Liberal moderate marshmallows a burden for Malcolm Turnbull
Chris Kenny, The Australian, April 23, 2016
Associate Editor (National Affairs)
Sydney
At the mention of Tony Abbott, their lips curl and they lift their noses as if someone has stepped in dog’s do. They scoff at the turning back of boats, cringe at talk of Islamist terrorism and wince if you mention climate change.
These are not Greens; these are the Liberal moderates. They are the barrackers for Malcolm Turnbull who could cost him the election.
Continued Below
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Craig Laundy wants to combat opinions about Muslims in Australia
Now this is Embarrassing for a country.
Talk about a low point, with so much talent on the back bench, Malcolm Turnbull made the decision to elevate a low life, apologist for Islamic extremism to the executive ranks of the Australian Government as a Ministerial Secretary.
Without wanting to be insulting at all, this action by the Australian Prime Minister has to be the political equivalent of dropping a ladder down the political sewer in the hope that whatever buck-toothed, mat-haired, flea-infested, butt-opened rat that might be desperate enough to clamber up will perform some trick to placate your cultivated lefty progressive media audience and appease Islamic Extremism in a way that appointing Ministers and Ministerial Secretaries who actually have some experience, ability, talent and nous might not.
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Chris Kenny Continued: Liberal moderate marshmallows a burden for Malcolm Turnbull (The Australian)
If the Prime Minister takes his cues from this cohort — his natural sympathisers — he will fail.
He must resist their siren song.
Liberal moderates often lack the ability to make tough decisions or govern with strength.
(There is a similar dynamic in the ALP where the Right does the hard yards while the Left indulges in emotionalism and ideology.)
At a federal level the Liberal moderates generally don’t have the spine to win elections.
They are best suited to service delivery portfolios or state politics where that is all that really counts.
Fortunately for Turnbull he is not a true Liberal moderate. He is their poster boy, and his most ardent supporters fall into that camp, but Turnbull is too strong and pragmatic to be of their ilk.
Save for his attitudes on climate change, gay marriage and the republic, Turnbull could agree with most anything the John Howard or Abbott loyalists trumpet.
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Malcolm Turnbull’s new assistant minister for Multiculturalism, Craig Laundy, has vowed to combat ”wrong’’ public perceptions about Australia’s Muslims.
Ethnic and religious leaders have reported increased tension in recent months amid the rise of Islamic State and calls from political leaders such as Tony Abbott for a “reformation” of Islam.
Mr Laundy, a former publican from Sydney’s culturally diverse inner-west, said the vast majority of inflammatory opinions about Islam and Muslims came from people who were “not well informed” and their views were “wrong”.
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Chris Kenny Continued: Liberal moderate marshmallows a burden for Malcolm Turnbull (The Australian)
And on climate and gay marriage he has shown himself capable of compromise on policy mechanics while holding positions that, it must be said, are in synch with most voters.
In federal politics the Liberal moderates are not, as they would have it, characterised by “compassion” and “liberalism” but largely by a default ability to concede their opponent’s arguments and retreat on tough debates.
They are happy to sweep into office on the back of tough campaigning by an Abbott or a Howard, and accept the kudos for closing detention centres or welcoming extra refugees but often shrink from the difficult arguments and hard actions that enable those successes.
Liberal moderates extol the compassion that makes dinner parties comfortable, hunger for the approval of Radio National and tend to be favoured by the press gallery, but they can be political leaners rather than lifters.
Understandably, the moderates feel they are ascendant now, with their man in the Lodge, but could they have won government promising to scrap the carbon tax and stop the boats? And could they have succeeded on those missions? We know the answer.
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This is the brutal reality Turnbull must remind himself of every campaign day — his cheerleaders are not the warriors he needs.
If he is to win what will be an arduous campaign where Labor tries to smash him with class warfare, he must do hard combat.
There is much talk in Coalition ranks about stability. Voters want stability, they say, no doubt echoing research underpinning campaign themes. The yearning for stability in an uncertain world provides them with a strong case against a change in government.
It also highlights how the Coalition has trashed a clear point of distinction over Labor — by falling for a leadership coup themselves, they lost the counterpoint to Labor’s leadership circuses.
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Yet there is a way. The Coalition must stress the government’s policy consistency, embracing the successes of the Abbott era — even if the moderates have to hold their noses — and offer voters the chance to stay the course rather than turn the country upside down again by reverting to Labor.
Border protection is the touchstone. We know the facts: Labor saw more than 800 boats bring in more than 50,000 asylum-seekers; 1200 were killed; 17 centres detained up to 10,000 people at a time; 8000 children were put through detention; the chaos cost more than $10 billion.
Since the Coalition turned boats back only one has arrived; none has been seen for 600 days; 13 detention centres have been closed; there are no kids in detention. Little wonder then that Bill Shorten is now claiming to be on board.
“The truth is,” he told journalists on Thursday, “if you’re a cyber-criminal or if you’re a people smuggler or a terrorist, both Labor and Liberal are equally committed and we work together.”
The retort from Peter Dutton is sharp. “The facts don’t match Bill Shorten’s words,” says the Immigration Minister. “The Labor Party will dismantle the successful policies that stopped the boats … Labor demonstrated in 2007 that they will say anything before the election.”
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Dutton says border protection and national security are more important at this election than they were in 2010 or 2013.
That’s a compelling argument; not one the moderates love but one that is crucial for the nation and we can expect to hear in campaign advertising. Few Australians, surely, would knowingly risk a return to this shambles and trauma.
The Coalition also needs to highlight Labor’s promise to bring back a price on carbon and increase a range of taxes, even if the government insists on dulling the contrast by aping, or trumping, Labor’s tax increase on super contributions.
Turnbull needs to embrace even Abbott’s greatest failing — budget repair.
However ham-fisted Abbott and Joe Hockey were, voters know they were trying to fix the budget and were thwarted by Labor and the Senate.
So Turnbull and Scott Morrison must promise to stay on that course — with more skill and success — while attacking Labor’s tax and spend alternative.
Like tackling Islamist extremism or ending the evil trade of people-smuggling, making budget savings and shifting the focus from a culture of entitlement to one of self-reliance demands political backbone.
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