The Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, was forced to withdraw the media regulation bill, admitting that he did not have enough votes in Parliament to pass it.
This news has been swamped by the more dramatic but less consequential sacking of several Cabinet ministers, caused by their unwelcome support for former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
I also learned, but only after the fact, that the media regulation bill also contained a subtle assault on the principle of "innocent until proven guilty."
Perhaps Australians will notice how fragile their freedoms are. Perhaps it is a good time for a conversation about whether those freedoms should actually be enshrined in law. Perhaps an unpopular idea--it's so American.
Social consensus is ephemeral. Australia today is every bit as divided as America. Unions and the underprivileged on the one hand, business and middle class on the other. That tension seems to have contributed to this latest attack on fundamental rights.
Would labor unions here actively oppose a Bill of Rights equivalent? It seems like something that would actually have support on all sides of the political spectrum.
But then, I don't claim to understand Australia. Only to be observing her.
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