Opinion: Australian politics has changed, writes Matt Cunningham

The federal election proved the political fault lines in this country have shifted, and not just from right to left, writes MATT CUNNINGHAM

THE federal election proved the political fault lines in this country have shifted.

But while much of the discussion has been about parties drifting to the left or right, it’s also worth examining how they’re shifting on another axis. Not so much left and right as up and down.

The split in Australian politics was once pretty simple.

The Liberal Party belonged to wealthier, business-oriented voters.

Labor was the party for the battlers. The lower-paid workers fighting for a fair go.

The “haves” versus the “have-nots”. All that has changed.

The surge of support for the Greens and Teal Independents in the inner suburbs of our biggest cities has come largely from wealthy voters who once ticked the Liberal box without a second’s hesitation.

Meanwhile in lower socio-economic outer suburban and regional areas, the ALP’s primary vote is going backwards.

The Coalition now holds 16 of the 20 poorest seats in the country.

But it holds just five of the 20 wealthiest electorates.

The other 15 are shared between Labor, the Greens and the Teal independents.

The challenge for the Albanese Government will be how it represents those voters who traditionally made up Labor’s base, given its election victory has been driven by the first-world concerns of affluent inner-city electors.

While most of the post-election discussion has been about which direction the Coalition should take after its disastrous loss, Labor also faces some difficult policy problems.

Climate was a major issue in Labor’s victory.

Labor has committed to net zero emissions by 2050 and has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 43 per cent by 2030.

Given the surge in support for the Greens and Teal independents there will be pressure to make these targets more ambitious.

Failing to do so could put some of Labor’s inner-city seats in jeopardy to the Greens or Teals in 2025.

But it will need to make sure these policies don’t leave working class voters behind.

Aggressive climate policies tend to favour the wealthy.

Look at the Northern Territory Government’s push to increase rooftop solar.

This effectively gave the richest members of our society free electricity while battlers paid full bottle.

It’s only recently that the NT Government – to its credit and not without substantial backlash – reduced the solar feed-in tariff and directed the savings to more solar for public housing.

Newly elected Lingiari member Marion Scrymgour said she saw the biggest issues in her electorate as delivery to remote communities and cost of living.

Federal Labor is already showing signs its policies are drifting towards the concerns of its wealthier constituents.

Its childcare policy is an obvious example.

Labor will lift the maximum family income for subsidised childcare from $354,000 to $530,000.

It says this a policy based on economics that aims to get more mothers back into the workforce.

But a traditional Labor voter would be within their rights to ask why any family taking home half-a-million bucks a year needs a welfare payment.

Would this money not be better spent on universal dental care, or an increase in the JobSeeker allowance?

Labor’s also scrapped its plans from 2019 to dump franking credits and negative gearing and spend the savings on health and education.

Also consider the Albanese Government’s early priorities in Aboriginal Affairs.

When he took to the stage on Saturday night, Anthony Albanese’s first commitment was to the Uluru Statement and an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

Putting aside the merits or otherwise of this proposal, it’s more likely of concern to people in Brighton and Brunswick than Beswick or Barunga.

When I asked Labor’s Lingiari candidate Marion Scrymgour last Friday what she saw as the biggest issues in her electorate, she listed service delivery to remote communities and the cost of living.

A Voice to Parliament is probably a long way down your list of priorities when your internet and electricity goes out every other week, you can’t drink your water and you’re paying $6-plus for a head of lettuce.

The battle for Scrymgour and other Labor MPs representing constituents in lower socio-economic areas will be to ensure the Labor Party remembers its roots.

For if Labor won’t look after the battlers, who will?

Stop harassing Michael Gunner

A SAD incident this week marked the latest chapter in the steady decline of our civilised society.

A few days after resigning as chief minister, Michael Gunner took his family to the Darwin Ski Club for a quiet late afternoon drink.

It should have been a relaxing time enjoying one of this country’s best sunsets.

A time to finally unwind and give back to his family after five and a half years in the Territory’s hottest seat.

But, instead of enjoying some long overdue family time, Gunner, his wife Kristy and two young children were subjected to some absurd harassment.

A man armed with a camera phone approached the former chief minister – who was holding his infant son – and started aggressively asking him questions about Covid vaccination.

Gunner kept his cool and calmly walked away.

His wife was clearly – understandably – upset at the intrusion.

This entire unsavoury incident was, of course, posted on Facebook.

It’s hard to imagine something like this happening 30, 20, even 10 years ago.

But, fuelled by the mind-bending madness of social media, the great, laid-back, happy-go-lucky Northern Territory appears to be morphing into something more akin to the post-Trump United States.

This was not the first time Gunner and his family had been subjected to this sort of behaviour.

During his chief ministership he was screamed at by an anti-fracker in the car park of the Karama Shopping Centre and had his home address repeatedly yelled out by an anti-vaxxer at a protest rally.

The “antis” of the Left and Right share this (once) un-­Territorian aggression.

A belief that their cause is so worthy – that their very existence is at stake – that no measure is too extreme for those who stand in their way.

Gunner is not the only politician in recent years to be subjected to this sort of behaviour.

After the 2016 election, John Elferink was driven out of Darwin after death threats started arriving in his mailbox.

It’s no coincidence this sort of behaviour has increased with the uptake of social media.

The algorithms are driving those inclined to click down a rabbit hole for which there can be no return.

They divide our world into black and white.

Good and evil.

With no room for any shade of grey in between.

We are fast losing the art of disagreement.

Issues are no longer worth debating in a civilised and sensible manner.

Better to flick the switch straight to abuse, or better still, call for a good cancellation.

The truth doesn’t matter, only the side.

We only need look to the United States to see where we’re heading.

A society divided into tribes with no middle ground.

This doesn’t mean chief ministers shouldn’t be scrutinised.

Holding the powerful to account is an important part of democracy.

Being able to publicly criticise your leader is a right not enjoyed in many countries.

But, if you’re resorting to harassment, it’s usually a pretty good sign you’ve already lost the argument.

It could be said incidents such as the one Gunner and his family endured last week are better ignored.

That to highlight them only promotes similar behaviour from others.

But at some point we need to call this out.

To reclaim the sensible centre before too many of us fall into the abyss.

For a Northern Territory where a former chief minister can’t enjoy a quiet drink at the pub is not the Northern Territory I want to call home.

Territory tough pollie has hard task ahead

IN her first press conference after being elected Chief Minister, Natasha Fyles said she was Territory tough.

She’s 100 per cent right about that. There are few tougher politicians in the Territory parliament.

Fyles has a remarkable ability to brush off criticism and front up with a smile on her face.

Having dealt with plenty of personal adversity, the rough and tumble of politics never seems to fluster her.

The new Chief Minister will need every bit of that toughness in the two-and-a-bit years between now and the next election.

Despite the appearances of a united front, Territory Labor has ended a bruising week as fractured as it’s been since Paul Henderson took over from Clare Martin in 2007.

Fyles’ elevation to the top job marks a seismic shift in Territory Labor politics.

The right faction – and in particular the SDA (the old shoppies union) – has long dominated Territory Labor.

But this week it was beaten at its own game. The Left has been quietly accumulating numbers, while the Right was unusually disorganised after Michael Gunner’s shock resignation on Tuesday.

The Right have now been left licking their wounds and fuming at two MLAs who they believe promised to back Nicole Manison as leader then flipped and backed Fyles.

Some within Labor will see Fyles’ elevation as an opportunity to pursue more progressive policies.

There’s been a long-held view among sections of Territory Labor that when in government, the party morphs into a slightly less conservative version of the CLP. There will be an assumption that a Fyles government takes a more progressive position on issues like climate and youth justice.

Will the new administration roll back the tougher bail provisions introduced last year?

Will it finally end mandatory sentencing, as Labor has been promising since 2016?

Will it ban the use of spit hoods by police?

This will be the expectation of a large part of its base.

But any such moves will also come with the danger of electoral backlash.

The “CLP-lite” model has caused some internal angst but it has also seen Darwin’s northern suburbs become a Labor stronghold. It’s a model that has seen Labor hold power for all but four of the past 21 years, even if some believe the cost of that power has been to sell its own soul. Do Fyles and her new team have the conviction to pursue more progressive justice policies when public debate is already dominated by concerns about crime?

Any angst about these issues might be offset in some part by the cancelling of the Gunner government’s pay freeze for public servants.

Fyles gave a strong indication on Friday that decision would soon be undone.

It might not be good for the budget, but giving public servants a pay rise will prove popular come election time.

Fyles’ biggest immediate problem though will be trying to heal her own party.

Promises have been broken and egos have been bruised.

And the faction that has long dominated Territory Labor is seething.

Govt funds should go where they’re needed

IF you needed proof of the warped funding priorities that exist in the Northern Territory, you’d have found it in Monday’s NT News.

The newspaper asked the candidates in the Federal seat of Solomon if they supported funding an overpass at the intersections of Tiger Brennan Drive and Berrimah Rd.

The estimated cost of the project has increased from $60m to $110m.

But the answer from all four candidates – even the Greens – was a resounding yes.

This is despite the fact large parts of the Territory are still serviced by roads that better resemble a goat track than a usable thoroughfare.

Admittedly, the seat of Solomon is based solely in Darwin and candidates running in that seat would hardly be likely to can a $110m project in their own electorate.

But a $110m overpass wouldn’t be close to the top of a list of necessary infrastructure projects if they were ranked based on need.

The overpass is the continuation of a consistent theme where infrastructure projects are selected based on votes rather than merit.

Federal and Territory governments of both parties are drawn to supporting big ticket items in Darwin and Palmerston because that’s where most of the votes exist.

This column has covered the merits – or otherwise - of the Palmerston Regional Hospital at length.

We can now add the $12m Nightcliff Police Station to the list. Six months after it “opened”, the “24-hour” police station remains mostly closed.

It’s wedged between major stations at Darwin and Casuarina and there are not enough officers to staff it.

Most of the criticism of the Palmerston hospital has been informed by staff who work in our hospital system.

It should hardly have been news to the NT Government that taking an already stretched workforce and spreading it over two facilities was going increase staff workload, create cost blowouts and in many cases, reduce the quality of service delivery.

It’s the same story with the Nightcliff Police Station.

In its latest magazine, the Northern Territory Police Association raises the question about why the Nightcliff station was a priority when officers in remote communities are working out of crumbling demountables.

“During the 2007 federal government intervention, 14 temporary stations and living quarters made from shipping containers with a five-year life span were constructed in Haasts Bluff, Imanpa, Willowra, Finke, Alpurrurulam, Peppermenarti, Bulman, Umbakumba, Milingimbi, Minjilang, Warruwi, Arlparra, Yarralin and Ramingining,” the union said. “Today, 11 of those temporary stations remain in place with no funding in sight to replace them.

“Some of the stations have become so run down after years of exposure to the Territory’s harsh weather conditions that a prisoner put their foot through a rusted floor.

“Another station became live when exposed electrical wiring came into contact with the metal container.”

Whether its hospitals, police stations or waterslides, the governance structure in the NT means those who need funding the most are often the least likely to get it.

Matt Cunningham is the Sky News Northern Australia correspondent

Let’s throw support behind our Salties

SATURDAY marks a moment of huge significance for Territory sport.

From 6.30 on Saturday night the Darwin Salties will make their debut in the NBL1 North women’s and men’s basketball competitions.

There are many great things about Darwin, but if there is one thing this city is missing it is a sporting team in a national competition.

People who live in other capital cities are spoilt for choice when it comes to big sporting events.

Here, we have to make do with the occasional visit from an AFL or NRL team.

ICYMI Makuach Maluach of the @DarwinSalties probably gave us @NBL1 Dunk of the Year in the opening round of @Nbl1North 🤯#NBL1#NBL1Northpic.twitter.com/yYwBYDVFnb

— The NBL (@NBL) May 1, 2022

The Salties will be playing one division down from the top-flight NBL, but their introduction into the NBL1 presents a massive opportunity, not just for this team but for this city.

The ultimate goal for the Salties will be promotion to the NBL.

It’s a realistic possibility.

The NBL granted a licence to the Tasmania Jackjumpers, who are playing finals in their first season.

NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger told the NT News last year the league was hugely interested in the NT.

“Territorians love their sport. The game is hugely popular in the NT and we’re of the view that Territorians deserve a team on a permanent basis,” he said.

Getting that team will likely depend on two things; the Salties’ performance on the court, and support for the team off it.

The Territory has entered teams in interstate competitions before, most recently with the NT Thunder in the AFL’s NEAFL competition.

At the height of their success the Thunder were winning premierships and attracting thousands of people to TIO Stadium.

But in their final years that support had dwindled.

Attendance at Thunder home games fell from 18,709 in 2019 to just 4018 by the time the team was disbanded in 2019.

If we want the Salties in the NBL, we need to get behind this club. It’s our chance to prove Territorians will support a national sporting team.

Basketball has a distinct advantage when it comes to getting support for a national team.

Anyone who attends junior sport will tell you basketball is the one game – perhaps even more than AFL football – that is played by kids of all backgrounds.

It had widespread support in every part of the cultural melting pot that makes up our city.

It’s also played indoors – in airconditioning – making it a far more attractive proposition away from the cool of the dry season.

If the Salties can pack out the Darwin Basketball Stadium on a regular basis it will send a message to the NBL that we are ready for the top flight.

And, as Loeliger noted last year, there’s a bigger venue at the Darwin Convention Centre ready to be filled if the Salties outgrow their home.

The success of the Salties could also have benefits for other sports.

Tasmania and the Northern Territory have been pushing for teams in the AFL.

With the Jackjumpers already up and thriving, a Darwin NBL team could cause a few headaches in AFL head office.

Would the AFL really want to leave the top-level sporting market in Tasmania and the Northern Territory to basketball?

Of course, all of this will remain a pipedream without the public’s support.

The Salties have done everything right so far. They’ve attracted good players, their marketing has been slick, and the team’s name is an absolute cracker.

Now it just needs the crowds to follow.

So, starting on Saturday night, let’s get behind the Salties and show that the Territory deserves a sporting team in a national competition.

Matt Cunningham is the Sky News Northern Australia correspondent