Much of the 2019 election campaign has been about candidates dropping out for all kinds of disastrous reasons. Perhaps more telling, however, has been the white noise from Australia seasoned, or at least existing, politicians. Who we haven’t heard from, and why, speaks volumes about what we could see at the 46th parliament.
Melissa Price
After being thrust into the environment portfolio post-Libspill, Price briefly grabbed headlines for dismissing the IPCC’s report on fossil fuel deadlines without having read it, issuing a poor taste jab about Pacific aid to former Kiribati president Anote Tong, and preemptively announcing a grant winner for a then-non-existent fund. Unsurprisingly, the “L-plate minister” has basically kept mum since last summer’s record-breaking natural disasters, earning her the “invisible minister” moniker well before election season.
Price announced approval for Adani’s groundwater plans and a controversial WA uranium mine just days before the election announcement. The move was compounded by public pressure from LNP colleagues, and a short estimates appearance, and subsequent revelations about CSIRO and Environment Australia’s Adani “approval”. Now Price has well and truly gone to ground. She missed the Coalition’s $200 million recycling announcement, has ignored Tony Burke’s calls for debates and issued just a brief Facebook statement after last week’s disastrous UN report into mass extinctions.
Scott Morrison’s first and apparently only appearance with her came during some crowd high-fives at his one-man-band party launch, and has been forced to confirm she’d return to the portfolio to an obviously delighted Bill Shorten during the leaders’ debate.
Shayne Neumann
While last year’s Libspill has meant the Coalition’s campaign has focused almost solely on Scott Morrison (with the notable exceptions of Josh Frydenberg and Greg Hunt), Labor hasn’t entirely been an open book. Most notable has been the ALP’s waffling about whether they’d keep the controversial Home Affairs department, which was their excuse for rejecting Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton’s request for a debate with shadow immigration minister Shayne Neumann.
Even if we accept Labor’s “we haven’t thought that far ahead” excuse, the fact Neumann only seems to stick his head up for politically safe controversies like the au pair saga means he’s Labor’s default shadow invisible minister. (Can you cast a shadow if you’re invisible?)
Angus Taylor
With the “watergate” scandal breaking just days into the campaign, it’s hardly surprising to see the Energy Minister keep a low profile with journalists, even the ones he’s not actively threatening with defamation.
Taylor appears to have skipped both open forums for Hume candidates, sticking instead to one Goulburn Chamber of Commerce and Industry forum that rival candidates allege included pre-approved questions.
He also knocked back an offer from Mark Butler to debate at the National Press Club, instead suggesting moving the event to an apparently more convenient site: the NSW Business Council. In fairness, when Butler rejected the change of location, Taylor declared he was still perfectly happy to debate against himself.
Taylor can look forward to further calls for a royal commission into Watergate if Labor gets over the line.
Peter Dutton and Tony Abbott
Both have been outspoken during their local fights, but neither has appeared with Scott Morrison since the election. Abbott has consistently rebuffed Crikey journalist and Warringah bureau chief Charlie Lewis’ invitations for interview.
Imagine Angus Taylor debating himself. Everything Angus Taylor said would get a response of “Fantastic, well done, Angus” from Angus Taylor.
“Debating himself?”
Seems to be a syllable short of making sense.
Bravo. Worthy of Gore Vidal.
He’d probably still lose, even debating himself – with or without the missing syllable.
“He’d probably still lose… without the missing syllable.”
That is probably true and too sad to contemplate for long. Poor chap.
(Just letting you know, AR, that your comments are keeping me company while I do other things. Good to see you do the needed on GR’s “bucolic”.)
Some things you have to be thankful for – just seeing and hearing Morrison’s endless bullshit has been painful enough, plus the chorus line of conservative buffoons on ABC TV.
I think it’s not so much that Dutton and Abbott have not been appearing with Morrison, but rather Morrison not wanting to be seen dead with Dutton and Abbott.
Its a mystery to me why Labor point Neumann as Immigration Minister. He has said virtually nothing in a portfolio which is full of disasters which never get any coverage. (Read Abul Rizvi on the Pearls and Irritations website). He could have had Dutton and Coleman over a barrel on ‘in air’ matters given that is the way the latest lot of refugee applicants are arriving and in much greater numbers than ever arrived by boat. And it is all a scam.
That should have been ‘appointed”.
JMNO – the rest of it reads very succinctly, and accurately.
Perhaps the ALP might want to take some focus off that portfolio altogether. Maybe they don’t think a focus on the “fear of the darkies” is the sort of policy area they should be debating the Coalition/One Nation on. Granted the media still feel there is entertainment to be had in the demonising of refugees but imagine if Labor didn’t agree?
If that is their rational then I have to commend them. As to having Dutton over a barrel, that is best done by removing him from Government and hopefully his seat. Then perhaps when the ALP have Government they can make transparent to the electorate all of the things this corrupt and incompetent Government have been up to.
Such underwhelming political performers (?) some of whom I hadn’t even noticed were missing in action. If not for this list their nonentity status would remain perfectly safe.