Coalition’s drama helps ALP buoyancy as Shorten shapes to present alternative government
BILL Shorten surely cannot believe his good luck as the electorally unpopular Opposition Leader prepares to face off against a government he says is “eating itself alive”.
NSW
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BILL Shorten surely cannot believe his good luck as the electorally unpopular Opposition Leader prepares to face off against a government he says is “eating itself alive”.
From here it makes little difference to Labor who leads the Coalition because its overarching pitch to voters in the lead-up to the election will likely be the same.
Previously, painting Malcolm Turnbull as an out of touch harbourside multi-millionaire offering his big business mates cash handouts had been a key Labor strategy.
The personality politics will now take a back seat as Mr Shorten presents his team as an alternative government that is united with an established policy platform.
It will also push its claims of selfishness in the government with ministers and a new prime minister who care more about their own jobs than they do voters.
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Every day Mr Shorten will urge the new PM to see the Governor-General and call an election because Labor is ready for the campaign.
“The Liberal Party, whatever it does today and tomorrow, is irreparably split,” Mr Shorten said.
“I said on Tuesday that this is a government which had lost the will to live. But I don’t even think on Tuesday we could have seen the cannibalistic behaviour of a government who is eating itself alive.”
Deputy Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek yesterday demanded the government go to the polls and “let the people of Australia decide”.
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“Let (them) decide whether they want a government focused only on itself, only on their own jobs, or whether they want a government that is focused on more jobs with decent pay and conditions, on an education system that gives every child the best start in life and the greatest opportunities, on a health system that cares for our most vulnerable with proper funding,” Ms Plibersek said.
Opinion polls taken before the latest Coalition chaos have consistently shown voters resoundingly prefer Mr Turnbull as prime minister — even as Labor’s two-party preferred position has improved.
Now, Labor believes the spill has bettered its chances of winning the seats of Reid, Banks and Bennelong in NSW, Corangamite, Dunkley and Chisholm in Victoria and Boothby in SA, no matter who is the Liberal leader.
While having Peter Dutton as leader would sandbag the LNP’s existing seats in Queensland and help to pick up Herbert from Labor, it would probably hand WA’s Hasluck to Mr Shorten and likely SA’s Sturt.
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Only a month ago Mr Shorten was facing a leadership challenge of his own depending on the outcome of the Super Saturday by-elections.
But now Mr Shorten will now be able to argue Labor is a safe and stable choice to run the country — despite its own history of leadership battles.
“No one in this Parliament in the last decade can hold their head high about bitterness and argument, but what I recognise is that Labor has learned its lesson over the last five years,” Mr Shorten said.
Labor has most of its candidates in place while the government has only preselected one candidate in Labor’s 20 most marginal seats. And many sitting members are yet to be reconfirmed, with some facing internal contests, including NSW’s Craig Kelly.
“There are a couple of outstanding electorates but, by and large, we’ve preselected right across the country,” Labor president-elect Wayne Swan said yesterday.
Fundraising is another problem for the government.
Labor has union funding and manpower while the Coalition stares into empty coffers. Elected MPs in NSW have reportedly been asked to raise a total of $2.3 million but are currently $1.4 million short.
And it’s unlikely Mr Turnbull will contribute the millions from his personal wealth that he has in the past.