Nation has passed the point of no return on handouts

A major reason for Republican Mitt Romney’s defeat by Barack Obama in 2012 was a leaked video from a fundraiser where he essentially said that once an electorate had a majority of voters receiving more from a government than they contributed, the game was up for responsible fiscal policies.

We have passed that tipping point in Australia. Like contributor Ian Murray on these pages on Monday, I also question the usefulness of so-called “town hall debates” that invariably throw up a litany of “what’s in it for me?” questions with little or no emphasis on the crucial national issues.

During Covid voters took a liking to the sugar hits of “free stuff” from the government, ignoring the fact that nothing is truly free. We all pay for it. In recent years, Labor has elevated the “free stuff” mindset to an art form, no doubt bolstered by feedback from focus groups that most people don’t care where the money comes from as long as it’s not from them.

As Paul Kelly pointed out in Inquirer (“Albanese, Dutton: Let’s tell the truth”, 12-13/4), the last concerted effort to halt spiralling debt was by treasurer Joe Hockey in 2014 when he attempted budget repair. The electorate took a baseball bat to him. The same happened to Campbell Newman.

The days of Coalition governments coming into office and repairing the profligate spending of their predecessors is officially over. Peter Dutton confirmed as much in his election launch. Instead of honestly telling voters we are living way beyond our means and that the national credit card has a rapidly approaching expiry date, he joined Anthony Albanese in a spendathon. Romney’s prediction has come to pass.

Having followed politics closely for many years, I am now firmly of the view that my generation – the post-war generation – will be the first to bequeath to their offspring a nation in worse condition than that we inherited. The supreme irony is that it’s not the fault of baby boomers. Younger generations are getting the governments they deserve and continue to vote for, oblivious to the debt they are saddling themselves with. It saddens my heart to witness the demise of our once great nation.

John McLeod, Sunshine Coast, Qld

How disappointing to read the many reports on what your lead editorial terms “policy launch day” (“Launches had too much sugar; not enough substance”, 14/4). As that editorial pronounces, in a dispiriting day for the nation’s future, the respective party policies launched fell way short of meeting the challenges presented by the need for structural economic and budgetary reform, the need for increased productivity and the need to salvage falling living standards. Instead, the electorate was offered beguiling sops that represented more of the same and an invitation to continue an already self-indulgent existence that has become the national reality.

Perhaps, as that editorial points out, Anthony Albanese focused on what the state could do for the people, and Peter Dutton on helping Australians make their way as self-starters. Long ago, Abraham Lincoln said the role of government “is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done, but cannot do … for themselves”.

The present offering is a long way from that virtuous approach and enables in lieu of effort an insidious indulgence.

As Judith Sloan comments (“Latest policies more fuel for the campaign pyre”, 14/4), the longer this campaign goes, the more expensive it becomes for taxpayers, and the more irresponsible – I would say ruinous – the policy proposals.

Ian Dunlop, Hawks Nest, NSW

Peter Dutton has three weeks to save Australia and himself, or he could continue as now with the most likely result being a minority Labor government supported by a rampant Greens mob. Alternatively, he could go all out and offer what he considers Australia needs now and into the future. What has he got to lose? His options are bleak at best when the alternatives are considered.

He could bring forward huge national issues that are presently being lost or put into the too-hard file. He should subject all of Chris Bowen’s follies to a review, with no further projects to proceed until further review and then mothballing; he should take action to maintain coal-fired generators to ensure reliability for at least 10 more years; cancel any laws restricting natural gas exploration, and; re-evaluate Kevin Rudd’s white paper on defence.

John Davis, Banksia Beach, Qld