Morrison looking more and more like ‘the man’

There’s been a noticeable lift in the performance of the PM

Scott Morrison has hit his straps. His performance in and outside the Parliament in the past couple of weeks has been rock solid. Indeed, it has been inspirational compared with his predecessor, Malcolm Turnbull, and the Opposition Leader, Bill Shorten. Morrison is a “cool-hand-Luke”; he is measured, focused, and positive and he comes across as sincere. This is more than I can say of his opponent. If we think about the negatives that Morrison has had to face, he has excelled to get where he is. Not only has he had to face a Labor-Greens onslaught, he has had and still needs to battle a hostile Senate, a less than supportive media, a flush-with-funds GetUp and a recalcitrant bunch from within his own side. Morrison is on the climb and the election is by no means lost to the Coalition.

John George, Terrigal, NSW

Australia has, in my judgment, become the absolute beneficiary of last year’s turmoil in the Liberal Party over leadership. Instead of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull coasting to defeat having exhausted his ambitions by ascending to the top, we now have a Prime Minister with a backbone of steel and a heart of compassion.

In regard to border security, Australians know through his proven record that Scott Morrison will never vacate his responsibilities and give up the fight with people-smugglers. His support for our farmers doing it tough and people with disabilities also show his caring nature.

The other main leadership aspirant, Peter Dutton, also continues to do the nation proud with his stand on security and willingness to evict criminals from Australia.

The ship of state is now being steered by a visionary captain with a good crew behind him.

Peter Curtis, Werribee South, Vic

The polls tell us that Bill Shorten’s socialist policies may not get the ALP across the line and our Prime Minister is starting to be seen as the decent man he is by putting Australians first. This will be exactly what Malcolm Turnbull doesn't want to hear. Mark my words, Turnbull will be saving all his spanners until the election campaign when he can throw them in the works.

Antony Blakeley, Winchelsea, Vic

Amid the optimism generated for the Coalition by responses to Labor letting slip its true colours on border protection, Dennis Shanahan’s outline of the complexities of the 2019 electoral scene is timely (“Floating Morrison’s boat”, 19/2). In addition to voting intentions favouring the major parties, there remains 24 per cent for the Greens and others, which includes a number of fake independents running in formerly “safe” Liberal seats. If we add the resources of GetUp, the unions’ donations and parallel campaigns, and the flaky nature of right-of-centre minor party preferences, Scott Morrison faces a steep uphill battle. The positive momentum must be maintained, with effective communication across the board, without over-reliance on the coming Budget.

John Morrissey, Hawthorn, Vic

In his unbridled lust for the keys to the Lodge, it is difficult to be certain what overcame Bill Shorten last week. Was it hubris? Did he cave into Labor’s Left? Was he so desperate for a win against the Government on the floor that the issue was irrelevant? Labor often frames its policies on the assumption that voters have short attention spans and even shorter memories. This time, the party has miscalculated. In the end, the reason doesn't really matter. Morrison will make border security a central plank leading up to election day and will take every opportunity to beat Shorten over the head with it.

John McLeod, Maroochydore, Qld

It is telling that Labor did not wait until after the election to water down Australia’s border protection laws. Everyone on the Right expected a Shorten Labor government to undo the Coalition’s tough border controls, but rushing to do so at the first opportunity — as soon as the numbers stacked up and ahead of the election — surprised everyone. The so-called sensible centre facilitated this and Bill Shorten was foolish to comply. Fortunately the political “centre” is not the mean average nor the median of Australian voters: which is better described as centre-Right. For the latter, a fair go for asylum-seekers means irregular arrivals in Australia should rank equally with the 25 million registered refugees in UN camps.

Greg Jones, Kogarah, NSW