‘Lives, livelihoods’ on the election agenda

Scott Morrison has delivered a midterm report on the Coalition’s central achievements in fighting COVID-19 in 2020.

Scott Morrison has delivered a midterm report on the Coalition’s central achievements in fighting COVID-19 in 2020 and in doing so produced a manifesto of hope and aspiration for vaccine rollout, economic recovery, climate change, energy, Indigenous affairs, health and aged care in 2021.

Coincidentally, the Prime Minister’s report on saving “lives and livelihoods” and plans for resetting the economy in 2021 were also a blueprint for electoral success whenever the election is called.

Morrison’s speech was about COVID, COVID, COVID, jobs, jobs, jobs, delivered with his quintessential calm style and practical outlook. Morrison was non-ideological, heavy on the “Australian way”, non-threatening, reassuring and deeply political while appearing to be free of party politics.

His first task was to remind people of Australia’s world-beating record in dealing with the coronavirus — the third-lowest mortality rate in the G20 and zero or negligible cases of community transmission — and then to point to the economic recovery, with 90 per cent of the jobs lost last year “already back” and unemployment half what it could have been.

“Our record on saving lives is matched, importantly, by our record in saving livelihoods, where we have outperformed economically the world’s most advanced economies,” he said.

While congratulating Australians for their resilience and character in one of the toughest years in a century, Morrison set out an agenda of ambitious health protection through vaccines, practical assurances on energy and climate change, delivery of more health services and an even bigger response to problems in aged care.

He also flagged a necessary end to the “blank cheque” that was last year’s budget as pandemic supplements and job support wind back.

Yet there were still no hard deadlines and plenty of time to extend JobSeeker beyond the end of March depending on his preferred “business-led recovery”.

Frustratingly for those who see climate change as a global existential threat, Morrison remains unmoved on signing up for emissions reduction targets such as net zero by 2050, which he said were ­nothing more than a “piece of paper” if you didn’t know how you were going to reach them: “If I can tell you how, then I can tell you when.”

A combination of economic management with tax cuts, not tax rises, energy costs kept low by technological advances, no carbon tax, a commitment to continued spending on health, aged care and a cut in COVID job payments sooner rather than later are all sensible Coalition policies and a direct political hit on Labor’s complaints about vaccines, division on energy and climate change and calls for extending payments.

The only Labor leader Morrison mentioned was Kevin Rudd – to praise him for introducing Closing the Gap initiatives to help Indigenous Australians – yet every proposal or plan for 2021 was a subliminal message comparing the Coalition’s agenda to Labor promises on taxes, economic management and spending in 2019.

Morrison’s pragmatic incrementalism frustrates and even angers some of his colleagues and economic hardliners but within these tiny increments there is the stranglehold of a boa constrictor tightening slightly at every Labor weakness.