Voters don't like Shorten and don't trust Turnbull.
The problem for our country when an election becomes a choice between big party leaders perceived to be “bad versus worse” is that voters look elsewhere.
Unlike US voters who have primary campaigns, Australian voters can’t support insurgencies inside the main parties so express their dismay with politics-as-usual by voting for independents and minor parties — and that’s why I think we are cruising for a total disaster in the Senate unless something changes.
The most confident prediction anyone can make so far, with 25 per cent of voters opting for neither the Coalition nor Labor, is that the new Senate will be even more populist than the last.
MORE than halfway through this interminable election campaign, it’s obvious that many Labor voters don’t like Bill Shorten and many Liberal and National voters are still not sold on Malcolm Turnbull.
It’s clear how Shorten is trying to deal with this: by spending more on health and education to win back Labor’s base and by making extravagant promises on climate change to woo the Greens.
It’s not so clear how Turnbull is responding: he’ll be pleased the campaign is back on economic turf but he still hasn’t moved enough of the uncommitted vote to his side of the ledger and his superannuation changes still tell the Liberal base you don’t really matter because you have nowhere else to go.
The problem for our country when an election becomes a choice between big party leaders perceived to be “bad versus worse” is that voters look elsewhere.
Unlike US voters who have primary campaigns, Australian voters can’t support insurgencies inside the main parties so express their dismay with politics-as-usual by voting for independents and minor parties — and that’s why I think we are cruising for a total disaster in the Senate unless something changes.
The most confident prediction anyone can make so far, with 25 per cent of voters opting for neither the Coalition nor Labor, is that the new Senate will be even more populist than the last.
This should worry every Australian who elects a government to get on with governing because an obstructionist Senate means that securing the economic reform and budget repair our country needs will be harder than ever.
Federal elections almost always turn on who can best be trusted to keep our economy strong and our country safe. While the government should be returned, particularly after Labor’s release of a disastrous 10-year budget forecast last week, neither side has a credible plan for budget repair, even though we know we can’t endlessly live on the nation’s credit card.
Neither side has a credible tax reform plan, even though lower, simpler, fairer taxes are essential for our long-term prosperity. Labor actually thinks that taxes are too low, although it insists the only people who need to pay more are rich investors, big companies and smokers.
The Coalition accepts that taxes are too high but is paying for a company tax cut in 10 years’ time with a superannuation tax increase now.
Both sides accept that the deficit has to be dealt with but, petrified by the sabotage of the 2014 budget, neither is prepared to take anything away from anyone — except from self-funded retirees whom the Coalition thinks it can’t lose and Labor thinks it can’t win.
National security is not being talked about at all even though Russia continues to threaten its neighbours, China is increasingly throwing its weight around in our region, Islamic extremists are still threatening “death to the infidel” on the battlefields of the Middle East and the streets of Europe, and the US has never looked less strong and less certain. Defence does get a mention from the Coalition but only as a job creation scheme for South Australia.
It is clear that the Government has had a good week but a lot of that is because the Opposition has had a shocker. Yet when an election is contested on the economic playing field, it tilts to the Coalition’s advantage.
With three weeks to go, the unusually high vote parked with “other” is an opportunity for both leaders. Neither side has cut through. For Shorten, he’s still dogged by the baggage of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years and he’s not trusted on the economy.
On the evidence of this campaign so far, neither leader appears to have really grabbed the campaign by the throat. It is there for the taking and with it, a large block of Australians who have parked their vote with ‘other’ in almost every published poll.
For Labor, I fear its folly with 10-year policies and a worsening budget position over the forward estimates will be seen by voters as just the latest way of avoiding hard decisions now. Shorten has to take this head on (and deal with his premier ‘mates’ who are blowing up his campaign).
For the Coalition, it is a dual ask — more policy detail so that voters can make an informed decision, and a prime minister out in the media more often so that we can hear his pitch directly and get to know the man. Both parties have to trust us and have an honest conversation.
We’re not fools and ultimately we don’t respect those who treat us as if we were. The trouble when politicians won’t trust the people is that the people won’t trust the politicians either.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/peta-credlin-voters-dont-like-bill-shorten-and-dont-trust-malcolm-t...
Sorry for the huge C&P, but the link will take you to a paywall, so I copied the whole article.
I have nothing but distaste for either leader, but not sure who else there is that could have a chance getting in.
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