‘Gotcha moments' and ‘digital lynch mobs': Political mastermind issues warning for democracy

The Age

3 days ago

Tracing a line back to 1937, a year he described as 'nothing if not momentous,' he drew historical parallels that landed squarely on the contradictions of today's turbocharged information age.
From the days when political news travelled slowly, curated by newspaper editors and radio hosts, to a hyper-connected world where 'algorithms have become the new controller of what you see and hear,' Crosby, 68, warned the shift was now as cultural as it is technological.
Crosby's pronouncements could be viewed cynically by some, given the controversial playbook from a man branded a 'master of the dark political arts' famously includes the deployment of the 'dead cat strategy' of distraction and 'wedge politics' – tactics that, his critics, precisely contribute to the polarisation he now decries.
Yet, he said a time when Joseph Lyons and Neville Chamberlain pondered threats from Hitler offered a rhythm of deliberation that modern politics lacks.
'The slower pace of 1937 allowed for deeper contemplation and more substantive policy discussions,' he said. The deepest transformation, Crosby argued, has been how people now consume politics. Where once politicians barnstormed towns and addressed entire communities from train platforms, he said they now 'maintain visibility through tweets, Instagram posts, TikTok videos and streaming appearances.'
In this environment, 'campaign strategies deploy sophisticated data analytics, microtargeting specific voter segments with tailored messages and 24/7 content creation.'
'Without the pressure of instant response, politicians could deploy nuanced positions and voters could digest information more thoroughly,' Crosby said.
'The shared information environment, whilst more narrow, created common ground for democratic discourse. Today's instant connectivity has made politicians more susceptible to immediate public reaction.'
Crosby said perhaps no speech in the archives loomed larger than the one delivered by John Curtin in 1944 — a turning point in Australia's strategic history.
He used Curtin's break with Britain to highlight how Australia had always needed to balance sentiment with strategy. And, he warned, that lesson remains just as relevant today — particularly in a world of shifting power and fraying alliances.
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'Curtin had famously turned to America, declaring that Australia looks to America free of any pangs,' Crosby said.'[He] would use this forum to articulate Australia's wartime partnership with Britain while asserting our growing independence,' he said.
'By then Australian forces were fighting in Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific. While the homeland itself had experienced enemy attack for the first time, the strategic balance had shifted dramatically.'
And, in a callback to Sir Robert Menzies, who addressed the club 10 times between 1948 and 1965, Crosby concluded with a note of cautious optimism: 'The old world is passing away and a new one emerges. Our task is not to cling desperately to familiar shores, but to navigate with confidence the uncharted waters ahead.'
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The challenge now, Crosby said, was finding a way to do so without being drowned in noise.