The last week of the campaign began with the Liberal Party’s official campaign launch, where Scott Morrison’s mother, wife and two daughters introduced him to the stage. It was mostly the “ScoMo Show”, although we did get a glimpse of the front bench in the audience, including the Environment Minister Melissa Price, who seems to have been let out of wherever she was being hidden for the bulk of the campaign. The policies announced at the launch included money for post-natal healthcare, and a subsidy for first homebuyers to help them make up the 20% deposit required to buy a home.
Morrison used the oft-used campaign slogan of “The Bill you can’t afford”, and then it got a tad weird because he has (or the spin doctors have) created a new slogan. Scott Morrison said he was going to “keep the promise of Australia for all Australians” – which left most of my household asking “what the f*** does that even mean?”. Labor on the other hand had a mostly low-key day, trying not to distract from the Liberal launch too much, although they did decide that the Liberal plan to subsidise deposits for first home buyers was a cool idea and adopted it.
Much of the week was dedicated to reiterating and explaining policies that have already been announced – basically ensuring that everyone knows what policies are on offer – although there was a push from Labor on wages and how they were going to try and increase them if they got into power.
A lot of the focus switched to the key battleground seats across the country. In NSW (where I am from) all eyes were some seats in Sydney: Reid, Lindsay, Bennelong and Warringah. We saw this week just how worried Tony Abbott is for his political life, as he had John Howard join him when he went campaigning around the local shopping centre saying he might just win, and the citizens of Warringah (including my grandmother) have been bombarded with robo-calls, texts and various political pamphlets from the Liberals.
It seems that many voters in Warringah want change. Abbott has been in the seat for 25 years and for the first time there is a suitable alternative in the form of Zali Steggall. She is a moderate conservative, but on some social issues is more progressive, especially on climate change and same sex marriage and this position more accurately represents the electorate.
Meanwhile, former PM Paul Keating (and his unique way with words) made another venture into campaign waters, encouraging the voters of Peter Dutton’s seat of Dickson to “drive a political stake through his dark political heart”. Dutton, somewhat rightfully, was offended by the remarks, and responded by saying that part of the reason he had joined the Liberal party was because Keating’s economic reforms and “mismanagement” nearly ruined his dad’s business.
Also this week, it was revealed that there has been a record number of pre-poll votes cast this election. Somewhere in the region of four million people voted early, which means that it could be a while before we know the results in some key marginal seats, as the ballot boxes can’t be opened until 6pm on election day. This high number of pre-poll votes is a concern, as it does delay the results in some seats, however the AEC has said that there is a parliamentary review slated once the election is over that will look into the pre-poll process.
Finally this week, former Prime Minister Bob Hawke has passed away at the age of 89. The former Labor PM, famous for introducing Medicare and introducing economic reforms (with his Treasurer Paul Keating) that has helped Australia avoid a recession for over 25 years. Hawke’s death distracted from the final day in the campaign, especially for Labor, as Bill Shorten changed his plans and went to visit Hawke’s widow Blanche D’Alpuget.
Then it was election day.
Tweet of the Week
Antony Green!
https://twitter.com/leighsales/status/1129202586660220930
Things I’ve Been Looking at Online
The rise of the “religious left” – ABC Online
Politicians need a better understanding of Chinese-Australian voters – ABC Online
Kara L 