The next federal election is just over a month away but the political cookery has only just begun! The drama, the angst, the sledging — is this year 9 footy or is this an election? Strap in for a wild ride as we cover what’s been happening in the world of #auspol — for better or worse (most likely for worse).
Prime Minister Scott Morrison may have only called the election a little under a week ago but there’s been no shortage of spicy moments.
Transphobia update
In our last recap we covered the evolving saga of Morrison and the Libs backing a bill that would ban trans women from women’s sports.
Since then, more tea hath been spilled in the form of email leaks regarding the Liberal candidate for Warringa (Tony Abbot‘s old electorate) Katherine Deves.
Deves has been the source of much criticism after rallying behind a proposal to ban trans women from women’s sports. Get the fk outta here m8.
The leaked emails suggest Morrison is under intense pressure from fellow libs to dump Deves as a candidate.
“Presidents and many members are calling for Ms Deves resignation in light of her hurtful and divisive comments that have proliferated the media,” one Liberal Party branch president wrote.
“In fact, my members have asked me to contact the conference president, Lee Furlong, to call for Ms Deves resignation which I have done in writing, I’m awaiting a response.”
NSW Treasurer Matt Kean joined calls for Deves’ resignation as per news.com.
“These kinds of horrendous views are not okay, and I’m sure the voters of Warringah agree. Time for the Liberal Party to beat them to it and disendorse her.”
“Coming out as transgender would be hugely challenging, especially for kids, and political leaders should be condemning the persecution of people based on their gender, not participating in it.”
The media frenzy first began when the PM appeared to be totally on board Deves’ anti-trans proposals regarding women’s sport.
PM says he supports push to effectively ban trans women from competing in female sports. Applauds “very brave” Liberal women pushing idea. “We will deal with that another time”.
— Samantha Maiden (@samanthamaiden) April 11, 2022
The “very brave” comment by Morrison was essentially his way of backing his preselected candidate Deves.
Enrol to vote!
Kids, your mother and I need to have a chat with you.
If you know anyone, and we mean ANYONE who hasn’t enrolled to vote in the upcoming federal election — let ’em know that time is running the fk out.
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According to data provided by the Australian Electoral Commission 55.1% of eligible 18-year-olds were enrolled to vote as of March 31 2022.
Since the election was announced, another 46,000 people were added to the roll, including 34,000 who have turned 18 since the last federal election.
This is a great effort!
BUT your mother and I still reckon we can shoot even higher!
Some of you probably just became an adult and others probably just aren’t too fussy about the election.
But once you’re enrolled, you’re enrolled for life! Rip the bandaid off and crack into your mates about it.
Feel empowered being the #auspol nerd of your friendship group.
Nerds are cool! At least that’s what my mum says…
Voters care about values, not statistics.
Shock horror — everyday Aussies who are concerned about normal people things like the cost of living, climate change and housing don’t give a single fuck about whether our politicians know itty-bitty-shitty statistics.
An interesting moment occurred on Q&A this week (rare, in this day and age) when host Stan Grant asked the studio audience to raise their hands if they cared about Anthony Albanese‘s gaffe earlier in the week when he got the unemployment rate wrong.
About two or three hands went up. Lol.
Unless you’re a commerce major or a #financebro, chances are you completely tuned out of the media’s coverage of the election race this week after Albanese copped it from the media for not knowing the unemployment rate.
There are many conclusions we can draw from this.
One is that the unemployment rate doesn’t tell the whole story when the underemployment rate (how many Aussies aren’t getting enough working hours to live comfortably) still stands at 6.3% as per the ABS.
Another takeaway is that a low unemployment rate means fuck all if those jobs are precarious, exploitative or downright dangerous.
Arguably the best response to this swarm of shitty journo questions came from Greens leader Adam Bandt at the National Press Club.
Bandt told a journo to “Google it, mate” when asked what the WPI was.
WPI stands for Wage Price Index — for anyone still awake at this point.
Green’s Leader Adam Bandt with the perfect response to this “gotcha” question and a message to all you “journalists” out there that think this a good way to treat this election campaign. #auspol #AusVotes2022 #Elections2022 pic.twitter.com/kCYimkLPXv
— Simon Barnhill (@SimonBarnhill) April 13, 2022
Good Friday is a bad Friday for campaigning?
“Easter is not about politics,” said Morrison yesterday while attending a church service with Liberal MP Gladys Liu as per SBS. The irony was just *chef’s kiss*.
Liu holds her seat by the slimmest of margins and is expected to be in for a tight race this election. But Easter is deffo not about politics… right guys?
@ScottMorrisonMP saying that Easter is not about politics but about faith as he is filmed standing outside a church beside @LiberalAus member for Chisholm nodding eagerly with his every word.
— Paul Kniest (@paulkniest) April 15, 2022
“Easter is about faith. It’s about hope,” the PM continued while leading a small army’s worth of journos to a church service.
Again, Easter is 100% not about politics for Morrison. Apparently.
“It’s about being able to look forward to the future with confidence and encouraged by your beliefs and it’s a very personal thing for me.”
You cannot make this shit up.
Albanese also had a few words to say on Good Friday when he attended a local church in Sydney.
“The feeling of hope inspires us all as we begin to emerge from the pandemic and look towards a better future,” the Labor leader said.
“I send my very best wishes to the many people celebrating this weekend and hope you can finally gather safely with your family and in your churches.”
Very moving Good Friday Liturgy at St Charbel’s Church in Punchbowl this morning with Sydney’s Maronite community. Thank you to Bishop Tarabay for such a warm welcome on one of the holiest days for your church. pic.twitter.com/FF0Eyx2KM5
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) April 15, 2022
And that just about covers it!
Go forth and impress your mates at the pub with your newfound political knowledge.
Stay tuned to PEDESTRIAN.TV for more spicy updates on the 2022 federal election.
