2016-05-22
Lexi Freeman
Retroactive continuity (colloquially known as retcon), is a term originating in the comic book industry that allows creators and overseers to literally re-write history. Superman died? Actually, no, that didn't happen. Superman isn't even a man anymore.
The sky's the limit with retcons — you can do whatever you like to try and sell a story. You just have to hope people buy it.
Recently some within establishment politics have been trying to pull off a retcon. To quote Labor senator Penny Wong, "The Greens party of today is not like the Greens party led by Bob Brown". She's not the only one saying it, and that's the key with retcons, to pull them off you have to get everybody on the same page. If Superman's dead then Wonder Woman will talk about it in her comic, too.
It's of no surprise to anyone that Liberals are more than happy to play along with a retcon of their own — that the Julia Gillard-helmed 43rd term of parliament was somehow a shambles, a disaster that both big parties are keen to lay solely at the feet of the Greens.
It's a shame then that Australian political history isn't as easy to manipulate as comic books are.
Both retcons are intended to recall a false nostalgia that people have for the Greens of the past, when they were disregarded as 'ineffective puritans'. It intends to cast that period as a time when the Greens were instead seen as 'respectable' and 'principled', as opposed to the 'compromising power players' they are depicted as today.
It's understandable why both major parties would want to engage with this retcon. For years it was a pretty cozy arrangement, Labor won seats and formed government off Greens preferences and Liberals got to shriek about the influence the Greens were having on them. Both parties begrudgingly tolerated Greens like Bob Brown and Kerry Nettle having a place at the table and without as much as a polite nod, they were dismissed as ideologues who couldn't get anything done.
Now, it seems that story is nearing its final chapter. We're assured the Greens have 'sold out' and are 'dealing with the devil' to shore up their power base, a terrifying prospect for Labor — and no doubt a source of consternation within Liberal party ranks.
Ignore the irony for a moment that on policy and principles, Greens haven't budged.
The recently passed (and recently upheld by the High Court) senate voting reform had, up until it was legislated, been unaltered Greens policy for more than 10 years. Marriage equality has been an unaltered policy position prior to even both Labor and Liberal uniting against it.
It's not the Greens that move or shift positions, it's everybody else that catches up.
The Greens are shaping up to be a political power to be reckoned with, and with great power comes great responsibility. Effecting positive change with said power and responsibility will inevitably require some compromise; indeed the Greens have already successfully negotiated measures to improve tax transparency for multinationals and enhancements to superannuation equity — were those pieces of legislation perfect? Assuredly not, but pushing legislation into law is no longer the sole provision of old party politics. The Greens are here, here to stay, and here to make a positive difference.
In a political landscape where we see the retcon tactic taken straight out of comic books, it's only appropriate that the Greens have a message straight from Captain America for those that would seek to negatively recontextualize their history:
When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree, beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world —
No, you move.
Lexi is a newly minted member of the North Brisbane Greens. Her present pastimes are progressive politics and alliteration. She tweets hot takes and dank memes as @1exi on Twitter.
This article was first published on Medium. Image by Dan, public domain.