Former prime minister John Howard says comments from Labor’s Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy describing his Liberal party hero Robert Menzies as a “nazi appeaser” are “beneath contempt”. On Thursday a war of words erupted when the Labor frontbencher used a National Press club appearance to attack the conservative war-time prime minister’s failure to stand up to Adolf Hitler in the late 1930s. Opposition MPs immediately condemned the Albanese government frontbencher for the “smear” and then tried unsuccessfully to censure him in Parliament. During a
Friday morning television appearance, the Defence Industry Minister doubled down on the comments, telling Channel 9 his statement was a “historical fact”. “In the end, you can’t argue with history . There’s a letter from Menzies ten days after Hitler invaded Poland, saying it does not want a first-class war, saying nobody gives a damn about Poland, arguing that we have no right to dictate what sort of government Germany has and arguing for a peace deal”. “It’s the Liberals who are desperate for a
distraction from the fact that Angus Taylor is hopeless,” the ALP left faction heavyweight said. “They’ve spent more time defending Menzies than they have their own leader. That is how ridiculous they are and irrelevant they are at the moment.” Late on Friday Mr Howard, who has long admired Robert Menzies and has written a biography of him, lashed out at the comments from the Labor frontbencher in a brief statement given to The Nightly. “Pat Conroy’s comments are beneath contempt,” he said. Meanwhile former
Home Affairs Secretary and senior defence official Mike Pezzullo said the “Nazi appeaser” label was overly simplistic. In an interview on Sky News he argued that if Mr Menzies were to be described that way then figures such as British prime minister Neville Chamberlain and US president Franklin Roosevelt would also fall into the same category. “I don’t think any of them were nazi appeasers,” he said. “They had a policy of appeasement to try to buy time because they thought, only 20 years after
the First World War, their countries were still devastated and needed time to rearm.” Mr Pezzullo said that he understood Minister Conroy’s broader historical point but questioned the usefulness of the label. “There was a big push to try to appease Hitler … to try to buy time. But I just don’t know that the label helps,” he said.
John Howard, Pat Conroy, Robert Menzies, nazi appeaser, Robert Menzies biography, Mike Pezzullo, National Press Club, Channel 9, Sky News, Neville Chamberlain, Franklin Roosevelt, Angus Taylor, Albanese government, censure attempt
So wait they’re calling a dead guy a nazi appeaser? Can we move on.
I’m not even Australian but this is wild. Howard says it’s “beneath contempt” like that changes anything. Also the whole “you can’t argue with history” thing always sounds like a cop out.
How is it a smear when they’re just reading letters? Sounds like both sides are desperate, like they’re fighting over Menzies instead of dealing with the actual issue. And people act like appeasement isn’t a real thing, but then they’re mad when someone labels it.
This is why I hate politics, it’s all labels. If they’re calling Menzies a nazi appeaser then what about the guy in Britain (Chamberlain) and the US one (Roosevelt) too right? Like, weren’t they also trying to avoid war at first? Idk, I just feel like Conroy used a strong word and now everyone’s pretending it’s history class instead of a distraction from Angus Taylor or whatever.