Kate Ellis: ALP has the discipline to lead nation

In the five years since Labor’s leadership debacles it’s been stable and focused with one Leader and a united team. The Coalition can’t say the same, writes Kate Ellis.

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Voters have every right to complain about politics and politicians. Yet we should never forget that we, the voters, have the ultimate power to decide what is and isn’t acceptable political conduct.

I say this because listening to the radio earlier this week I heard some commentary which was enough to infuriate me out of my relaxed state of unemployment.

The host, (who may or may not have also been my husband, but let’s put that to one side for now), was arguing that the Coalition’s leadership turmoil was irrelevant as an election issue and those responsible for it shouldn’t be held accountable. Sorry, what?! 

His rationale was that Labor did it when we were in government so were in no position to talk. Maybe. Except for the fact that the former Labor government was kicked to the kerb by voters as a result.

In the five years since, Labor has been stable and focused with one Leader, one Deputy Leader, one Shadow Treasurer and a united team. The message was received. 

In contrast, Scott Morrison has himself referred to the Liberal Government as a “Muppet Show”. Three prime ministers in five years, internal division and turmoil, a focus on themselves instead of the nation and still no explanation as to why exactly Malcolm Turnbull is no longer the prime minister. And it does matter. 

I know first hand how much it matters because I’ve seen how distracting it can be when you are part of a divided government and people need to spend half their time keeping an eye on their internal enemies and half their time actually doing the job they were elected to do.

If we don’t want our parliament to continue to look and act like a circus, then we cannot dismiss this chaos as just being politics as usual. We cannot let it become the usual. We the voters have the power to punish those who take their eye off the ball and make clear that it will not be tolerated. And we do that at the ballot box. 

It matters that the Government have been a ridiculous rabble. Just as it matters that Member for Boothby Nicolle Flint was one of the first to sign the petition to roll Malcolm Turnbull and that in her judgment, Peter Dutton should be prime minister. Dutton is the extreme, nasty man who boycotted the apology to the Stolen Generation and recently offended Australians with a disability by claiming his opponent used it as an excuse. 

The Australian people should be the focus of politicians. Labor has learnt its lesson — it’s time the Liberals and Nicolle Flint are turfed out to learn their lesson, too. Any future government acting the same should be turfed out as well. Enough is enough. We set the standards. 

KATE ELLIS IS THE OUTGOING MEMBER FOR ADELAIDE