Economy

Scott Morrison lies about the economy all the time. He can’t help himself. He tells big lies about transitioning away from fossil fuels and small lies about the role of his office in the way grants are directed to marginal seats.

It’s rather odd that this government is running on the idea that people want the government out of their lives, yet they seem intent on doing the opposite and restricting individual choices. The Religious Discrimination Bill opens up other interesting questions, for instance on superannuation.

There is no doubt that inflation was brought under control through the 1990s, but there is a real debate about just how much of that was due to the management of monetary policy compared with the impact of a host of other factors including, importantly, Chinese manufacturing flooding the world with ever-cheaper product.

There will not be a sustained economic recovery without a recovery of small businesses, and at this point they are on their knees. They are an essential element of the fabric of Australia and employ millions of Australians. They are the most innovative of our businesses and the developers of new technologies in our country. Small businesses are increasingly fundamental to our overall export performance, too. In 2022, they are ‘the sheep’s back’.

The savage, reckless, wantonly negligent public health policy of the federal government that is supposed to protect us – and above all, make sure people in places like Kooyong and Higgins never face the horror of queues and half-empty supermarket shelves – has plunged Australia into a debacle of massive and unprecedented proportions.

Surprisingly to many, the Coalition has consistently maintained its poll lead over Labor on the question of who would be ‘preferred economic managers’. Although there are a host of other issues that will feature in the coming election campaign – most relating to questions of integrity, accountability and climate change – Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg will undoubtedly seek to run on economic management.

Already, it has been called the ‘Great Resignation’. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, people are quitting their jobs en masse. Bartenders, sales assistants, healthcare workers, teachers and tech developers are calling it quits – a record 4.3 million American workers in August alone. It is unclear whether Australia will have the same kind of worker revolt, but some predict we may see a similar trend in early 2022.

Is Scott Morrison’s latest slogan – ‘can-do capitalism’ – simply an overarching abrogation of his responsibility to provide good government in our national interest?

Former Australian tennis great John Alexander doesn’t like the way the game of politics is being played. Winning is everything and the biggest losers are Australians. Good policy and a genuine bipartisan search for what is best for the nation, in his opinion, comes a poor last.

When will Scott Morrison and the Liberal National Party realise that three-word slogans are not a policy; indeed, they may not even be an effective way to deliver the desired marketing message? In the past two elections we were bombarded with ‘Jobs and growth’. Absent any detail, we were left asking, Which growth? In what sectors? On what time line? The latest slogan covering the absence of policy detail is ‘Technology not taxes’.