Howard opens old wound declaring Costello never had 'ticker' to challenge
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Version 0 of 1. John Howard has opened old wounds in the Liberal party by firing a public shot at Peter Costello – declaring no one has an automatic entitlement to lead a political party. Howard used an interview with the Seven Network on Sunday night to reflect on the major public policy controversies of his prime ministership; ignite a fresh debate about multiculturalism at a time of heightened community unease after last week’s counter-terrorism raids; and also question his former treasurer’s ‘ticker’. Howard inferred that Costello lacked the courage to challenge him for the leadership prior to the Coalition’s election loss in 2007. He thought the leadership would be handed to him, and “nobody has an entitlement to anything in public life,” Howard told guest interviewer Janet Albrechtsen, a News Limited columnist. When asked if Costello had the killer instinct, Howard responded: “Well, that invites me to make assessment of Peter’s personality … and there’s nothing to be gained from that.” Howard said Costello’s ambition was “thoroughly legitimate” but he did not ask Howard to go even when he had been the prime minister for eight years. “It is only natural that he would be disappointed that I did not retire at a time that suited him,” he said. Howard was taken in the course of the interview through the major flash points of his prime ministership, including the Reconciliation Convention of 1997, where Indigenous leaders turned their backs on him. Howard argued provocatively during the interview that he still didn’t believe that “genocide” took place against Indigenous Australians. He stood by his decision not to apologise to the Stolen Generation but stated that he had said sorry “in a way” in parliament for “other people’s mistakes”. “There had been a lot of injustices, they were disadvantaged people and that’s a fact of life ...but I just don’t believe a current generation should apologise for things done in earlier times,” he said. He also weighed back into multiculturalism. Howard in the 1980s was a trenchant public critic of multiculturalism and argued for a reduction in Asian immigration. He later recanted the position on reducing Asian immigration. “I’m not an overwhelming fan of the doctrine of multiculturalism, I believe in multi-racialism, I believe in bringing people from different races, different religions to this country but once you’re here, you’ve got to become part of the mainstream of the community,” he said. “I think over the years we’ve dropped off a bit too much.” On Sunday night he argued now was not the time to debate the level of immigration from the Middle East - but he remained critical of the term multiculturalism. “I think it’s a confusing term, what does it mean? It means different things to different people” he said. Howard contended we needed to “try harder” to integrate communities of different ethnicity into Australian society. Howard was rebuked by the race discrimination commissioner, Tim Soutphommasane, within minutes of the interview being aired. “There’s nothing confusing about Aussie multiculturalism: it means you can be Australian and be relaxed + comfortable about your heritage,” he tweeted. However, his comments drew support from Liberal senator Cory Bernardi. “John Howard tells it straight about policy of multiculturalism on ch 7 tonight. Great man, great PM, great Australian,” he posted on Twitter. The former prime minister was also asked about the 2003 invasion of Iraq – a mission predicated on the falsehood that Iraq harboured weapons of mass destruction. Howard said he was “embarrassed” that this information turned out to be a failure of intelligence, but he insisted the arguments mounted by senior political players ahead of the invasion were not “a deliberate deception.” Howard also played down the nexus between 2003 and the current instability in northern Iraq and Syria. “If you’re seeking to locate the responsibilities [for the situations in Iraq and Syria] specifically to the 2003 invasion, let me put to you Syria was not involved in any outside military operation,” he said. “...so much of the Islamic State operation comes out of what is occurring in Syria, and to suggest that it’s purely or predominantly a result of what happened in Iraq in 2003 is a false reading of history.” Howard dismissed former prime minister Julia Gillard’s infamous “misogyny speech” in which she chastised then-opposition leader Tony Abbott and went viral around the world. “I thought that was nonsense … the idea that Tony Abbott is anti-women is ridiculous,” he said. Howard said that type of posturing discouraged women from entering politics when more are needed in the parliament, though he said it should not be through quotas. He said Gillard’s speech “did not resonate” with women he knew. Casting his eye over Kevin Rudd’s prime ministership, Howard said his fatal mistake was delaying an Emissions Trading Scheme after saying climate change was the greatest moral challenge of our time. “The greatest political mistake Kevin Rudd made was not to try to stare down the opposition, to stare down Tony Abbott, on climate change,” he said. Howard’s interview comes just before Gillard’s own sit-down with Ray Martin airs on Tuesday night with both releasing books in the next few months. Gillard’s is a reflection on her time in politics. Howard’s is on the Menzie era. |