While the arrival of the Royals and the start of the Invictus Games brought many Australians much relief from the hopeless and hapless shenanigans of the nation’s politicians and further demoralisation for the Coalition, two of the Wentworth byelection candidates, together with Prince Harry, gave us much needed inspiration in three wonderful speeches last Saturday night.
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The Prince’s speech on the Games’ opening night, without a note or a prompting board, had many saluting his mature assessment of so much that is good and praise-worthy in our nation.
But, it was David Sharma, the Liberals’ beaten candidate in Wentworth, and the successful Kerryn Phelps who, in their measured speeches, gave us hope that out there in electorate-land, there are Australians and relatively younger ones who have some idea what it is mainstream Australia wants from a government that this five-year-old ageing and intolerant Coalition Government hasn’t a clue how or what to deliver.
No wonder the Coalition is being cleaned up in the real polls and the media ones; or, why the minor parties are surging.
Sharma and Phelps spoke with candour and grace - Sharma praised Phelps’ great contribution to Australia in more than a number of ways; she lauded the way he fought the campaign and his diplomatic contribution.
So what is it that the Liberal Party in particular does not get?
Why in an electorate which is getting so many younger Australians living in it would you trot out yesterday’s man, John Howard, 79?
If the Libs take a look back in time, the Coalition has gone backwards overall since halfway through Howard’s third term when the party, particularly those outside the parliamentary wing, should have stood up, been counted and said: “Time to go ‘Winston’, it’s Peter Costello’s time”.
Sharma and Phelps spoke with candour and grace.
Not content with Howard’s presence there was the State Party president, Philip Ruddock, at 75 and 43 years an MP (second only to Billy Hughes in service) and now the Mayor of Hornsby. Neither inspirational.
The following is a short message received last Thursday from one of the column’s political scouts: “For a while I have been disillusioned and frustrated with our federal politicians. Now I am angry. With blatant political announcements by Liberals in the Wentworth byelection and moves to overthrow the leader of the Nationals (Michael McCormack) it is more than obvious that our politicians are interested only in protecting their interests rather than advancing the interests of the nation. Our system of government is clearly broken. I am disgusted with them”.
Right on the money! Now this on Facebook from a former defence department PR operative: “It’s sad for the country. I don’t care who is in power, as long as there is leadership, (now) sadly lacking as we have a choice between Morrison, the used car salesman, and Shorten, the union man, for God’s sake let’s have vision and some policy where we are going to be in the next five, 10 years.”
“But, to a swinging voter - and there are a lot of us - it is just incomprehensible that two months ago, 43 Liberal MPs signed a letter to say we want you out, Malcolm. It takes a certain mental genius to put one of the safest seats in the country in jeopardy. Did not one of these mental pygmies ask that question?
“We’re absolutely fed up with the in-fighting but if there was nothing to be learned from Wentworth - the Nats spent the whole week mumbling about a fourth (!!) deputy PM - then it’s time for contemplation on the opposition benches. Shorten is more than problematic, but a large number of voters are ignoring that in favour of Labor, on the basis it would be very hard for Labor to be worse than the present Coalition - a chaotic, squabbling, self-absorbed, policy-free rabble”.
Here’s a start for the LNP. Disqualify the wreckers starting with Abbott, withdraw his endorsement and replace him with Sharma for the next election. Then eliminate the chief wreckers - Dutton, Andrews, Abetz, Cash, Cormann and Fifield et al; and with them the Nats should send Joyce out to pasture. He, too, lacks the class required to truly serve the public, as another of my Press Gallery friends observed recently.
As the pragmatic Tim Fischer noted recently, “Michael McCormack has only been there (Deputy PM) seven months, for God’s sake; he should absolutely be allowed to gain momentum on both sides of the Brisbane line”, an obvious reference to those NQ Nats MPs petrified about losing their seats and not about their constituents.
