Jim Chalmers may be a man with perhaps a better economic plan

Jim Chalmers ‘will win more support for Labor’ on the question of who can mind the till. Picture: AAP

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has had an extraordinary run of success. The much vaunted, historically triumphant Victorian branch of the Liberal Party has been routed. It holds only a few seats in what would normally be regarded as the limits of the city of Melbourne. Andrews doesn’t try to be flashy or flamboyant. He just maintains his earnest, truthful face. He is still the most credible leader in the country and shows no signs of wanting to hand over the reins of power to anyone else.

His popularity comes from more than just fixing up the numerous level crossings, a hallmark of his time as Premier. He has a way of expressing himself that emphasises his qualities of modesty with competence.

He has enormous power yet still manages to look and sound humble. The mutual acquaintances we have insist that he remains a humble man despite all the accolades heaped on him. He rations his public appearances so it is difficult to get tired of seeing him bob up before the cameras.

Victoria is the strongest Labor state by far. That is why the Adem Somyurek branch-stacking affair that featured so prominently and dramatically last week on the Nine Entertainment’s 60 Minutes has faded from view so quickly. It was a sensational story but it failed to grab the public’s attention for too long, mostly because of the Premier’s ability to talk it down. He just put on his reasonable face, used his reasonable voice and came up with a reasonable way of explaining it all away.

He is backed up by a pretty good cabinet, which includes Tim Pallas, a former assistant secretary of the ACTU, who has turned out to be a first-rate Treasurer. No one speaks of the Liberal Party revival, such is the grip Andrews has on the levers of power and the hearts and minds of Victorian voters.

In fact, it seems unlikely that there will be any changes in state governments in the near term.

In Western Australia Mark McGowan is a popular Premier and at this point is unbeatable. Gladys Berejiklian also looks unassailable in NSW, while Steven Marshall does not seem to be doing it tough in South Australia. Annastacia Palaszczuk doesn’t seem to have much to beat in Queensland, and wouldn’t it be something if the “accidental” Premier won a third term?

History tells us that Labor can win state elections frequently and federal elections rarely. In the minds of many Australians a question mark hangs over Labor. Can it be trusted to mind the till? Paul Keating managed to make up on this front but doubt still hovers over the party. I have no doubt that Jim Chalmers will win more support for Labor in this crucial policy area. Like Andrews, Chalmers always appears cool-headed and reasonable. What’s more, he has an impressive array of qualifications. Chalmers has confidence he can convince the mob that Labor will be better than the Morrison-Frydenberg model because Labor will have a plan to get the economy growing rather than just managing what is presented to them.

There can be no argument Scott Morrison is a good manager. Luck has been on his side too — other than the pandemic and its damage to us all. Assuming that no fiasco is on the way, there’s no doubt Labor has an Everest to climb. Australians must be given a convincing reason to vote against the Morrison government. So far that reason has not seen the light of day. While you couldn’t say there is real urgency in the need for Labor to come up with its own set of policies, in some areas Labor will need to do more than just criticise whatever the government is announcing. The long haul of policy development is in front of Labor and no one should be resting on their shovels. The sooner Labor has something to say the better, while saving some of its gems for the election campaign’s intense weeks.

Generating interest in a debate about policy at this point in the political cycle is no easy task but it must be done. Opposition is a hard and thankless place to be but your natural abhorrence of it should be enough to push you to perform superhuman feats to get out of it. And it doesn’t come down only to hip-pocket concerns. Education and health remain areas of considerable interest to us all. As we age as a society, health will become the dominant issue. The older we get, the more often we need to see doctors, and episodes in hospitals will also become more common.

The health budget will be under enormous strains and bigger co-payments will be the order of the day.

The concern I have about education is the fashionable push to get every child into a university course.

There are two obvious points to make about this approach. First, not every child is suited to university, and, second, we cannot ignore the trades. You can’t build an economy or a country without tradesmen and women. What’s more, these days we have a law school at every tinpot college churning out thousands of law graduates who have little hope of securing a job in the law. It is not just that we are not reducing the queue of young people trying to get into law faculties. It fails the economic test mightily as well.

The trades argument is a discussion this country needs to have Economic efficiency does matter.