The recent outing of David Campbell ‘s private life sparked an intense debate on the role of media in public life. The main point of the debate was that David Campbell, as a Minister of the Crown in the State Labor Government, had not acted illegally. Notwithstanding this he and his family were subject to the most embarrassing public humiliation as the story was splashed across our television screens, newspaper headlines and radio. One cannot imagine the grief this caused to David Campbell and his family.
The media defended their exposé by asserting that a person in Campbell’s position could be vulnerable to blackmail attempts by those who knew of his secret ‘double’ life. If this was the case they had a choice between passing the information onto the appropriate authorities for proper investigation or adopting the role of public prosecutor. They chose the latter and many, including some commentators in the media, believe they crossed the line in publicly exposing David Campbell’s ‘immorality’.
Those who argued that Campbell’s indiscretions were ‘immoral’, even if they were legal, were venturing into an interesting ethical debate about what is right and what is wrong as opposed to what is legal and what is illegal. We elect politicians to pass laws and regulations based on their individual and collective value systems. Our political parties broadly represent the dominant characteristics of the people they are elected to represent be it Mosman or Murrumbidgee. As a consequence we have a variety of politicians from different regional, ethnic and religious backgrounds. Some are married. Some live in de-facto relationships. Some are single. Some are heterosexual. Some are homosexual. Some are bisexual . Some go to church. Some don’t.
Elected Members of Parliament who engage in illegal activities deserve to be prosecuted and publicly shamed. But we need to be more circumspect on judging ‘morality’.
If the media see themselves as our moral guardians then they should apply the standards they expect of our politicians to their own profession. Some would argue that this would lead to a dramatic thinning of their ranks.
There is no doubt that the status of politicians has been seriously eroded through the demands of the 24-hour news cycle. Fair enough some will say. However on the flip side if we want to attract the best and brightest to the profession of politics we should respect their right to have a private life with their family, friends and whoever. We should also appreciate that they are both blessed and cursed with the same personal strengths, flaws and frailties as those who elect them and those who report on them.
