How great it was to see prime minister Malcolm Turnbull refusing to use his campaign launch on Sunday to stand up for the ideals he’s been fighting for all his life: tackling climate change, marriage equality and an Australian republic.
What our prime minister is doing is providing an instructive example for his citizens. It’s a generous gesture offered by man who is better known for his vaunted ego and ambition – Malcolm is showcasing for the nation that power is only useful if it is used. It’s as if he’s setting a good example for his next Liberal leadership rival: there’s no point seizing the leadership if you aren’t going to seize the opportunity.
But Malcolm need not despair. He may not usher in an era of climate sustainability, nor be the man who enables Australia to stand tall without its anachronistic links to a British monarch. But if Turnbull wins the election on 2 July he will still be able hold a special place in Australia’s history. With his promised plebiscite on same sex marriage Turnbull will secure a legacy as a prime minister who significantly altered the course of his nation. Just like David Cameron.
Speaking of the soon-to-be-former British prime minister, I’m starting to get the Brexit vibe. I wasn’t entitled to a vote, but if I had been I would have voted to stay. But now that the Brits have taken to the ballot box to overthrow their EU overlords, I’m feeling the nationalistic enthusiasm starting to course strongly through my veins. It’s time for Australia to Brexit the Commonwealth! Let’s get a resident for president! As Billy Bragg sings, take down the Union Jack, it clashes with the sunset. Especially the red, black and yellow sunset on the Aboriginal flag.
I’m a republican from way back (like way, way back, when my seventh great grandfather served as a brigadier general to George Washington, and when my Irish Catholic relatives arrived in Queensland in 1863). I’ve always believed it is ridiculous, embarrassing and backwards that our multicultural Pacific island nation uses a hereditary British monarch as our head of state.
I felt like apologising to my ancestors when I had to be sworn in the NSW Parliament in 2003 by taking an oath to the Queen, her heirs and successors. Later on, we changed the oath of office to loyalty to the people of NSW. Even later, the Coalition brought back the option of swearing allegiance to the Queen.
But come on, now that Britain has cut itself loose from the European Union, now that Scotland and Ireland look likely to have votes of their own in the wake of the Brexit result, shouldn’t we take another stab at it here? Do we really want to remain tethered to a xenophobic, inward-looking, backwards-thinking, economically foolhardy and crumbling empire? If only we had a prime minister who believed in Australia’s republican cause. Maybe one day we will.
Speaking of economically foolhardy, it’s that magical time in every election campaign: costings! You know how the nation gathers around the television sets, breathlessly waiting for the parties’ election policy costings every three years? Labor delivered theirs on Sunday, just after Malcolm Turnbull’s campaign launch and with the same level of enthusiasm in the room.
A few weeks ago, after Labor announced that its four-year deficit would be higher than the Coalition but that they would get to a surplus at the same time (ten years), I made a prediction.
I said – to my teenage son at the kitchen counter – that I reckoned Labor would come in with a deficit figure comparative to the Coalition, discounting the zombie budget measures. I said that would mess up the Coalition’s narrative and encourage journalists to pursue the Coalition about the promised savings that can never get through the Senate. It’s a one-two sucker punch play: reel them in on their outrage about a higher deficit, then show up their baseless claims about their own savings measures.
“Why not just come in with a deficit lower than the Coalition full-stop?” my son asked. “What you are saying is a bit clever, but it really leaves Labor open to a scare campaign the last week of the campaign. It’s not a lot of money in the scale of the federal budget. Surely they could just find a way to come in lower than the other side.” (He studies economics, my kid.)
I don’t make the policies, son. I just try to read the politics.
But he’s right.
For the record, Labor is promising a deficit that is $16.5bn higher than the Coalition over the next four years. But the Coalition’s costings count on $30bn of “zombie measures” that haven’t made it through the Senate – some of them from 2014. Australia has more chance of being a republic in 2020 than these measures have of being passed into law.
Labor seems to be saying that there really is a monster under the bed: a $30bn zombie that will maul the Coalition’s budget bottom line. But good luck making that look as scary as an attack ad that screams “Labor’s promising a bigger deficit!!” In the last week of a campaign, messages get simpler and nuance gets lost.
Strap yourselves in, folks, and get ready for the scary music, the black backgrounds and the screeching voice-overs. The attack ads are coming.
Only a few days to go, then we can all get back to watching Masterchef uninterrupted.
But no, I will not allow this eight-week campaign to drive me to such cynicism. Like all elections, this one matters, and a vote is an important responsibility.
I might want many things to come out of this election – a fairer taxation system, better funding for education, a health system that is truly universal, and real action on climate change. But what I want more than anything is this: that each one of us take some time away from the scare campaigns and the media hype and make an informed decision on who should run the country.
As I said eight weeks ago, it’s time to choose Australia. It’s time to pick a side. Choose wisely.
