Who would have picked that the furore over superannuation would make it to the tail-end of week four – let alone spill over onto the backbench?
But like an old-style mafia war, everyone is laying down the mattresses in preparation for a marathon fight.
On Tuesday, you’ll remember, Julie Bishop was caught out over changes to the “transition to retirement” scheme. From 1 July next year, people aged 56 to 65 will pay a 15% concessional tax rate on earnings from assets.
The prime minister and the treasurer say the Coalition’s plan will affect only the top 4% of income earners but concerns that this isn’t strictly the case have caused rumblings within the party room.
Then Arthur Sinodinos said on Sky on Wednesday that the budget package might be adjusted if the government was re-elected – and then, in the same interview, that it wouldn’t.
Scott Morrison, the treasurer, said later that Sinodinos was referring to the implementation of the legislation – not the policy itself.
And speaking of mattresses, Malcolm Turnbull visited a mattress factory in Sydney (“Australian artisans, Australian technology”), and told reporters the “policy, the substance ... the economic substance” of the policy was settled as it was laid out in the budget.
PM is inspecting the wares #ausvotes pic.twitter.com/S0PdaRnxjE
— Stephen Dziedzic (@stephendziedzic) June 2, 2016
But Bill Shorten was critical of the Coalition’s internal friction: “People don’t want surprises in superannuation.”
He also raised a practical concern: the tax office requires people to keep receipts for five years and the Coalition’s super changes require people to revisit contributions going back nine years.
On any fair assessment, current superannuation laws need reining in, and both Labor and the Coalition have vowed to do so – they’re just split over how.
“Let’s get real about this,” said Turnbull. “Nobody likes paying more tax. Super has been an extremely generous system. It remains a very generous tax advantage system. That hasn’t changed.”
ScoMo presents: Labor’s war on everything
Morrison – never one to shy away from metaphor – this morning accused Labor of using taxes as bullets in Bill Shorten’s “war on business”: “Going forward he will continue to seek to attack growth with these toxic taxes that will be a toxin for our growth going forward.”
Labor already have a plan for $100 billion of higher taxes on the Aus economy. What will Labor tax next? #ausvotes pic.twitter.com/GRTtY3LUuv
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) June 2, 2016
Guardian Australia’s Katharine Murphy described it as a “pantomime-like beat down ... an agenda-setting effort so patently ludicrous it induced giggles”.
Setting aside all hyperbole, different models of growth underpin the choice voters are presented with at this election. You wouldn’t necessarily know that to hear the Coalition talk about it.
Asked whether language like “bullets” was appropriate political discourse, Turnbull agreed that Shorten had declared war on business – specifically, “family businesses of Australia”.
But he didn’t overextend the metaphor quite as spectacularly as his treasurer, as Lenore Taylor wrote in her column.
One assumes on breaks from the war on business, Labor promised to enter into power purchase agreements (PPA) equal to bringing commonwealth energy use up to 50% renewable energy by 2030. The contracts would be entered into for 10 to 15 years.
Shorten was reluctant to be drawn on how much the policy would cost.
Best of Bowers
Mike Bowers captures the moment Bill Shorten was handed a rat by a cast member – Zoe Norton-Lodge – of the team from the Chaser’s election special.
Further reading
• ‘Tax as their bullets’: Scott Morrison’s extraordinary ‘war’ attack on Labor (Fairfax) “Opposing a reduction in corporate tax, we learnt, is just the beginning of Generalissimo Shorten’s War on Everything.”
• Richard Flanagan and Tom Keneally tussling with paper tigers (Fairfax) “The worst outcome for consumers would that Labor backed Flanagan and Keneally and Szubanski and won the election,” writes Peter Martin.
• ABC Friends’ independence campaign targets marginal Coalition seats A not-for-profit organisation is targeting nearly 30 marginal Coalition seats in a national campaign to “protect the independence of the ABC”.
And also ...
The Avalanches have put out their first new track since the release of their debut album Since I Left You 16 years ago. Since they last dropped a record it’s fair to say a few things have changed.
Kids, the last time The Avalanches had an album, Turnbull had yet to join the Liberals and Waleed Aly was two years from a media appearance
— Stephen Murray (@smurray38) June 1, 2016
One Twitter user described the new track, Frankie Sinatra – which premiered on Triple J and features MF Doom – was “very Eminem circa 2000”, which we’re taking as a ringing endorsement. It’s on YouTube here.
And the rat of the day ...
“How old is your rat?” – as Turnbull ventured of a mall-going rodent named Splinter on Monday – will surely go down as a catchphrase of this campaign. (Two-and-a-half was the answer, in case you forgot. Come now, it’s only Thursday.)
The team at The Chaser gave a rodent to Tanya Plibersek, Labor’s deputy leader, at the Sydney Fish Market this morning.
Another campaign rat...at the Sydney Fish Market @billshortenmp @tanya_plibersek #ausvotes pic.twitter.com/fooxeooyrN
— Jane Norman (@janeenorman) June 1, 2016
.@tanya_plibersek handed a rat by the Chaser Team - says she will take it home #electionrat #ausvotes @2GBNews pic.twitter.com/3cRRxFGo3i
— Stephanie Borys (@StephieBorys) June 1, 2016
The deputy leader tweeted that she took him home and fed him “nuts, zucchini and banana”. Truly, this rat’s number has come up – Splinter lived on silverfish and flea eggs. If only rats could vote...
He's safe at home now with some nuts, zucchini, and banana to snack on. @ursulaheger
— Tanya Plibersek (@tanya_plibersek) June 1, 2016
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