Political insiders have lost touch with voter concerns

The strength of Australia’s system of parliamentary democracy is that MPs come together in Canberra from all regions of the nation. Each has a responsibility to represent the interests and wishes of constituents. There can be vast differences in what voters in some parts of the country think is important compared with others. Allowing a range of views to be expressed in parliament is a positive thing and as it should be. Stopping debate or imposing a fake conformity for the sake of neatness is an insidious curse that history shows can have unwelcome and unintended consequences.

Attempts to silence Pauline Hanson when she first entered parliament and provoked debate about issues of race and welfare is one early example of cancel culture. John Howard was astute enough to recognise that, rather than be suppressed, some views must be exposed to public debate to be extinguished. Fast forward to today and many in the Canberra commentariat are shocked that some MPs are prepared to stand up for constituents who, for whatever reason, hold concerns about state government attempts to make Covid-19 vaccination mandatory.

This newspaper has made its position clear that vaccination is the best response to safeguard the community from the pandemic. While it is against our nature to support government mandates, we accept there are good reasons to make vaccination compulsory in some workplaces. This said, we do not believe that MPs who choose to break ranks on the issue represent a danger to the government or to the body politic. The ABC’s Laura Tingle says Scott Morrison has big problems because of what she says is double messaging and dog whistling his sympathy for some of the demonstrators who rallied around the country opposed to mandatory vaccination. Overstating the issue shows how detached some deeply ensconced in Canberra World are from the concerns and daily lives of most Australians.

Politicking over the choice of a replacement Speaker has been another example of insider games for the privileged few. After furious analysis of tactics being considered by the federal opposition to ambush the government and deny it its choice of Speaker, Queensland Liberal MP Andrew Wallace was elected along party lines, 70 votes to 59. While Labor put up a candidate – Victorian MP Rob Mitchell – there was no parliamentary trick or rogue ballot, as had been the case for the election of deputy Speaker. Even if there had been, it is unlikely the issue would have cut through with voters. Self-important observers should reflect on how relevant their deeply serious analysis of political theatre actually is. And politicians would do well to remember that clever slogans will never trump good policy.

To win, the Prime Minister must be able to demonstrate to voters that he has runs on the board in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic and the economy. If he can do this, attempts by his opponents to paint him as untruthful are unlikely to cut through to mainstream voters. There are dangers for Mr Morrison in the campaign being waged against him on character and telling the truth. But voters are unlikely to be alarmed that Mr Morrison did not tell Anthony Albanese where he was going for holidays, an issue that featured in question time this week. The ALP and its supporters made a big mistake believing their own narrative about Mr Howard’s perceived unpopularity because he was “tricky”, only to watch him beat them repeatedly at the ballot box. Political insiders would do well to remember that what interests them is not always the same as what is important to those who really matter – the voters.