Laurie Oakes: Team Xenophon now looms as a sudden danger

WHEN he formed his own party and targeted Lower House seats as well as the Senate, Nick Xenophon projected himself into the big league.

Senator Nick Xenophon speaks at a rally supporting dairy farmers. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

WHEN he formed his own party and targeted Lower House seats as well as the Senate, Nick Xenophon projected himself into the big league.

The consequences of that are now becoming obvious.

The major parties and sections of the media are out to cut him down to size. Anything that might embarrass him is being dug up and given headline treatment.

Making Australian MPs more ­financially transparent could be an unintended consequence of the attacks on Xenophon.

The latest instalment was the discovery that the independent Senator had failed to ­declare his directorship of a company run by his elderly ­father.

“It was a genuine oversight but I have to take responsibility for it,” he said.

Xenophon is getting the treatment because his Nick Xenophon Team is suddenly a danger to both the Liberals and Labor in South Australia, polling somewhere between 22 and 28 per cent in that state, on track to win at least three Senate places and a chance to take the Lower House seats of Mayo and Sturt.

The concerted attempts to undercut Xenophon’s popularity are a result of the closeness of this election contest.

But, as a skilled politician, Xenophon knows what is likely to be popular and is adept at turning negatives into positives. He is using his own lapse to argue that there is a need for even tougher disclosure rules for Members of Parliament.

He told me yesterday that, when the new Parliament meets after the July 2 election, he will introduce legislation in a bid to amend existing provisions so that they mirror ­requirements of the US Congress.

That would compel MHRs and Senators to declare not only liabilities and assets, but also the type and amount of income produced by those assets, plus sources and amounts of other outside ­income (including the sources of incomes of spouses).

Australian Members of Parliament, Xenophon says, should be made to declare the kind of information covered in their tax returns.

And he promises that, when he introduces his amendment, he will make his own tax ­returns public.

The concerted attempts to undercut Xenophon’s popularity are a result of the closeness of this election contest.

Another consequence is that some issues get blown out of proportion as the parties fight for every seat and every vote.

After the tumult and the shouting died, what was the result? The answer is ­revealed in the Liberal Party’s own polling.

One such issue is superannuation. Malcolm Turnbull’s proposed changes to superannuation concessions at high-income levels dominated headlines and agitated shock jocks for several days during the past week.

There were claims of Liberal Party splits over the issue, demands that Turnbull and Treasurer Scott Morrison change course, and warnings of a post-election party room revolt if they failed to do so. Turnbull and Morrison had to publicly stare down the critics.

But, after the tumult and the shouting died, what was the result? The answer is ­revealed in the Liberal Party’s own polling.

According to a senior Liberal strategist, over Wednesday and Thursday — when the debate was raging — the ­Coalition improved by 7 points on the question of which party was best for older Australians on matters such as super.

The private Liberal polling also shows that only about 2 per cent of voters see superannuation as a top-of-mind election issue compared with more than 40 per cent who think it’s about the economy.

So Turnbull can ignore the wealthy whingers. Clearly his election prospects are not being damaged by super.

Unlike Shorten, who has been at it since Christmas, the PM needed campaigning practice.

In fact, as the government gradually succeeds in focusing the campaign on its jobs and growth theme, there is a sense that Labor is losing momentum and that Bill Shorten may have peaked.

This is related to a marked improvement in the Prime Minister’s campaign performance. He has become more disciplined with his message and tighter in his language, and more alert to how unguarded comments can be misinterpreted or misrepresented.

As he has gained confidence he has become more adept at ­engaging with people — and their pets, whether rats or dogs — on the campaign trail.

In this sense, the long campaign might prove a positive for Turnbull. Unlike Shorten, who has been at it since Christmas, the PM needed campaigning practice.

But the major parties could face some discomfort when it is all over and Xenophon moves his proposed new disclosure measures.

It is hard to see ­either Labor or the Liberals supporting the amendment.

The privacy argument will be trotted out, as it has been in the UK where there is also a push for MPs to publish their tax returns.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has already been forced to reveal his tax affairs. In the US, Donald Trump is snapping and snarling as pressure grows for him to make his tax returns public.

Making MPs here more ­financially transparent could be an unintended consequence of the attacks on Xenophon.

Laurie Oakes is the Nine Network’s political editor.