We have just finished the last full Parliamentary sitting fortnight before an election.
At this point in the political cycle, you would expect a government to be taking this last opportunity to legislate key reforms, putting the icing on the cake of their achievements to make the lives of Australians better.
Instead, Scott Morrison has resorted to scare campaigns, at worst playing politics with our national security.
These are favourite tactics of the policy-bereft Prime Minister, who would rather divide Australians than lead and unite the country.
It is instructive that after nine years in power, and three Prime Ministers, the Coalition has chosen to talk about Labor rather than its own wins.
And the reason is obvious.
The Government has zero achievements to broadcast.
You might also expect Scott Morrison to be out spruiking nation building policies and his vision for Australia.
The reality is Scott Morrison has no runs on the board and nothing to offer for the future.
Talk about a lost decade.
The reality is Australians are focussed on the realities of day to day life, because cost of living, stagnant wage growth, housing affordability, gender inequality, our environment and climate, healthcare and parliamentary integrity have all suffered under the Morrison Government.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fault lines in Australian society and the growing inequalities.
Labor wants to re-build a stronger and fairer economy and have already announced policies to achieve this. Forward thinking policies that will position Australia to capitalise on our assets and set us up for the future, empower all Australians and reposition us as a good global citizen.
Taking climate action through our Powering Australia and Future Made in Australia polices that will help Australia become a renewable energy superpower, cut power bills and emissions, and create jobs.
Making our economy work for people by cracking down on wage theft, improving job security, a plan to close the gender pay gap and address sex discrimination, sexual harassment, and victimisation in the workplace.
We will make changes to address increasing child care costs and make early childhood education and care more affordable for 90 per cent of families.
There’s also our plan to make TAFE free and create more university places so we’re ready for the jobs of the future, and our plan to fix the National Broadband Network, which has been totally botched by the Coalition, by expanding full-fibre access to 1.5 million premises.
And our $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund, which will invest in the construction 20,000 social housing properties and 10,000 affordable housing properties.
We will implement the Uluru Statement in full, including enshrining a First Nations Voice to Parliament in the constitution and setting up national processes for Treaty-making and Truth-telling.
And we will establish a powerful, transparent and independent National Anti-Corruption Commission.
I look forward to discussing these plans further with Canberrans as the election approaches.
Because Australians deserve better than confected scare campaigns and vacuous media stunts.
Australians deserve leadership that puts them front and centre.
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Canberra Daily
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