Michael McGuire: Labor election launch is preaching to the converted

PREMIER Jay Weatherill hit all the usual election campaign notes at Labor’s launch and belted his usual opponents — apart from one in particular, whom he failed to mention.

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INTO a sea of red, basking in the glow that only the adulation of 600 paid-up party members can provide, Jay Weatherill entered the Labor launch yesterday to the strains of Titanium, a song by SA’s favourite wig model, Sia.

You know the one, it’s a catchy number: “You shoot me down but I won’t fall. I am titanium.’’ Of course, it also contains the line: “I’m talking loud not saying much.’’

Which seems much more appropriate for any political party’s campaign launch. Political launches are a like greatest hits albums. There’s not much room for new material.

So Weatherill hit all the expected notes after entering the arena with wife Melissa and their daughters Lucinda and Alice: Renewable energy good, Federal Government bad. Jobs good, Nick Xenophon bad. Elon Musk very, very good. Lib energy minister Josh Frydenberg very, very bad.

Strangely, his most immediate opponent Steven Marshall was not mentioned at all. Xenophon was belted regularly, as were the federal Libs.

Premier Jay Weatherill with his wife Melissa and daughters Lucinda and Alice at Labor’s election campaign launch on Sunday. Picture: Tom Huntley

But this is a campaign launch. It’s a bubble for the party faithful to convince themselves they are on the right side of history. Many in the happy crowd at the Adelaide Convention Centre were bedecked in Labor T-shirts ($25), wearing Donald Trump-style red hats ($20), taking home coffee mugs featuring the mugs of Weatherill and Frydenberg ($15).

Most egregiously, they were charged $20 for a 200-page policy book which had a picture of Frydenberg on page four. Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis didn’t even feature until page 49 and Elon Musk had to wait until page 53.

“Policy book” is a bit of a stretch as well. Weatherill boasted that Labor was the only party to release all of its policies at the start of the campaign. A claim only slightly undermined in a subsequent press conference when he refused to provide significant detail on the financial breakdown of its proposed port, tram network and level crossings.

Launches though are not designed to make sense. They are to energise the faithful for the next four weeks of hard work and to provide pretty pictures for the television news. As Sia sang in another song, Unstoppable: “All smiles, I know what it takes to fool this town.’’