POLITICAL heroes are often as difficult to find in Canberra as detecting soil moisture during droughts and sadly lacking when needed most, to step up and show leadership to fight the good fight for those they were elected to represent, including the vulnerable.
But in late 2016, the Australian Greens covered themselves in rare glory to emerge as unlikely victors for farmers in a timely, strategic manoeuvre that sealed a much-needed deal with the Coalition government to pass the vexed backpacker tax.
And in the process, the Greens showered egg across the ruddy faces of many political rivals who failed to demonstrate that same brand of strength and conviction; especially the Labor party.
In parliament’s last sitting week for last year, the Opposition and some Senate crossbenchers stood firm with their sharpened spears deeply entrenched in the hardened battle-ground located at one extreme end of the backpacker tax policy debate, demanding overseas working holidaymakers be taxed at a 10.5 per cent rate.
At the other end of the inglorious battlefield stood the Coalition and some others, having eased their positions from 19pc to 15pc, alongside the National Farmers’ Federation in backing and representing a clear majority of the farm sector.
While one of the warring factions seemed genuine in wanting to pass the legislation to dissolve a lingering political headache, the motivation of others seemed only to escalate and exacerbate tensions, despite an opportunity to alleviate the farm sector’s fears.
After a straight forward media conference from Treasurer Scott Morrison early in that final week, everyone believed the troublesome issue was set to be resolved in the Senate and passed at an agreed 15pc rate.
To pass the bill, Mr Morrison was confident his government’s position had the backing of One Nation’s four Senators and also the Nick Xenophon Teams’ three on the back of striking a new deal to encourage unemployed workers into farm labour.
However, virtually from nowhere and without warning, the then One Nation WA Senator come maverick independent Rod Culleton and Victorian independent Derryn Hinch both crossed over to vote with Tasmanian Independent Jacqui Lambie for the ALP’s bill that was proposing a 10.5pc rate, to effectively kill the 15pc legislation.
After telling media he was ok with 15pc or 19pc and just wanted the issue sorted-out, the one-time human headline Senator Hinch sent news-editors into a spin nation-wide as he voted with Culleton and Lambie and others for 10.5pc - the Greens included - to engage in a brand of political opportunism and to horse-trade, the likes of which he regularly railed against with bravado and gusto using a monster media megaphone, during a previous career.
For Senator Culleton, it was also an expression of the deep discontent lurking between him and the party’s leader Pauline Hanson, ahead of their eventual public split and spat a few days later.
With the haunted legislation now banished for a sad re-appearance in the Lower House, Mr Morrison declared the bill wouldn’t return for another deciding vote in the Senate until a water-tight deal was secured.
Speculation hovered around parliament house momentarily of a deal involving the floor-crossing Senate crossbenchers collaborating on a compromised 13pc rate - but the Coalition stood firm and refused to budge from the already compromised 15pc.
Meanwhile, the nation, and farmers of all persuasions, looked on at the parliamentary proceedings in anger, feeling as if they were watching the ultimate political farce, the likes of which could only be eclipsed by the faux moral posturing that occurred during the Trump/Clinton US presidential campaign.
At the time, Tasmanian independent MP Andrew Wilkie - who is often maligned by the farm sector for his ferocious opposition of live animal exports - said it best in venting extreme anger at the rank political opportunism surrounding the backpacker tax; despite the potential impact on farmers and fragile seasonal labour supplies.
“I’m really cross at the behaviour of my so called colleagues; many of whom have no interest in farmers and no interest in backpackers,” he said.
“Their behaviour is entirely self-serving,
“It’s just putrid, juvenile behaviour in the pursuit of their self-interest and they don’t seem to understand, the community just expected them to finalise it, a long time ago.”
Mr Wilkie said his ongoing dialogue on the issue with producers in his home state showed they wanted the matter finalised “quite rightly”, amid concerns about losing critical seasonal labour sources for fruit picking and other on-farm jobs.
He said they all had varied views on what the tax rate percentage should be but their biggest concern was finalising the issue, before it potentially hit 32.5pc on January 1.
Then, with the curtains about to close on the 2016 parliamentary calendar and the backpacker tax circus still playing out and frustratingly unresolved, the Greens entered the stage from virtually nowhere and stole the show.
The Greens’ backpacker tax rescue mission was a bit like Han Solo and Chewbacca rushing to Luke Skywalker’s aid, on board the Millennium Falcon, to momentarily distract Darth Vader and his wingmen during the fictional inter-galactic Battle of Yavin in the Star Wars movie, thus allowing the fatal shot to be fired from the hero’s jet-fighter, to destroy the Death Star and hand a critical strategic victory to the Rebellion.
There’s an old theatrical term called deus ex machina - God from the machine - which roughly means a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem or hopeless scenario is suddenly and abruptly resolved by the inspired and unexpected intervention of a new event, character or object.
Greens’ leader Richard Di Natale may not be God but he’s certainly gaining real-world recognition for applying common sense when working the political machine, to steal the thunder from other political operatives who seem to prefer to incite conflict rather than settle on pragmatic conclusions.
In closing out 2016, the Greens can take a deserving bow in earning the farm sector’s applause for clearing the decks on the backpacker tax issue with a well-timed political strike.
But what does it all mean for the others who went missing in action?
Agriculture and Water Resources Minister Barnaby Joyce has expressed ongoing frustrations at his opposite number Joel Fitzgibbon’s ongoing political antics in allowing Labor to use agriculture as a political football, while suffering an autocratic addiction to media ‘gotcha moments’ ahead of bipartisanship.
The view is also shared privately by many leaders in the farm sector who have questioned his dedication to common sense policy outcomes and fear that, being as far to the right as one can be in the ALP, he’s the best of a bad bunch.
Mr Joyce said Mr Fitzgibbon’s type of approach is what people “dislike intensely” about politics in that politicians will play games with their lives, for a political point scoring exercise.
Nationals’ deputy-leader Fiona Nash said the backpacker tax issue highlighted the ongoing uncertainty of dealing with legislation due to the “unpredictability” caused by the current make-up of the diverse Senate crossbench that contains 11 different members.
A range of combinations is needed to pass legislation with the government or opposition and the Greens, with that situation set to remain unchanged in 2017.
“As government, you haven’t got as much certainty as you’d like in terms of getting legislation through,” Senator Nash said.
Senator Nash said it was “disappointing” to see how the backpacker tax issue played out during the final sitting week of parliament for 2016 which was “rather chaotic”.
But she said the end result - where the Greens agreed to a compromised deal involving an additional $100 million for Landcare funding and the 15pc tax rate - would be good for farmers and backpackers.
”But it was just a little unwieldy, as to how we got to that point,” she said.
Senator Nash said improved communication was a critical ingredient for guiding future crossbench negotiations and the Senate democratically elected with the crossbench being, “what the people of Australia have chosen”.
“And of course we’ll work with them to the best of our ability,” she said.
“I'm a great believer in communication and we need to talk all the time to crossbenchers and others in the Senate so they have a good understanding of what’s in front of them.
“Senators can’t be across all things at all times so I’m particularly keen to work closely with the crossbenchers, in particular on information provision.
“At the end of the day they’ll make up their own minds but I’m hopeful, that going forward, they will make their decisions based on well-considered information.”
For the NFF, President Fiona Simson said her group must build relationships with all sides of politics and “we want bipartisan outcomes for rural and agricultural Australia – that is our aim”.
“Trust I think is something that we need to build and acknowledge that we need to build with all parties,” she said.
“I come to this with a fresh perspective that hopefully we can make a clean start and a clean slate and hope that we can work together in trust.”