Anthony Albanese blows golden opportunity days before election

It was an opportunity handed to Anthony Albanese on a platter, but he squibbed it in a troubling sign of what our politics has become.

ANALYSIS
Today we witnessed one of the shortest campaign events ever seen during a federal election.

Anthony Albanese, who was stationed in Perth for the day after spending half a week zigzagging relentlessly across the country, visited a pre-poll location in the marginal electorate of Pearce. You might know it as the seat of the outgoing Christian Porter.

It happened at about midday, local time. Mr Albanese was already there when the press arrived, stayed for all of five minutes, and spoke only to Labor volunteers before heading off.

This is the second time Mr Albanese has visited a pre-poll location since I joined the Labor press pack last Thursday. And it’s the second time he has essentially limited his interactions to friendly volunteers.

By any objective measure, that must be considered a wasted opportunity.

If you’ve been following our coverage throughout the election campaign, you’re probably sick of reading about Mr Albanese and his opponent, Scott Morrison, playing it safe; about how they’ve avoided exposing themselves to random, unvetted voters who might be hostile.

But it bears repeating, because it is a defining characteristic of this campaign. Beyond their near-mandatory interactions with the media, neither man seems keen to speak to anyone who will challenge or criticise him.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese visits a pre-polling booth in the suburb of Wanneroo, on May 16 in Perth. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Cowardice is the norm

In an alternative universe where political cowardice isn’t the norm, Mr Albanese could have used his appearance in Pearce to speak to the undecided voters of Australia. He could have spent a paltry 20 or 30 minutes handing out how-to-vote cards; answering voters’ questions about his agenda; listening to their concerns; maybe even copping a spray or two.

That would be a good, productive use of time! How is he to learn about the mindset of voters who don’t already like him if he doesn’t talk to them? What better way to sway people on the fence than to speak to them directly?

And yet. The Labor campaign, like Mr Morrison’s campaign, seems more worried about avoiding any embarrassing moments of conflict with members of the public.

There’s a reason I’m not a political adviser – well, several reasons, to be honest – so call me naive if you wish, but I maintain the Australian public would give Mr Albanese and Mr Morrison credit for exposing themselves to criticism.

If, for example, Mr Morrison had stuck around to have a conversation with former diplomat Trevor Sofield instead of being whisked away from him by security, I’m not convinced it would have been politically damaging. Quite the opposite. We don’t expect our political leaders to be universally popular; we do expect them to listen to the people they’re meant to serve.

Anthony Albanese with Labor candidate Tracey Roberts. He spoke to the party faithful but no one else. Picture: Sam Ruttyn.

Trevor Sofield, the former high commissioner to Solomon Islands (far left) tried to speak with the Prime Minister this week, but Mr Morrison (far right) was bundled into a car and whisked away by security instead. Picture: Jason Edwards

Absurdity of the campaign

This election is the first I’ve covered in any depth since the 2020 presidential election in the United States. Donald Trump still can’t believe he lost that election, and might I suggest one reason for that: the man never – and I do mean never – interacted with a single ordinary voter who didn’t already like him. He would fly into a city, bask in the adulation of one of his rally crowds, then fly out again. That’s it. That was his entire campaign.

If you never encounter anyone who’s voting against you, then yes, it is extremely difficult to understand why more than 80 million people supported your opponent.

Donald Trump never met a voter who didn’t like him. Quite deliberately. Photographer: Eli Hiller/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Australia’s a little different, we’re not quite on that level, but you see the point. There is undeniable value in speaking to people who don’t support you. And our two candidates for prime minister in this election have ignored it.

Brief though it was, there was enough time for us to appreciate the absurdity of the scene in Pearce today. Trucks bearing trite political billboards – “It’s time for a change, Labor will stand up for WA,” or “ScoMo backed Clive over WA,” for example – did laps around the pre-poll location’s carpark, repeatedly blocking the local Hungry Jacks’ drive thru.

I’ve yet to meet anyone who changed their mind about who to vote for because a random truck told them to, but hey, the parties are free to spend their money however they like.

Earlier, Mr Albanese spent 15 minutes or so visiting a childcare centre in the seat of Hasluck, held by government minister Ken Wyatt.

Albanese at the Goodstart Early Learning in Kalamunda, Perth. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

There, too, there was a lost opportunity, though a less serious one. Mr Albanese could have used a set of building blocks to trot out his line about being a “builder”, not a “bulldozer” – his favoured response to Scott Morrison’s admission last week.

Otherwise the visit proceeded as you’d expect for a campaign event at a childcare centre. Through song, we learned that “a triangle has three sides”, “a circle is like a ball” and “a square is like a box”. Sadly the Labor leader did not join in. The merits or otherwise of his singing voice remain an inscrutable mystery.

At one point a young girl almost hit Mr Albanese in the crotch with a ball, at point blank range, no less. But his reflexes saved him. “Second slip!” he quipped after catching the projectile.

And after some hesitation, Mr Albanese entered the centre’s sand pit, though he wisely avoided digging a hole, robbing the pun enthusiasts in the press pack of an unflattering metaphor.

He limited himself to offering the kids a bucket, after some assistance from SBS reporter Pablo Vinales, who helped him dislodge the stuck item.

“Another reason to keep funding the SBS,” Mr Albanese joked.

Originally published as Anthony Albanese blows golden opportunity days before election