“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” ― Theodore Roosevelt

A core tenant of the Better Together Party is collaboration. It is one of our five guiding values. We promise our members, and everyone who supports us, that everything we do is done in collaboration – with each other, with our community and with expert advisors. Everything we achieve, we achieve together.

Collaboration is vital because we believe that we are fundamentally better when we work together. We solve problems faster when we bring our collective minds to the issue. We work faster and stronger when we are working in partnership.

So why, when we look at our political system, do we see so much fighting? So much shouting and name calling? Why do we rarely see parties supporting each other or standing together on an issue? Why are our politicians working against each other?

One reason is because the media, and particularly social media, reward division. The algorithms that control the way the public access information reward anger and hatred. Politicians know they will attract attention with a “hot take”, an angry post or a shouty video. 

But most issues don’t fit into a “hot take”. They are more complex than that. They require complex solutions. They require recognising that some government policies are good, some opposition ideas may work, and that there is room for new ideas too.

Which brings us to the second reason for the childish Canberra culture. 

Too much of politics is about ego. Too many politicians are in it for their own egos, their own status, their own belief that their solution is the only solution. 

It is impossible to lead if your primary motivation is ego, because ego prohibits two essential parts of leadership - collaboration and learning from mistakes. Ego refuses to allow a person from sharing credit and it stops a person from acknowledging when they have done something wrong and choosing a new path.

When George Washington was appointed Commander of the Continental Army in 1775, he had little experience in commanding large, conventional military forces, so he went into his local bookshop and bought a book on how to be a general. In those days, you had to ask for the books behind the counter, so he would have had to publicly out himself as not equipped to do the very high-profile job he had just accepted. It was a totally egoless act, undertaken for the benefit of the American people. 

That is true leadership. Admitting that you don’t have all the answers, that you need help from experts, and putting your own personal embarrassment aside for the benefit of others.

That’s what collaboration can achieve. That’s why we believe so strongly in the job-sharing approach. One of the most important benefits of job-sharing is that we are working together. We are - together - coming up with better approaches and better solutions.

In a week that has felt tough, doing it together, with the support of our members and supporters, has felt much better.