As the week closes, Crikey readers have taken to the comments to interrogate the prospect of a Liberal victory in Wentworth (and how the party’s lack of a woman candidate looks like it may hurt them, as William Bowe writes). Elsewhere, readers were divided over Helen Razer’s opinion that the change in the tampon tax is a hollow victory, and took some time out to suggest changes to the insurance industry (which, Bernard Keane notes, has its head in the sand).
On the Liberals chances in Wentworth
Sean Arthur writes: The Wentworth byelection will be fascinating to watch. For my money, if the Libs don’t win it, it is game over. They may struggle for a short time trying to govern in a minority but the Liberal party is now a busted flush. They couldn’t manage unity when they had a majority and there is even less chance under those high pressure conditions. If Wentworth slips through their fingers they might as well call a general election that same night.
Arky writes: Just today seat polling (ugh, I know) commissioned by a candidate (double ugh) suggests that Kerryn Phelps’ support is falling. This is believable given her tactical blunder of swinging between “put the Liberals last!” to preferencing the Liberals (and the poll appears to support this as the reason). When you try and please everyone, you please no one. Anti-Liberal voters no longer trust her; Liberal voters probably don’t trust her either because of how she came after the Libs at the start, and it won’t be Liberal preferences she needs to get into office anyway.
Baffling political judgement, or lack of it. The preferencing among Labor, the Greens, Phelps and Heath is going to make this a very different seat to call on the night unless the Liberal vote recovers to the point that no exclusion order can realistically produce a preference flows can realistically defeat them
On the tampon tax
Karey writes: I’m with you on symbolic issues that give the appearance of progress when they actually affect little of substance. Even more when, as you say, the campaign lends legitimacy to the substance whose removal would make a difference. As so often, you give me joy on things I’ve been biting my tongue on while everyone else seems to be cheering.
Andrea writes: Well it’s better than a kick up the whatzee, and I think it’s more than a baby step, it’s righting the wrong of charging extra tax on a product completely necessary for half the population for a significant portion of their lives. Not with you on this Helen, it’s good.
On the insurance industry’s “everything is fine” defence
Dog’s Breakfast writes: The bad apples were in a rotten barrel in a decrepit industry in a moribund economy in a greed-filled society in a corrupt polity, but it wasn’t systemic.
Quatermass writes: Financial institutions can more easily get away with scumbaggery like charging the deceased for fees because in many cases they can just scoop their fees directly out of the accounts they manage. Instead they should invoice clients for the services they provide and wait to be paid for service, as other industries do. Of course, if such a change were imposed on the financial industry, they would moan about the friction and the inconvenience. Like the red tape that they themselves blithely tie their clients in.
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“This is believable given her tactical blunder of swinging between “put the Liberals last!” to preferencing the Liberals (and the poll appears to support this as the reason).”
She has been reading “the Australian”, and like so many comfortable middle-class conservatives, at heart still fails to understand that Rightist rags like it simply no longer represents either the public mood or the nation’s needs.
For the Left, the issue is just as much how to keep the latest class traitor under control. Two points. Firstly victory for Hawke/Cheating Labor meant great defeat for working people; Howard did no worse. Secondly today’s governments will often be minority or bare majority governments, or will not deserve large majorities whatever the faults of their predecessor, so a Labor victory should be regarded in much the same light as a Liberal one. Shorten wants to keep the police state for the same reason and to serve the same ruling clique as the Noalition.
ACTU and unions need to oppose endorsement of Labor MPs who support reactionary measures such as the TPP, who oppose a large increase in the Minimum Wage and other progressive causes, while funding only those who do not, and ensure that union volunteers only assist with the election of Labor candidates and MPs who do not. If bill doesn’t like it, he is welcome to resign. Elections will increasingly be won not by parties but by crossbenchers.
Appointment of ABC Board members (and indeed all other public positions with an emolument of some sort) could – should – be from and only from a Better Boards short list, by vote of a majority of large union organisations, large industrial employer organisations, and large community organisations covered by the ACNC. Completely remove the grubby politicians. Let’s see real actual democracy in action.
Governments should refuse to directly deal with all ex-politicians and ex-Senior Executive Service contractors for five years after them leaving politics or the public service, except for purely personal or family interests. No legislation, no penalties, no court cases, just simple administrative action, as trump has done.