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Smell the roses: Bob Carr dares to think about freedom
He's entering his 10th year as Premier, but some believe Bob Carr may quit within a year. The Government's practice of testing media or voter reaction before deciding whether to proceed with controversial initiatives has been characterised by some as a measure of Mr Carr's political astuteness. That might be so if the business of politics was wholly consumed with avoiding criticism and keeping one's fingers crossed in the hope that problems concealed do not rebound. The reality, however, is that the Government's almost obsessive aversion to controversy and criticism has swelled the bank of inaction on many of the very issues that now weaken its position.
· In essence, the Government has stored its troubles, not confronted them
· See Also As Samuel Johnson observed, nothing so concentrates the mind as the prospect of a hanging
· See Also Labor coast to coast? Bloody hell!