and he privatised public transport and public gas and electricity utilities. This list goes on. Each item benefits the wealthy few at the majority’s expense. No item is in the interest of the public-at-large. Depressing, eh. Which makes Kennett’s chairmanship of beyondblue, the national depression initiative, singularly ironic. I’m pleased his career as a talkback radio host was shortlived due to abysmal ratings. I’m sorry the Hawthorn Football Club, which he chairs, is doing so well. And if he’s elected Melbourne’s Lord Mayor then Melburnians are bigger fools than I thought.