Morrison’s campaign is a disaster

APRIL 29, 2022

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Why won’t anyone admit that the Morrison government’s election campaign has so far been a bit of a disaster?

Of course, anything can happen in the last few weeks of a campaign, but so far the prime minister remains well behind in the polls, and now faces two major failures on the Coalition’s core issues of national security and the economy. Cam Wilson examined this issue earlier in the week and I think you’ll enjoy his take.

Speaking of failures, the cost of living is now the highest it’s been in 20 years. It’s just another number that undermines the Coalition’s repeated assertions that Australia’s economy is one of the best in the world. Alan Austin took a look at all the other numbers that unravel that claim.

Finally, if you’re in need of a laugh, I highly recommend Guy Rundle’s dispatch from the campaign trail on the Gold Coast. It’s quite a ride.

Have a great weekend,

Georgia Wilkins
News editor

Why isn’t the Coalition’s election campaign being called a disaster?

CAM WILSON 4 minute read

With only three weeks until election day, Scott Morrison and the Coalition remain behind in the polls and aren’t making up much ground.

Your income is lower than in 2013 — and it’s getting worse under Scott Morrison

BERNARD KEANE and GLENN DYER 3 minute read

The prime minister will be the first PM who has overseen wages going materially backwards on his watch.

Crisis on the border

The flood of women and children from Putin’s war is a despicable gift to human traffickers

AMBER SCHULTZ 3 minute read

Ten million people fleeing Ukraine are prime targets for sexual slavery or labour exploitation. The longer the war goes on, the more vulnerable these refugees become.

Paedophiles, traffickers and opportunistic criminals arrive to prey on the misery of refugees

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Crisis workers and volunteers in Poland are doing all they can with limited resources to help Ukraine's influx of refugees, but predators are taking advantage of the chaos.

Who can you trust? Shell-shocked Ukrainians face the very best and worst of humanity as they seek lasting safety

AMBER SCHULTZ 7 minute read

Trafficking experts and crisis workers have said 'scores of suspicious people' are out to take advantage of refugees, and any anti-trafficking measures have come too little, too late.

Police, authorities try to stem crime wave, but experts fear moves too little, too late for many

AMBER SCHULTZ 6 minute read

Human trafficking has been a tragic byproduct of the Ukrainian refugee crisis, and while many steps have been taken to combat it, it's hard to 'stop the bleeding'.

Who is winning the TikTok election? Both parties are trying but it’s voter content that hits home

CAM WILSON 5 minute read

Politicians are trying to use social platform TikTok to reach millions of Australians — but the users are often having the last and best say.

By what measure is Australia’s economy leading the world? We went searching

ALAN AUSTIN 4 minute read

The Coalition's repeated claims that Australia's economy is one of the world's strongest can be refuted by simply looking at the numbers.

Who knows what the employment rate is? Not Matt Canavan

GUY RUNDLE 2 minute read

Whatever the issue, it's the COVID-19 vaccine's fault, declares the coal-loving, anti-vax senator from Queensland.

PM's pacific problem

Solomons failure reveals a government and intelligence service way out of their depth

BERNARD KEANE 4 minute read

Scott Morrison's ineptitude over the Solomon Islands is bad enough — but it's our intelligence agencies that have really let Australia down.

Pacific failings continue to plague Morrison as Labor unveils regional strategy

BERNARD KEANE 3 minute read

Another foreign policy-themed day on the campaign trail, with Scott Morrison dodging questions about the Solomons and Labor revealing its plans for its own Pacific "step up".

Colossal fail leaves China ascendant. Friends and foes now wonder what Australia knows about its own backyard

MADONNA KING 4 minute read

The new alliance between the Solomon Islands and China has signalled to the world that Australia's influence in the Pacific is weakening.

Once upon a time on the Gold Coast: with Can-Do, Diane and Yanni — and the Noosa Church of Satan

GUY RUNDLE 12 minute read

Let's face it, Surfers Paradise is the only place where libertarianism makes sense...

Too close to call? Mackellar needs a 13% swing, but it’s still going to be close

WENDY HARMER 4 minute read

The northern beaches electorate may look like a millionaires' playground to outsiders, but its population is surprisingly diverse.

Carbon state: Coalition changed rules to save fossil fuel donor tens of millions

BERNARD KEANE 2 minute read

Chevron's carbon capture and storage project off Western Australia has been a miserable failure, but luckily the government has stepped in to keep the costs down.