GG Again
The Age, Herald Sun, The Advertiser Thursday, June 05, 2003
I hope the GG doesn’t quit. I have two reasons. One, I don’t want to see the hyena principle gain ground. With sufficient numbers providing sufficient harassment, a pack of hyenas can bring down a single lion. Peter Hollingworth is a lion, having worked for many years on behalf of the poor, often confronting governments over welfare issues.
It is a typical hyena practice, when society adopts a strict new standard as we recently have on child sexual abuse, to dig into the past and selectively target people in responsible positions who didn’t handle their difficult ethical dilemmas according to today’s clarity and zeal. This is a cheap trick. It is typically pulled by people who themselves have never held great responsibility nor provided great service.
My second reason for hoping the GG doesn’t quit is because we Australians are extremely lucky to have a stable democracy. This is because we as a people generally believe in abiding by the rules, accepting the umpire’s decision, and being sporting in defeat.
Democracy only works if the people embrace the spirit of it. I don’t want to see a precedent established whereby the character assassins of the losing parties target whoever happens to be the Head of State.
Philip O'Carroll