How about this for an alternate reality? A normal election campaign would be starting today. As it is, welcome to week four – we’re nearly, almost, oh-so-close to the halfway mark, and the question of a hung parliament is back on the table.
The finance minister, Mathias Cormann, the foreign minister, Julie Bishop, the treasurer, Scott Morrison, and the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, have weighed in on the hypothetical as poll analysis shows the government could lose up to 16 seats in just three states.
Cormann refused to rule out the Coalition forming a minority government with independents. At a doorstop in western Sydney on Monday, Turnbull said it was a “theoretical possibility” but that if any government was to formed on that basis, it would be between Labor and the Greens: the bogeyman that the Coalition has been evoking since the start of the campaign.
“That is the chaos we all remember,” said Morrison later. “And the best way to avoid that chaos is to support the government.”
There are three independent crossbench MPs seeking re-election: Cathy McGowan, Bob Katter and Andrew Wilkie. Other hopefuls include Tony Windsor, who is taking on Barnaby Joyce in New England, and James Mathison, the former Australian Idol presenter, who has announced he will run against Tony Abbott in Warringah. (Look, you never know.)
The Libs won’t say that they won’t work with the independents but are keen to push Labor and the Greens together, the Greens don’t want to sit with the Libs – it’s like trying to accommodate particularly trying guests at a dinner party that may never happen.
At least one potential arrangement has been ruled out: Turnbull said “of course” there is “no way” a coalition would be the formed with the Greens. The feeling’s mutual, says Richard Di Natale: “My own view is that it would be inconceivable to support this government.”
Coming soon: a ‘straightforward’ plebiscite
Turnbull has confirmed that the marriage equality plebiscite would be held this calendar year, as soon as possible after the election. He said the question asked would be very straightforward: “we will be asking the Australian people whether they support the definition of marriage being extended to include couples of the same sex”.
The announcement follows aspersions cast at Turnbull’s integrity during Sunday night’s leaders’ debate when the prime minister dodged a question from AFR journalist Laura Tingle about who he was and what he stood for. (Van Badham’s interpretation of Mike Bowers’ shot of Tingle says it all.)
#leadersdebate #ausvotes #auspol pic.twitter.com/gMlXvrhJYI
— Van Badham (@vanbadham) May 29, 2016
Earlier this month George Brandis, the attorney general, said planning for the plebiscite was well advanced.
But Shirleene Robinson of Australian Marriage Equality said that, regardless of which party wins the election, the quickest way to achieve marriage equality was through a parliamentary free vote: “that should be held as soon as possible”.
Labor has committed to holding a free vote on same-sex marriage within 100 days if elected. The Greens are also in favour.
Politicians in glass-bottom boats …
Bill Shorten announced that Labor will spend $500m over the next five years on protecting the Great Barrier Reef.
“If we do not act, it is in serious danger of being irreparably damaged,” he said in Cairns this afternoon. “If we do not act, our children will rightly ask us why didn’t we. This is not a problem that I’m inclined to pass on to future generations.”
Labor says it wants to work with the Queensland government to implement the plan, and provide a multimillion dollar boost to the CSIRO.
This comes after Friday’s revelation that the government intervened to remove every reference to the Reef from a UN report on the impact of climate change on tourism and World Heritage sites.
In the wake of that story, the Juice Media have put together an honest tourism advertisement. (And First Dog on the Moon has asked the question that should be on on everyone’s lips: “oh my god what is going on?”)
Best of Bowers
Further reading
• A snapshot of political donations in Australia (The Conversation) An at-a-glance view of federal and state disclosure requirements, as well as of each parties’ major donors.
• Why I’m Voting For James Mathison (despite not being in his electorate) (SBS) Mathison looks at Tony Abbott in Waringah, and asks “What about me?” Dee Fidge, whose first taste of democracy came with Australian Idol, argues his case.
• How not to reduce government spending (Fairfax) “If screwing the politically defenceless is the best you can do to control government spending you’re never going to make it. They don’t have enough to cut.” Ross Gittins, the Sydney Morning Herald’s economics editor.
And also ...
Bill Shorten had a sharp response for David Leyonhjelm after the Liberal Democrat senator criticised Shorten’s pledge to fund more women’s sport on television: “Back to the cave, stone age man.”
Leyonhjelm had suggested women’s sport was not interesting enough to warrant additional funding at the taxpayers’ expense after Shorten announced in Canberra on Sunday that Labor would deliver an extra 500 hours of women’s sport via the ABC if elected on 2 July.
In other Leyonhjelm news, Crikey reports that he is currently in the throes of a staffing crisis after policy adviser Helen Dale – née Darville, AKA Demidenko – quit in the middle of the campaign after a dispute over “being subjected to oversight on Facebook stuff”.
Leyonhjelm advisor Helen Dale quits, leaked email suggests paying her replacement in cash https://t.co/8XxnwQ9i2P pic.twitter.com/h86gsVetP7
— Josh Taylor (@joshgnosis) May 30, 2016
An internal email reported to be from the senator suggests that he has told staff that he will “ignore tax” and pay $5,000 in cash to Liberal Democrat Party founder John Humphreys to replace her. Seems legit.
On Twitter Dale suggested that she’d quit because of constraints on her Facebook freedoms, referencing a staple of meme culture when she tweeted “Shitposting for liberty FTW”. She also confirmed that she was no stranger to “the awkward ‘teach old people about dank memes’ conversation”: “It’s... difficult.”
Shitposting for liberty FTW.
— Helen Dale (@_HelenDale) May 30, 2016
Also confirming I am an excellent shitposter and do not need to be told how to do it :) @joshgnosis @JoshButler
— Helen Dale (@_HelenDale) May 30, 2016
A spokesman for Leyonhjelm said: “We can confirm Helen Dale has left her position in the office of Senator Leyonhjelm and we thank her for her contribution.
“It’s not appropriate to discuss private arrangements in the media, except to say we are complying with all tax requirements.”
Meanwhile, in the rest of the world ...
Over two historic terms, official White House photographer Pete Souza has chronicled the most intimate, candid and comical moments of Barack Obama’s presidency.
“This is just one in a stream of vividly human and often funny photographs – released not just through White House press office, but on Flickr and Instagram – in which Souza has documented moments of the Obama administration that will never be forgotten.”
And if today was a pop song ...
Turnbull was reported to be “startled” by the discovery of a rat tucked in its owner’s high-vis hoodie during a walkthrough of a western Sydney shopping centre this afternoon. The two-and-a-half-year-old rodent was named Splinter; his owner, Shane, dared the prime minister to “give him a pat”.
“He’s the reason I don’t get pests in my home – he eats them all,” Shane told Turnbull, according to BuzzFeed Australia. “Cockroaches, silverfish, ants, spiders, fleas, flea eggs.
“Only bad thing he does is he tries to clean my teeth when I’m asleep.”
The prime minister reportedly replied, “All right, thank you.” We’ll let The Walkmen play out this “cinematic” moment.
Never miss another catchup: If you’re reading this in the Guardian app, tap on “Australian election briefing” at the top or bottom of this page, then tap on “Follow series” to get an app notification as soon as the Campaign catchup publishes every afternoon.
