It’s all talk and no faction, as both sides pursue their political agendas

Scott Morrison doesn’t want to talk about anything else but the coronavirus and its impact on the economy. Anthony Albanese wants to talk about anything but the coronavirus and its impact on the economy.

The Prime Minister wants to focus on the post-Christmas viral pandemic, and the Opposition Leader wants to focus on the pre-Christmas bushfires and the pre-election rorts of sports grants.

The explanation as to why Australia’s political leaders want to talk about different things is simple: politics.

Morrison believes Australians are concerned and interested in what is happening with coronavirus and wants to move on from the bushfire crisis, which damaged him politically over Christmas, to the handling of the virus crisis since mid-January. He also wants to accentuate the role the “health crisis” has had on the economy and the RBA’s recognition of the new threat since February.

In other words, he wants to restore his damaged credibility and prepare for no budget surplus by using the coronavirus emergency without appearing overtly political.

Likewise, Albanese doesn’t want to seem to be politicising the pandemic but wants to revisit the bushfire recovery attacks on Morrison, further muddy Morrison’s image over the sports rorts affair — which has already claimed a minister — and argue the budget surplus was lost before Christmas through a weak economy.

Morrison’s intent of swamping the damaging image of poor bushfire management, the loss of a budget surplus and concern with sports rorts is as clear as Albanese’s frustration with a public agenda that he can’t control.

Morrison declared on Tuesday that Australians are concerned and interested in the coronavirus, and went further in parliament — deriding Labor for “not one question” on the management of the virus which is what “interests the Australian people”.

He also accused Albanese of “sitting in a puddle of mud” and slinging political smears.

Josh Frydenberg took the opportunity to announce the RBA’s interest rate cut during parliamentary question time — because of coronavirus — and credited the government with the banks immediately passing on the full benefit.

Labor Treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers valiantly ran the lines that the rate cuts were because the economy was weak: “Australian families, workers and businesses were already counting the cost of Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg’s inaction and ineptitude before the fires and coronavirus hit.”