The Sauce: The winners, the losers, and the downright weird in 2019 politics
It was the year Bill Shorten lost the unlosable election and Scott Morrison was re-elected as PM. Here is The Sauce’s list of the winners, the losers and the downright weird from another bruising year in Canberra.
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So another year of politicians, parliaments and party politics comes to a close, and not even The Sauce would have predicted Scott “I’m sorry for taking a holiday” Morrison would be our elected national leader.
The “miracle” election result not only put ScoMo in the Lodge, but also brought to an end the 25-year political career of Tony Abbott and saw a raft of veteran politicians quit before polling day.
Bill Shorten pinched John Hewson’s mantle of losing the “unlosable election”, and the nation lost a true legend in former PM Bob Hawke.
Here’s our list of the winners, the losers and the downright weird from another bruising year in Canberra.
WINNERS
SCOTT MORRISON: The self-described “daggy dad” pulled off a polling-day miracle in May, winning the election against the odds and ending the leadership of Bill Shorten.
The PM has managed to dodge most controversies and has won the support of Coalition colleagues that should make him the first prime minister to serve a full term for more than a decade.
JOSH FRYDENBERG: His first budget delivered personal income tax cuts to low- and middle-income Australians, and saw the return of a balanced budget for the first time in more than a decade.
But the volatile world economy means he will have his work cut out for him in 2020.
ANTHONY ALBANESE: Albo held on to his Sydney seat and took over the Labor Party leadership — a job he has had his eyes on since losing a leadership ballot to Bill Shorten in 2013.
Despite the devastating result for Labor, Albo has managed to control the bloodletting and landed a few blows on the Coalition towards the end of the year.
LOSERS
ANGUS TAYLOR: Once touted as a future PM, Taylor suffered a massive fall from grace with police investigating his office over allegations of falsified documents which were used to attack Sydney Lord Mayor, Clover Moore.
The Rhodes Scholar also came under fire from US author Naomi Wolf, who he wrongly linked to a plot to remove a Christmas tree from Oxford.
BILL SHORTEN: Christmas couldn’t come soon enough for the former Labor leader, who lost the “unlosable” election in May.
Shorten’s Labor alienated older voters with a proposed tax grab, and was smashed in Queensland where it recorded a primary vote of just 27 per cent.
Despite some wins as his party’s NDIS spokesman, Shorten has had a shocker.
NATIONAL PARTY: Once a bastion of stability, the junior Coalition partner ends the year in turmoil. Personal feuds and leadership tensions within have threatened to bubble over as backbenchers demand leader Michael McCormack and deputy Bridget McKenzie muscle-up to the Liberal Party.
CLIVE PALMER: The multi-millionaire’s United Australia Party failed to win a single seat despite spending an estimated $60 million on advertisements.
THE QUOTE FILE
■ “I do not have a log cabin story like so many people in this place — but I once did have to get my own lemon for a gin and tonic.” — Christopher Pyne’s final speech in the House of Representatives.
■ Scott Morrison attempts to speak Chinese — ScoMo: “Hello, how are you? … Ni hao.” Woman in Strathfield: “No, no, no, I’m Korean.”
■ “You’re a classic space invader.” — Bill Shorten told Scott Morrison as the PM leaned in to make a point in a debate over tax policy.
■ “Ms France is using her disability as an excuse for not moving into our electorate.” — Peter Dutton controversially claiming his Labor opponent was using her disability as a reason not to move house.
■ “We were on the sauce”, “we’d had a few drinks” and “got a bit carried away.” — Pauline Hanson’s chief of staff James Ashby claims he had been drinking whisky for three or four hours when he and another party official made comments about getting $20 million from a foreign pro-gun lobby group.
WEIRD AND WACKY
■ Egg boy William Connolly, 17, hit Senator Fraser Anning with an egg after he blamed the NZ shooting on Muslims and immigration.
■ One Nation staffer James Ashby was banned from Parliament House following a fight with United Australia Party Senator Brian Burston, who later smeared blood on Senator Hanson’s office door
■ Continuing the egg theme, left-wing protester Amber Holt threw an egg at Scott Morrison and found herself in some trouble.
■ Scott Morrison brought controversy on himself after a poorly photoshopped photo saw his weathered tennis shoes turn white in a picture on his website.
NEW ARRIVALS
■ Government Minister Michael Sukkar welcomed his second son Nathan in March.
■ Ex-Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce welcomed his second son, Thomas, with partner Vikki Campion in June.
■ The ALP’s Amanda Rishworth welcomed second son, Oscar, in July.
■ Labor’s Lisa Chesters and partner Matt welcomed baby Daisy Jane in December.
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