[recoznet2] Conflicts of Interest

[Graham Young]

In light of some of Laurie's posts, and those of others, I think a new string is warranted on this question.   When Laurie asked me whether I was employed by the Liberal Party, or ever had been, I quite willingly gave you all a fairly thorough run down of my Liberal Party acitivities.   I do not have a problem with the legitimacy of Laurie asking me this, and I don't think it should be limited to whether I have ever been paid by the Party or not.  The relevance of my Liberal Party membership is whether it creates a conflict of interest that members of this group ought to be aware of.  Given that this list is one that goes to political activists, and also given that some of those activists are likely to be acting in opposition to government policies, which at the moment is a Liberal Party government, you need to know my political affiliations, so that you can allow for the possibility of my views being corporate rather than individual.   I disagree with Laurie that it only matters if I am paid by the party.  Pay only buys one's allegiance during work hours (however long they might be), whereas membership buys it at all times.     Those of you who have gone across and looked at On Line Opinion will see that I make a point of declaring my political affiliation at the end of anything that I write.  As these are works of political analysis I think that it is important that I be upfront about it so that readers can allow for potential bias.  No cash for comment on that site!   It follows from what I have just said that I think that others ought to be upfront about their political affiliations.  I would be shocked if I were the only member of a political party on this list and think that the others should be equally open about their allegiances, and I would extend that to people who have significant commitments to other, non-political organisations as well.   For example, I have always appreciated the fact that Don Clark carries a signature block on his messages which includes the fact that he is President of the Indigenous Social Justice Association.   The internet can be delightfully ambiguous and anonymous, which is part of its charm.   But on a list like this I think some of the ambiguity and anonymity needs to be stripped away.   Perhaps Laurie would be prepared to detail his political involvement.    But it does concern me that having spelled out my political background so that those who had missed it know exactly where I have come from, some posts have attacked my arguments by reference to my political allegiance rather than the arguments themselves.   By all means, take the allegiance into account, but I would like to be given the benefit of the doubt that I am honestly expressing these opinions.  If they are wrong, then I want to understand why they are wrong, and I cannot do that if the argument against them is mounted on the basis of my presumed beliefs as a Liberal Party member, rather than what I have actually said.   Graham Young     Editor On Line Opinion 61 7 3252 1470 http://www.onlineopinion.com.au