Partisan politics slips out of temporary self-isolation

No matter social-distancing rules or restrictions on gatherings, politicians revert to type. In our robust democracy, they accentuate differences, bicker and form factions. It’s in their DNA: Do Not Agree. We wish leaders would set aside cudgels and look to the common good. The coronavirus pandemic provides an opportunity for politicians to do so; if they can’t be better, they should try to be different, if only temporarily. On Monday, at a subdued and efficient sitting of parliament, Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese eloquently addressed the scale of the health, social and economic turmoil of COVID-19. The Prime Minister and Opposition Leader pledged a ceasefire, if only to pass mammoth fiscal rescue measures.

But the truce did not hold. Labor voted for the package, then launched a critique of the Morrison government’s pandemic response. It argued measures were too slow, had too many holes; they needed to be implemented faster, with guarantees for workers. In subsequent days Mr Albanese stepped up criticism, opening new battlefronts. This is his role: to probe, call out inconsistencies, highlight problems, convey the public’s concerns. He should not be shy about offering alternative approaches based on evidence and the advice of experts. On Thursday, Mr Albanese outlined a patchwork plan for post-pandemic Australia. It did not go viral. Labor is focused on the next election — putting down markers, setting traps, running interference. This is a delicate time for political professionals, requiring care, nuance and clarity. Yet Mr Albanese is struggling to find a winning balance between “opposition” and “leader”.

Of course, you can fuse those two words so it’s politics as usual. Or Mr Albanese could find inspiration in a former Labor leader’s calling card: “I’m Anthony, I’m from NSW, the epicentre of the coronavirus crisis, and I’m here to help.” Mr Albanese has raised the temperature by breaking ranks with the national response and personally targeting Mr Morrison. He claims Australia has got it wrong on the key platforms to fight COVID-19: health, economic rescue and messaging. Nonsensically, Mr Albanese said the government had to ensure there was not a tension “between dealing with the health issues and dealing with the economic issues”. But that’s the wicked problem here. He also demanded Mr Morrison listen to experts; the response has been based entirely on advice of top medicos, official family of Treasury and Reserve Bank brains, and discussion within national cabinet. Mr Albanese needs to keep up with the play.

Labor accuses the government of prioritising the economy over health. It should be the other way around, says health spokesman Chris Bowen. “The best economic plan for the country is to beat this virus quickly,” he claims. We should be wary of Mr Bowen’s advice on economic plans; voters rejected his revolutionary schema last May. What is Labor’s prescription for shutdown? Like it or not, doctors are in the vanguard, with advice from the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee at the forefront. There is a mischievous, if not dangerous, view that a short, sharp shutdown of two to four weeks would beat COVID-19. Mr Morrison has flatly rejected a scorched-earth approach. Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy describes such daft restrictions as “destroying life as we know it”.

Officials concede there are “two schools of thought” on how to respond to the outbreak. The AHPPC has opted for a scaleable model of increasing restrictions through stages. Others, including Victorian advisers, are in favour of a so-called “go hard and go fast” approach. But as deputy CMO Nick Coatsworth said on Thursday, it was all about degrees. “We’ve gone hard and fast,” he said. “To say that we’ve gone light and slow would be completely inaccurate. The measures that we’ve got in at the moment are unprecedented.” Mr Albanese and egotist pundits are aware harsher restrictions are on the way; they are craving limelight and relevance.

Labor also accuses Mr Morrison of confused messaging. The amended restrictions on hairdressers and funerals, announced on Thursday, gave that impression. It is policy on the run to some extent. But these are matters for national cabinet; Mr Morrison is the frontman who explains an expanding array of cascading rules signed off by premiers and chief ministers. Given states and territories are moving to different settings, including likely lockdowns of specific locales, there will be times when there is new information overload. Making matters worse is a lack of compliance and individuals stirring up sediment on rules, schools and services; businesses are creating bespoke restrictions, passing them off to customers and staff as “the law”. Amid this turbidity, Labor pounces.

Mr Morrison was right to exclude the Labor leader from the nine-member national cabinet. Imagine the solidarity, already frayed on some issues, if an interloper — with grievances and no direct responsibility — were in the tent. If it keeps this up, federal Labor can’t be part of the COVID-19 solution. Yet the more turmoil and carnage, the better its chances of winning an election. It’s a brutal calculus, but that’s power politics. The Coalition faced a similar equation during the global financial crisis; this calamity has no comparator. Labor’s new manifesto touts a Boris Johnson-style wage subsidy, workplace changes, much more social housing and a bigger welfare state. So, while the national cabinet is in a life-and-death struggle with a pandemic, Mr Albanese is still fighting local Tories while mixing the pop and policies of British ones.