OPINION: Arguably, it was the silliest question I asked during a lifetime in journalism.
"Prime minister," I said, "Have you ever lied in public?"
Really, what was the point? There was never going to be an honest answer.
READ MORE: Man allegedly shot dead after stand-off with police in northern Queensland
Back to who it was and what they said in a moment.
But really, it could have been any prime minister in the past 50 years.
The question would have been relevant and their answer equally dodgy.
This is why Anthony Albanese's Pinocchio trick with the tax cuts will do him no harm at all.
Peter Dutton says Australians do not want a liar as PM.
Look around the parliament.
If he's right, the bloke serving drinks may be in line for the big office.
He's probably the only straight-talker left.
Politicians and prime ministers lie. It is expected, and it is accepted by the voters.
Only the media tub-thumpers make an issue of it.
READ MORE: Woman shot dead near Brisbane, man being questioned
They are of course correct to invade the high moral ground.
But in the real world, we gave up long ago.
Dishonesty no longer has political consequences because we expect no better.
More effort is now put into crafting words to avoid telling the truth than there is invested into drafting a complex policy and working out what is good for the country.
Forget the policy issues behind the dumped tax cuts - and the way they are carrying on, you would think they are actually giving you money rather than taking away less of what you earned.
There is some logic to the changes, but there is no question we have been conned along the way with that tortuous, often repeated line: "We have not changed our position on this."
It was clear the position had changed almost from the day after the election and the government was not honest enough to explain what was happening and why.
But this dishonesty and dodging is not an Albo invention.
Here's some of the history of evasion I have seen:
Billy McMahon: His own colleagues described him as devious, dishonest and amoral. The great Laurie Oakes, a gentle man not given to abuse, described him as "a liar and a sneak".
Gough Whitlam: Didn't need to lie because half the time didn't know what the idiots in his cabinet were up to.
Malcolm Fraser: Lost his trousers in public in Memphis one night. Turned up in his underpants. Did he tell the truth about that?
Bob Hawke: Expert at lily-gilding but his real strength was to verbally behead anybody who suggested he was even slightly dishonest. His memoirs managed barely to mention the recession he oversaw. Was that honest?
Paul Keating: Start from the point "Paul is God of all things", as he does, and he can do no wrong. Master of diversion – "The economy is crumbling, don't worry we will change the flag". Dodging.
John Howard: Plausible deniability.
Kevin Rudd: Hard to know if he was lying because nobody understood what he was saying. He liked it that way. It avoided accountability.
Julia Gillard: Anybody who questioned her credibility was a misogynist.
Malcolm Turnbull: Quick to accuse others of lying, particularly Scott Morison. But he wasn't about direct communication he was about wordy, incomprehensible obfuscation.
Scott Morison: Couldn't even tell his own colleagues he'd appointed himself minister for life, the universe and everything.
Anthony Albanese: See January 25, 2024.
And it's not only the national leaders given to trickery and word games.
Victoria's Daniel Andrews promised a contract to build a road in Victoria was "not worth the paper it was written on".
He cancelled the road and it cost Victorians $1.1 billion to build nothing.
READ MORE: 'Nothing stuck to Teflon Dan'
https://omny.fm/shows/neil-mitchell-asks-why/best-of-the-barneys-with-eddie-mcguire-extinction/embed?style=coverBill Shorten, on radio with me one day, pledged unbending loyalty to Julia Gillard as leader.
It later emerged he'd been plotting to return Kevin Rudd only the night before.
So why do they do it?
Why not trust us?
Albanese could have said from the start: "Look, these cuts were promised but times have changed and we are looking for a better way to do it."
Instead, we got meaningless, diverting weasel words.
We don't need this evasiveness and dishonesty.
We don't need the faux earnestness and outrage from Albo and Dutton.
One day a leader will adopt a new strategy and will win elections.
READ MORE: Aussie player's doubles partner makes history after their Australian Open final win
It will treat the people with respect, trust them with facts not spin, and communicate like a real person, not a spin-crafted bot who talks gobbledegook and bores opponents into submission.
And back to that question I started with.
You can only ask it once, because when it gets out there every politician beginning an interview has an answer ready.
The question was to Scott Morison, in November 2021.
Mitchell: Prime minister, have you ever told a lie in public life?
Morrison: I don't believe I have, no. No.
The French president disagreed. Malcolm Turnbull disagreed. Several colleagues came forward to disagree.
Perhaps the former PM Tony Abbott put it more accurately in a podcast interview with me recently.
When asked a similar question, he said: "I don't believe I have ever told an outright lie, but look. You are obliged to tell the truth as far as you can."
That's the message to this whole lot. We get that. We are not stupid.
Don't try to kid us and if you can't answer something honestly, don't answer but explain why.
Despite the puffing and moral ranting, by election time Albanese will have done himself no harm.
We expect politicians to lie and as long as they can get away with it, they will.
Neil Mitchell is a 3AW news analyst and hosts the Nine podcast Neil Mitchell Asks Why.
