Bigger picture? We wished Turnbull victory on reform

A review of our editorials confirms we pushed the national interest, not some hidden agenda.

The Australian’s editorial, September 22, 2015

Malcolm Turnbull claims he was targeted by News Corp, publisher of this newspaper, because he was rich, his own man and couldn’t be bought. And he says the media company wanted him gone because it feared he could not defeat Labor’s Bill Shorten.

Yet Turnbull also claims News Corp’s right-wing co-conspirators in the ­Coalition moved against him because they knew he was likely to win the 2019 election.

So, what’s the bigger picture?

What follows are excerpts from The Australian’s editorials across this tumultuous period. It’s true we were critical of Turnbull falling short of his promises, but we also urged him on to success, and often found fault with his rival, Tony Abbott, for his own shortcomings, among them not making use of Turnbull’s undisputed talents. Our constant refrain reflected not some hidden agenda but a hunger for good stewardship and centrist reform in the national interest.

Turnbull v Shorten, federal election, July 1, 2016:
If (Turnbull) stays true to the foundation stones of the Coalition’s modest success thus far, overlaying it with his own businesslike approach and obvious optimism, he could be the man for these times. The Prime Minister has demonstrated he knows the importance of a firm rein on public spending and offering a leg up for private-sector growth. Mr Turnbull may be just the leader to urge the ­nation back on the path to meaningful reform.

-

Reform was always the issue, February 25, 2016:
For all Labor’s regrettable emphasis on increasing taxes … it at least has put some clear policies on the table. Mr Turnbull, after months of advocating an open debate, has been reduced to telling reporters they should withhold their questions and commentary until all the analysis has been done and the government releases a tax package. Enough debate, wait for our policy.

-

February 8, 2016:
(Mr Turnbull) and Mr Morrison have raised expectations about meaningful reform. Business groups, economists and politicians have embraced the idea of an unconstrained debate and the suggestion a Turnbull government could deliver significant changes, where Mr Abbott and Joe Hockey had failed. All the excitement about an innovative approach might come to very little — and Mr Turnbull certainly won’t be able to blame his predecessor. It is his own doing.

-

Hope for a new reformist politics, September 22, 2015:
Radical renewal within the ministry plays into Mr Turnbull’s distinctive rhetoric of confidence and opportunity — rather than fear and pessimism — in the face of global change. We welcome this shift in rhetoric; a future of optimism and prosperity is open to Australia if the right choices are made. The whole point of acknowledging the intelligence of the electorate is for a reformist government to take it into its trust; to set out the risks as well as the opportunities; to explain the trade-offs when choices are not easy.

It was refreshing to hear Mr Turnbull yesterday … refusing to play the “rule in, rule out” game with the GST. The Prime Minister simply replied that existing policies were open to review and that if a policy ceased to work it would be changed. That a statement as sensible as this can be celebrated as something novel says a great deal about our broken system of politics.

-

Greeting a new leader, September 15, 2015:
In Malcolm Turnbull, Australia has a new prime minister, the fifth in five years. Mr Turnbull brings formidable skills and experience to the position. In the interests of political stability, his government must be wished every success.

Announcing his challenge to Mr Abbott yesterday, Mr Turnbull correctly seized upon the failure of the government to engage voters in a serious discussion about economic reform. He said: “We need a style of leadership that explains those (economic) challenges and opportunities, explains the challenges and how to seize the opportunities; a style of leadership that respects the people’s intelligence, that explains these complex issues and then sets out the course of ­action we believe we should take and makes a case for it,” he said. “We need advocacy, not slogans.” … the government must also be able to preside over the political trade-offs that allow economic ­reform to go ahead. In this, Mr Turnbull is likely to be more successful than his predecessor.

-

A wasted talent, February 9, 2015:
There can be no doubt Mr Turnbull possesses superior financial smarts, policy adroitness and advocacy skills (compared with) the current Treasurer. It is in this ­senior economic role that he could have been the greatest asset to Mr Abbott … All leaders should have the self-confidence to field their best team; in fact, they have an ­obligation to do so.

-

February 6, 2015:
Joe Hockey’s first budget is in tatters, drained of blood and purpose in the Senate, a casualty of political sloppiness, poor preparatory messaging and internal inconsistencies. The Treasurer is neither a skilled policy expert nor a fierce advocate, so has struggled to make the case to voters or the business community about the government’s overarching fiscal strategy … A more authoritative figure, such as Malcolm Turnbull, would have used the opportunity to drive home a clear message about how it was even more important for the government to get the budget back on track, to call out a reckless Labor and the Greens for their ­untenable, fiscal denialism.