Lip gloss versus reality in NSW

Behind NSW Premier Kristina Keneally’s lip gloss, there lurks a formidable politician.

In today’s televised debate with Opposition leader Barry O’Farrell she demonstrated why her personal popularity soars but whether it alone will be sufficient to drag her reeking corpse of a political party over the electoral line in a year’s time is to be seen. In a victory for the public, Mr O’Farrell did extract a promise from Ms Keneally to have the Auditor-General’s department cost both political party’s election promises. This was probably the biggest plus flowing from The Daily Telegraph’s debate. Otherwise, Ms Keneally gave the audience her usual impression of doe-eyed vulnerability, a look which some people no doubt find appealing, but it doesn’t distract from the fact that she is a fully-scripted Hawker-Britton Labor politician. On that score, she dressed some of her responses in the same folksy language used to such good effect by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd whenever he finds it necessary to avoid the truth. Which is increasingly often. Thus we heard a lot about Ms Keneally’s experiences with her children, and the sort of advice her mother gave her. Well, we all had mothers and many of us have raised children, so appeals of this nature should be seen as the hollow oratorical tricks they are. The debate left many big questions which need to be resolved. We won’t, for example, know the facts about NSW’s finances until the Henry tax review is released by the Rudd Labor government and its impact can be assessed. Ms Keneally is trying to make the electoral contest presidential because her team does not stand up to scrutiny. The NSW public has had a gutful of the Eddie Obeids, the Frank Sartors, the Joe Tripodis and the rest of what are perceived to be a rotten bunch, as the polls show. Just because Labor has an Aboriginal woman in its ranks, or boasts of diversity, does not deliver better government as commuters and those waiting for elective surgery in NSW hospitals know to their cost. Mr O’Farrell says he wants to be constructive, fix the State’s ailing infrastructure and restore public accountability. He has to be careful in these sorts of debates though as it is easy to perceive any critic of the government as negative. Ms Keneally repeated the phrase “positive and practical” as instructed. She knows what sells to an audience tired of listening to politicians argue about costs and policies which have been announced and remain undelivered. One year out, it will be a long year till the State election. Whether the bicycle-riding Mum provides sufficient distraction from the stench of her party or whether the white-bread politician manages to sell himself as the man who can make a difference, is the real challenge.