A question for students of bad bits of history has always been: how did people let such a thing happen? How was it that things were able to deteriorate in the way they did without the public expressing their alarm or objection?

It feels like we are getting a very real answer to that question in the way the world is moving at present.

It's about the power of relentlessness and the creeping tide of incremental shocks.

World events may often be seen now through the prism of Donald Trump's unique grasp on the concept of government, or the perplexing, apparent immolation of any sense of self-interest in the British public as the Brexit train wreck continues.

Donald Trump's latest outrage — on a day-to-day basis — is dismissed as "Trump being Trump".

World events may often be seen now through the prism of Donald Trump and Brexit. ( AP: Erin Schaff, The New York Times, pool )

Those in the political machine in Washington who are appalled at what he is doing continue to persuade themselves that Trump is an aberration and that the proper order will return when he is gone.

In Britain, there have been signs of the occasional parliamentary pulse in resisting Boris Johnson's relentless determination to get Britain out of the EU, even if the cost may be the eventual unravelling of the UK itself.

But the underlying assumption is that the Prime Minister will eventually get his way because of the sheer weariness of a public that just wants it all to stop.

Brexit is a victory for relentlessness. ( AFP: Niklas Halle'n )

So Trump is an aberration, Brexit a victory for relentlessness.

Both these characterisations imply that their time on the stage will not alter the underlying order. Yet such episodes have a profound effect on what is regarded as acceptable or even normal.

Our very own examples

The trashing of institutions, and the existing order, are seen as almost accidental fallout when in fact they lie at the heart of what these political outsiders pursue.

And it is a trashing without any coherent order or philosophy behind it, or even any links to the traditional positions of the political parties these leaders purport to represent.

In Australia we have our own version of this phenomenon of relentlessness and incremental shifting of the goal posts, most notably in the way leadership challenges play out.

We now seem to be watching Angus Taylor, all the time, for all the wrong reasons. ( ABC News: Toby Hunt )

But a seemingly relentless deterioration in our politicians' belief in the need to be accountable seems to have only accelerated as more and more voters switch off from politics.

Energy Minister Angus Taylor has always been regarded as an MP to watch. Smart. A powerful advocate. Not exactly lacking in self-belief.

But we now seem to be watching him, all the time, for all the wrong reasons.

Taylor is now — or at least should be — under intense pressure over The Guardian's story about his attack on City of Sydney Mayor Clover Moore.

The Minister wrote a very political letter to Moore after she had written to the Federal Government criticising its climate policy.

"You might be interested to know that there are many practical ways local councils can take real and meaningful action to reduce their carbon emissions," he parried.

"One way is to limit unnecessary air travel."

The crucial bits of this story relate to what came next. Taylor claimed in the letter that the Council's annual report showed an astronomical $15 million travel budget in just one year.

His letter was then leaked to the Daily Telegraph, even before it had been received by Moore.

Taylor obstinately refused to explain what had happened, or even apologise if it was a mistake that he had accidentally got the numbers wrong.

The minister wrote a very political letter to Moore (pictured) after she had written to the Federal Government criticising its climate policy. ( ABC News: Kevin Nguyen )

He went even further, attacking Moore for perpetrating a "conspiracy theory" — before releasing a statement late on Friday saying he would apologise to Moore for "not clarifying those numbers with the City of Sydney before writing to her".

He insisted the figures had come straight from the Council's website, even though documents that subsequently emerged clearly suggest that someone had doctored documents sent to the Daily Telegraph by the minister's office in support of his claims in the letter.

When challenged repeatedly about this latest controversy on Thursday, he rather bizarrely said he didn't "accept the premise" of the question.

There is no evidence that Taylor himself doctored the document.

But Labor is pointing out that the use of such forged documents raises questions about a possible breach of the criminal law in NSW.

We can't afford to look away

The point of all this isn't just about who did what and when, but about the utter contempt Taylor has shown for any accountability for his actions.

There has not been even the slightest suggestion that he might be concerned that he may have falsely accused a public figure, using incorrect information, or that he might investigate how that had happened.

And there were no signals from the Prime Minister that he would pursue the matter with his minister.

Scott Morrison has a history of a cavalier lack of regard for accountability, variously dismissing questions about policy areas for which he is responsible as "on water matters", as things only of interest to the "Canberra bubble" or "rumours".

They are positions only marginally different to Trump's "fake news".

Labor is pointing to similarities with the Utegate episode in 2009, when Malcolm Turnbull's leadership of the opposition became terminal after he seized on what turned out to be forged emails concerning then prime minister Kevin Rudd.

The comparison highlights how the goal posts of accountability have moved even just in the past 10 years.

McKenzie used her ministerial power to choose the clubs and councils she felt deserved funding. ( ABC News: Toby Hunt )

A sporting chance

And in an another, almost eerie parallel with an earlier political scandal — the so-called White Board or sports rorts affair that cost Labor minister Ros Kelly her job — it emerged late on Thursday that hundreds of applications for sports facilities were recommended for funding by Sport Australia, but rejected by then-sports minister Bridget McKenzie in the lead up to this year's election.

McKenzie used her ministerial power to choose the clubs and councils she felt deserved a slice of more than $100 million in funding, including more than $25 million for her home state.

McKenzie, the deputy Nationals leader and now Agriculture Minister, was approached by ABC reporter Jack Snape for comment.

Her office said they were not in a position to comment because they did not keep records, and directed the ABC to the new Sport Minister, Richard Colbeck.

Part of the new cavalier approach to accountability must be based in the view that the public isn't watching, and isn't interested, a self-perpetuating position thanks to the depressing spectre of politics.

The media, or at least parts of it, might be watching.

But that apparently holds no concerns for the Government either, as Scott Morrison made clear in his response to the media "right to know" campaign earlier this week.

It may be depressing. But no-one can afford to look away.

Laura Tingle is 7.30's chief political correspondent.