[trees] ←(･_･┐) [forrest]

"Whatever his [abbott's] motivations, [for bringing back knights] it just says one thing to middle Australia - he is out of touch with mainstream thinking.
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Abbott and Brandis's second mistake was in assuming that Australians generally think like Americans when it comes to libertarianism. This American tradition is the assertion of individual rights, including free speech, above all other rights and obligations.
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It's a fine line we walk in our democracy between permitting and preventing. This week Brandis stumbled across that line. His attempt to defend ignoble attitudes and beliefs by appealing to what he asserts is a higher libertarian principle - the right of individuals to say almost anything they want about other individuals or groups - enraged many and embarrassed many more. It's just not possible to defend base intentions by appealing to high principle. It sounds offensive and ridiculous because it is offensive and ridiculous.
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The central element in all these measures - whether it's about racial discrimination or assets sale and everything in between - is a radically reduced role for government. The collective good is subordinated to private, individual and corporate interests. Increasingly, that is the prism through which the Abbott Government's actions can be viewed and understood. In the coming months we will see less of Tony the conservative and much more of Abbott the libertarian. It was a face of his Party that he went to lengths to conceal during his time as opposition leader. Now the cat is out of the bag."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-31/hawker-old-conservatism-battles-radical-libertarianism/5355496