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Paul Kelly

Election 2022: Battle and belief as Scott Morrison comes out swinging

Paul Kelly
Scott Morrison has a rare quiet moment to himself in his official car following his interview with The Australian in Brisbane on Monday. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen
Scott Morrison has a rare quiet moment to himself in his official car following his interview with The Australian in Brisbane on Monday. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

In his final-week interview, Scott Morrison highlights his convictions, admits his flaws and ties his home-buying policy to voters making their choice close to ­election day.

He is doubling down, across the board. He wants to be defined by battle and belief – from using your super to buy a first home to a nation that transcends identity politics. He is no “big fan” of “the Balkanisation of humanity”. Morrison says identity politics “diminishes people” and Australians “are more than their attributes”.

He will press ahead with laws to protect religious freedom.

He admits his failure of language in addressing women’s ­issues but says his instinct is always to find solutions to violence against women.

He’s ready to govern again, pushing a second-term agenda. Morrison said he doesn’t need more than 50 reviews like Labor. He’ll run a real government, not a shadow government. He’s ready to implement. He highlights his experience. His top economic priority, if re-elected, will be skills and the labour force. He calls this the “biggest challenge.”

He says the economy now has more moving parts and risks – it’s harder to manage and get it right. The cost of getting it wrong is greater than before.

He sees Labor by contrast as not ready. You can’t “make it up when you get there” and on many issues “they have our policies.”

Morrison sells his strength and realism. His message: you mightn’t like everything he did during the global pandemic but Morrison got us home. Now there’s a new chapter coming.

Like a true professional, he projects only controlled purpose, no sign of terror at a wall of polls predicting defeat.

He radiates match fitness. Morrison knows the final couple of days will be decisive. They were in 2019. Morrison, ever hopeful, sees parallels with 2004 when John Howard came from behind. He relishes a final-week fight with Labor over home ownership.

The super funds, the Labor Party, the unions and the economists are aligned against him. But this time Morrison has a cut-through pitch to the people: “Your super is your money.” Don’t be told otherwise. Labor dismisses this as the last desperate throw. But it knows Morrison – he will fight until the last moment on the last day. Housing via super gives him a fresh cause at sunset.

His final tactic is to shift the fog of voter indifference towards the devil they know. It doesn’t seem to have worked so far. Interviewing him, you wonder whether he kept battle and belief under wraps for too long.

Read related topics:Scott Morrison

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/election-2022-battle-and-belief-as-scott-morrison-comes-out-swinging/news-story/86567d2e885ce030dc9add2a551b2682