In a nutshell
Water, water everywhere, was the theme of the campaign today, with the government under mounting pressure over controversial Murray-Darling basin water buybacks, while the opposition announced a new plan for the Great Barrier Reef and faced questions about how Labor would deal with approvals for Adani’s groundwater plan.
The resumption of campaigning after the Easter weekend truce saw Labor turn up the heat on the government for what the Labor leader, Bill Shorten, called the “scandal” of the Murray-Darling basin plan and water buybacks overseen by former agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce in 2017. Campaigning in Victoria, the prime minister, Scott Morrison, sought to counter the attack by saying the decisions were made at arm’s length from the minister, and said Labor had used the same “bipartisan” system when it was in government. The Greens are calling for a royal commission into the plan but Labor says it will “wait and see” if its questions about the water purchase are adequately answered by the department before declaring its hand.
Shorten, meanwhile, was in the sunshine state, facing questions about how a Labor government would deal with the eleventh-hour federal environment approvals for the Adani coalmine. Shorten dodged the question, saying that he would abide by the law. Attempting to focus on the flipside of the Queensland jobs equation, the Labor leader was campaigning on tourism funding for the Great Barrier Reef, pledging to redirect the Coalition’s controversial $440m grant that was made to a private philanthropic organisation.
Of course, the pall of the horrific Sri Lankan easter massacre was cast over the day’s campaigning, with Morrison and Shorten both paying tribute to the 290 victims of the church attacks.
Elsewhere on the trail
Fake news has hit the election campaign, with Labor’s Chris Bowen speaking in Sydney about what appears to be a coordinated social media campaign suggesting Labor is planning to introduce death taxes. The campaign has centred around a doctored image of a tweet purporting to be from the ACTU’s Sally McManus, but it has since spawned a bunch of memes that are being promoted by rightwing Facebook groups. Bowen said, perhaps wishfully, that the next four weeks don’t “have to be a dirty election campaign” and called on Morrison to disavow the claim. In what can only be described as an extraordinary coincidence, the Coalition launched a billboard on the side of a truck saying Labor planned to “tax you to death.”
The big picture
Morrison was speaking to Melbourne’s Sikh community at the Pakenham football club, talking up his own curry-cooking prowess. Morrison likened his cooking to the joys of Australia’s multiculturalism and joked about hosting a “chapati party”.
Required reading
This, from Anne Davies, gives you the ins and outs of the very complex water buyback issue, helping to explain the questions that remain unanswered about the $200m worth of purchases that were overseen by the former agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce.
Tweet of the day
I appreciate @sallymcmanus advising me I was duped last night by an elaborate fake tweet which I have now deleted. I apologise to her given her assurance the tweet was not from her. My intention is always to act in good faith.
— The Hon Gary Hardgrave (@Gary_Hardgrave) April 22, 2019
The former Howard government minister Gary Hardgrave was forced to backtrack after helping to spread a screenshot purported to be from ACTU’s Sally McManus in support of a death tax.
What’s next?
Morrison is on the move, but the press pack are not sure where he is heading next. The government is expected to focus on small business tomorrow, while Labor will continue to campaign on wages and regional development. Shorten is staying in Queensland, and is due to visit the electorates of Flynn and Herbert.
