What is “Not a Hedgehog”?
This site is a blog about politics – mostly Australian, mostly at the level of the Commonwealth, but with some attention paid to the States and Territories as well as international developments. The entries are written from the perspective of a progressive – that is, they reflect a belief that government should act as a force for the common good, by contributing to social justice and economic prosperity.
The title of the blog acts as a symbol of what it aims to achieve in several different ways.
John Howard is not a hedgehog
Keating: When John Howard says, ‘I’m not John Howard, I’m a hedgehog’, is he John Howard or is he a hedgehog? The Canberra press gallery says, ‘No, no, he’s told us he’s not John Howard, he’s a hedgehog’. So he’s a hedgehog. The fact is, Howard never changed, he was always the same suburban reactionary.
Source: “The Longest Decade”, George Megalogenis (Scribe Publishing)
Uncritical acceptance of politicians, by the media and the general public, has contributed to support for the war in Iraq, the popularity boost that helped the Howard government following Tampa and Children Overboard, and will continue to allow the facts to be distorted to suit political ends. Not a Hedgehog takes a critical approach to the statements of politicians and the media.
“The Hedgehog Can Never Be Buggered At All”
A common defence mechanism of hedgehogs is to roll into a ball, with spines pointing in every direction. While that might work to protect the individual hedgehog, it doesn’t deal with the situation around them. Not a Hedgehog aims to be part of the progressive movement that is growing, both online and beyond, that is concerned about current developments and is working to bring change.
Credits and copyright
The header image for this site is adapted from a picture of Parliament House, Canberra, photographed by Richard Rosalion and made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 license.
For details of the licensing arrangements of this site, see the “Licensing” box in the sidebar of each page.
