How are we feeling, folks? We feeling good? We feeling good about the slow decline of Australia as it descends into a cultural and political morass from which it may never extricate itself? Good, good, good.
Day 17 of the federal election campaign – we think it’s Day 17 at least, there is some manner of dispute here – kicked off with that most cherished of election traditions: the release of the latest Newspoll. The poll shows a tightening of the race, with the Coalition trailing Labor 49-51. That change is within the margin of error, but it’s the best result Scott Morrison has received in his entire tenure as prime minister.
If those numbers hold, the Coalition will still lose between six and 10 seats, and therefore the election. It’s worth mentioning that the Liberal primary vote is at 38 and Labor’s is at 37. That’s significant: the Libs had a primary vote of 42 percent when Malcolm Turnbull scraped through on a one-seat majority.
ScoMo today told everyone to “take a chill pill” on the party preferences argy-bargy, after widespread anger over the fact the Coalition will be preferencing Clive Palmer‘s United Australia Party over Labor and the Greens:
Where we have simply said is we are prepared to offer those preferences because, frankly, after you vote Liberal and National the choices get pretty thin. They get very thin, in fact. We think, frankly, Bill Shorten and the Greens, Labor and the Greens would be far worse for the economy and Clive Palmer thinks the same and United Australia party thinks the same. That is why he knocked back their begging for his preferences and I am sure he knocked back a subtle attempt to bribe him.
Clive Palmer is becoming more of a thorn in the side of everyone right about now. The aforementioned Newspoll pegs Clive’s party at a solid 5%, making it the biggest minor party after the Greens. One Nation is at 4 percent. Pretty nuts what a hugely fuckin’ annoying billboard campaign can buy you these days.
Also on the Clive front, this bizarre interview:
“My wealth is four thousand million dollars, do you think I give a stuff about what you personally think?” @CliveFPalmer to @Deborah_Knight. #9Today pic.twitter.com/JsAvt1eRLU
— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) April 28, 2019
Cool. Moving on!
Renegade Liberal senator Jim Molan, who has been relegated to the sixth – and probably unwinnable – spot on the NSW Senate ticket, has kicked off his own how-to-vote campaign encouraging punters to toss him some below-the-line votes. He needs somewhere in the vicinity of 170,000-odd people to actually do this, which probably won’t happen.
Liberal Senate candidate @JimMolan has printed his own how to vote cards, instructing people how to vote below the line in the Senate #AusVotes19 #auspol @SBSNews pic.twitter.com/Aigah3Srk4
— Brett Mason (@BrettMasonNews) April 29, 2019
Also, not sure why he’s big-upping his Iraq War leadership on his collateral here. Don’t think there are many fans of that particular war left on the electoral roll.
On the Labor front, we’re seeing Shorten and co take a leaf from the Tony Abbott campaign book, arguing that a vote for the Libs is a vote for a coalition of chaos including Clive, Pauline Hanson, and all manner of other undesirables.
It is a choice between a united and stable Labor team led by myself and supported by Tanya Plibersek or the divided, ramshackle coalition of the unwilling led by Mr Morrison and Clive Palmer and Pauline Hanson. This is a very unstable coalition of cuts and chaos in Canberra and it needs to stop.
You might recall that the Libs aggressively pursued this line back in 2010 and 2013, but with Labor and the Greens.
Labor announced three big ticket policies over the weekend: an investment of $2.4 billion in seniors’ dental care, a $4 billion investment in cheaper childcare, and a 20% boost in early childhood educators’ pay. The Libs haven’t quite worked out how they’re going to effectively oppose those policies, but education minister Dan Tehan gave it a red hot go on ABC radio by screaming about communism.
“I mean this is a fast track to a socialist, if not communist economy. It is unheard of,” he said. We all know Karl Marx wrote reams and reams of theory on childcare subsidies – really a fantastic point, Dan.
If you’re around tonight and not watching Game of Thrones like a normal person, feel free to subject yourself to some low-intensity brain trauma with the first televised debate of the campaign. It’s taking place in Perth, and can be viewed on 7Two. Another debate is scheduled for Friday on Sky News, and ScoMo is calling for a third debate to be held at some nebulous point in the future.
Cool!
