Morrison is showing his strength in all areas but one
The Prime Minister was voted in with few real policy offerings behind him but since entering the Lodge, Scott Morrison wasted no time getting to work. Except on the issue of Israel Folau, writes David Speers.
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Scott Morrison was often ridiculed during the election campaign for his threadbare policy offering.
Beyond tax cuts, there was little in the way of new ideas. The Prime Minister, we were told, would have nothing to do if he pulled off an unlikely win.
This week, back from a quick family break, Morrison showed he’s hardly going to be loafing around the Lodge. He dived into some tough issues; the US-China trade war, fixing badly outdated workplace laws and even bringing back the children of Australia’s most notorious ISIS terrorist.
There were signs the Prime Minister is growing more confident in his position. The authority that’s come with almost single-handedly vanquishing Labor has given him more room to move.
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Take industrial relations for example. Liberals have been walking on eggshells on this since the Howard Government’s WorkChoices overreach more than a decade ago.
Malcolm Turnbull notably restored the building industry watchdog and the independent umpire approved a gradual reduction in some Sunday penalty rates, but that’s about it. There’s been no structural reform to accommodate the enormous changes in the way we work, from the rise of the unregulated “gig” economy, to the slow death of enterprise bargaining, the fall in productivity and stubbornly stagnant wages.
The proof will be in the pudding, but this “fresh look” at industrial relations is clearly a good start, even if it does risk a scare campaign from the unions and Labor.
Importantly, Morrison is telling workers not to panic. He gave an assurance that “any changes in this area must … protect the rights and entitlements of workers”.
It’s worth remembering that back in 2015 when Malcolm Turnbull became Prime Minister and announced a review of the tax system, it was Morrison as Treasurer who was willing to be more ambitious. Turnbull shut him down. Perhaps now as a Prime Minister elected in his own right, Morrison will be more courageous than his predecessor.
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Then there was the decision to bring back the Sharrouf kids. This too showed some confidence from Morrison.
Some of his colleagues and most supportive commentators have grave reservations about the risks these children may pose back in Australian society, given what they’ve experienced over the past five years under ISIS rule. The Prime Minister, however, has shown faith in the assessment of his security agencies. He’s willing to stare down criticism on this and made a moral judgment that’s hard to argue with: “children should not be punished for the crimes of their parents”.
On the US-China trade war, Morrison was also showing just a touch more courage. While sticking to the line that both sides need to sort out their differences, the Prime Minister was applying some added pressure to China.
After jetting into Osaka for dinner with Donald Trump before the G20 summit (a dinner Bill Shorten would most likely not have been granted had he won), Morrison sharpened his language against China’s behaviour.
He told my Sky News colleague Kieran Gilbert the “big issues” at the heart of the trade dispute are “quite legitimate.”
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He then went on to list them: “intellectual property, technology transfer, industrial subsidies”. This is the exact list of US complaints against Beijing.
While certainly not endorsing Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods and being careful not to poke Beijing in the eye, the Prime Minister is now more willing to call out China, Australia’s biggest trading partner.
There is, however, one issue where Scott Morrison is accused of showing little courage: Israel Folau.
He bolted from the microphones when asked about Folau at a press conference earlier in the week and when quizzed by Gilbert in Osaka, saying only that he wants to ensure no one is “intimidated” about their religious views, while stressing he doesn’t want any “conflict” over the religious discrimination laws he’s working on.
Here again, many of his own supporters would like to see the Prime Minister take a stronger line in defence of free speech and religious expression. But perhaps resisting the urge to join the chorus on this shows some courage too.
MORE OPINION FROM RENDEZVIEW: Whose freedom of speech is more important?
Right now this is a legal matter between Folau and Rugby Australia over what terms he signed up to as part of his employment and whether they encroached on his rights.
Everyone should be free to express wacky religious views, even if they offend. But the idea new laws are needed to give all employees blanket protection to take to social media and offend gays, Jews, Muslims, women or whoever they want in the name of religion, regardless of their employer’s wishes, is enormously problematic.
Few workplaces, including church-run institutions, would be comfortable with that.
The debate over religious discrimination laws won’t be easy for Scott Morrison. He will need plenty of courage to navigate these choppy, holy waters.
Originally published as Morrison is showing his strength in all areas but one
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