Is protecting freedom of speech a left-wing issue or a right-wing issue?

And if you aren’t sure, how on Earth can the press gallery or anyone else talk about what a “centre right” political party’s stance on such a point of principle should be?

While using the traditional “left-right” lens makes some sense for some policy issues, for most of the big issues paralysing our federal parliament it is the left-right frame that is causing much of the confusion and paralysis.

Some 30 years ago, few journalists, political scientists or MPs would have asked whether a belief in science was a left or right-wing issue. To the extent there was any concern about the politicisation of science, it was more likely to come from sections of “the left” who were concerned that pharmaceutical companies and the producers of genetically modified crops were buying scientific support for their profits.

Fast forward to the “climate wars” and the “vaccination wars” and now it is often the “right-wing” that is openly mistrustful of science — except, of course when it comes to nuclear energy.

Many of the “right-wing” voices who don’t trust the science of climate change or even the safety record of wind turbines are often the loudest urging Australians to trust the science and the safety of nuclear power.  

So is support for science a left or right-wing issue? And which scientists should the “centre right” trust?

To be clear, there are no smart answers to some dumb questions.

Things aren’t........

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