Shorten frustrated as Morrison unfazed by distraction

Under pressure, Bill Shorten is resorting to his tried and true method of distracting the Coalition government from its core issues and on to an internally divisive or Labor-friendly topic.

Right now, it’s not working and Scott Morrison is managing Labor’s distractions by turning them into a Coalition strong point, as he did with border protection, or smothering them by accepting proposals without dissent, as he did yesterday with the Greens push for a disability royal commission and Labor’s powers for small business.

The Prime Minister, convinced of the correctness of his political instinct on border protection and calm in the face of defeats on the floor of the House of Representatives, is turning his back on the traditional fear of a parliament in “chaos”.

Indeed, he’s prepared to start to portray the parliament as part of the “Canberra bubble” and oblivious to defeats on “historic” votes no matter how long it is since the last one.

If the early polling is any indication, Morrison’s instinct is correct and is frustrating Labor.

For five years, the Opposition Leader improved his technique and tactics to the point that he was setting the political agenda, diverting the attention of the prime minister of the day and dividing the Coalition ranks.

Shorten fully exploited nervousness and weakness within Liberal ranks over Tony Abbott’s tough 2014 budget; he was always on the correct side of the same-sex marriage debate; and he revelled in Malcolm Turnbull’s inability to negatively “frame him”.

But Shorten’s previously successful tactics are not working on Morrison this year.