Your Correspondent in Canberra: It was quite the day in the election campaign. Adam Bandt addressed a sparse-looking crowd at the National Press Club while Angus Taylor tore strips off Treasurer Jim Chalmers who cried ‘Uncle’ and asked Angus to ‘stop confusing me with your facts’. Chalmers’ charm and his obedient Lefties’ support all run out of steam at the supermarket checkout.
Adam Bandt has the answer. He will be Prime-Alt Minister. He will ensure Mr Dutton does not get in, and he will keep Labor under control using his stature and charisma. Further, you won’t have to worry about the checkout anymore because obviously the supermarkets, energy providers, service station owners, and every other business are taking the mick out of you.
Adam will regulate us out of the economic doldrums. Businesses are immune to inflationary pressures including higher interest rates, higher energy prices, higher transport costs, and the inflationary impact of higher public final demand, record business failures, record government spending, and lower productivity.
Of course I jest.
The Greens usually come up with the most fanciful policies because they never have to be costed, nor would they ever get to implement them in a normal election. But today, Adam Bandt rode into the National Press Club on his unicorn, and in a cloudburst of lollipops and rainbows, announced his unrepresentative cabal’s plan to wreck Australia for everyone.
But like ‘Glass Jaw’ Chalmers, Bandt was confused by his own facts.
Bandt consistently reminded listeners that less than one-third of Australians vote for Labor, a bit more than one-third vote for the Coalition, and about one-third vote for others.
His party received 12.25 per cent of the primary vote in the 2022 federal election.
That means that more than 87 per cent of Australians don’t like Adam Bandt. Don’t take my word for it – Bandt harped on and on about it at the Press Club today.
Which brings me to Angus and Jimbo. Today we saw the Angus Taylor I have been hoping against a Jim Chalmers who was on his game (even without the numbers to support him).
Ross Greenwood and Andrew Clennell weren’t dicking about today. After last night’s farce of a debate, no civilians were present, and the moderators went hard at both would-be treasurers.
Angus came through in the end. And so he should – if you know anyone who really thinks they are better off since Albo came to power, they are either a Labor stooge or delusional.
Tomorrow I will be at the National Gallery of Australia for the Energy Debate between Speccie favourite Chris Bowen and Nationals’ Shadow Energy spokesman Ted O’Brien.
It doesn’t matter whether it is Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday … we will do what it takes to bring you the latest election news.
Byline: Dr Michael de Percy FRSA FCILT MRSN @FlaneurPolitiq is a political scientist and political commentator. He is a member of the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, Chairman of the ACT and Southern NSW Chapter of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, and a member of the Australian Nuclear Association. Michael is a graduate of the Royal Military College, Duntroon and was appointed to the College of Experts at the Australian Research Council in 2022. All opinions in this article are the author’s own.
