Bill Shorten has the relaxed demeanour of a man who is confident he has done his best but not confident of victory.
He has spent the last day of campaigning crisscrossing Sydney convincing voters he can – and deserves – to win. But with polls locked at 50-50 and reports the government’s vote is holding in key marginal seats, at times it seemed Shorten’s main aim was to convince voters it was not all over.
Shorten appeared at four events; a Medicare rally, a morning tea for the launch of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, a health service and a street walk.
The Medicare rally at Martin Place was an energetic start to a mild Sydney winter morning. Volunteers in red shirts brandished little prop Medicare cards with Labor promises on health.
“It’s 24 hours away from the election – we still have 24 hours to ensure we can save Medicare,” Shorten said. “[Malcolm] Turnbull does not want to talk about Medicare … he still persists, in the face of a clear national mood to defend our Medicare system, in freezing the rebates that are paid to GPs.”
Shorten’s last-ditch push on Medicare was given a boost by Turnbull promising doctors’ fees would not rise, which he later qualified by saying fees may rise but doctors couldn’t blame the GP rebate freeze.
Shorten said: “A six-year freeze will invariably mean bulk billing becomes a thing of the past in doctors surgeries around the country.”
Next stop, morning tea at the disability service provider Northcott in Parramatta.
“I want to be prime minister of Australia but something I want as much if not even more is to see the NDIS rolled out,” Shorten told young people with autism.
Shorten was praised by the Labor MP Julie Owens and his deputy leader, Tanya Plibersek, for his role making the NDIS a reality as parliamentary secretary for disabilities in the previous Labor government.
People should not be defined by their impairments and should get the opportunities to go to work and school, Shorten said.
Bill Shorten address at Northcott NDIS morning tea #ausvotes @murpharoo pic.twitter.com/OEvN1rODMx
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) July 1, 2016
Shorten’s next stop was Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation, a youth centre and health service in Campbelltown in southwest Sydney.
When an Indigenous elder gave him a boomerang, Shorten exclaimed: “We’ll come back and save Medicare in the process!”
Today, everything was about Medicare. Even a boomerang.
Labor’s candidate for Macarthur, Michael Freelander, introduced Shorten as the next prime minister. And as Shorten exuded the forced confidence of a well-rehearsed stump speech, it seemed like it might be true.
Asked about the rising numbers of Australians planning to vote for minor parties and independents, Shorten urged voters: “Don’t take the long way around to a better Australia. Just vote Labor.”
Last stop was a street walk through Hurstville with Labor’s candidate for Banks, Chris Gambian. It is a multicultural neighbourhood and Shorten waved at customers and diners in Asian grocers and restaurants.
Shorten and Labor's Chris Gambian #ausvotes pic.twitter.com/tDYlkWP8P7
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) July 1, 2016
The walk was brisk, enough for a few excited high school students to get photos but no long chats about policy and no last-minute dramas or scene-stealing voters.
Shorten is a talented campaigner and all of these events were bread and butter for him. If he wins Saturday’s election, in retrospect we will say he ground Turnbull down through hundreds of appearances like this across eight weeks.
If he loses, it will become apparent that hard campaigning and big promises of social spending can’t compete with stability, incumbency and a ruthless focus on the economy.
Shorten looks like a man who could win. Today was the last day on which that will be good enough.
