Comment

Scott Morrison has found a very useful ally in an unlikely place. His name is Joel Fitzgibbon, opposition member for the New South Wales seat of Hunter, and the prime minister is certainly grateful for his contribution. The veteran Labor member, whose coalmining electorate encompasses much of the state seat of Upper Hunter, went on a media blitz early in the week, which gave no comfort to his own side.

This year marks the beginning of the second decade of constitutional recognition. Who could’ve known when Julia Gillard created the expert panel, at the urging of the Greens and independents Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor, that 10 years, seven processes and nine reports later the nation would still be waiting for the Commonwealth to act?

It’s been a fairly quiet week for the Morrison government. In the limbo between the budget and next week’s session of parliament, everything’s gone a bit (more) dull in Canberra. We can expect several scandals to break simultaneously on Monday as everyone plays catch-up.

A government doesn’t spend $100 billion in a budget addressing every political problem, either of its own making or imposed on it, and leave anything to chance. Scott Morrison certainly didn’t this week. No sooner had parliament adjourned than he hot-footed it to Queensland – the state that did the most to save his government and without doubt holds the keys to the Lodge at the next poll.

Against this alarming backdrop, one significant question is being asked about the Albanese opposition: Is it capable of winning the election that’s due some time in the next year?

Josh Frydenberg mentioned climate change once in his budget speech. “Australia is playing its part on climate change, having met our 2020 commitments and on track to meet and beat our 2030 target,” he said, echoing the prime minister’s tired slogan. But the treasurer offered nothing to support this statement.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg must have been thrilled to finally provide the government with news coverage that didn’t involve anyone masturbating on a desk in Parliament House, an MP using attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to explain why he hides in bushes or Craig Kelly being Craig Kelly.

The morning after the three-ring circus that is budget night in Canberra, Scott Morrison came close to telling the truth: that he and the treasurer are in fact flying blind. Morrison repeated in his round of dawn media interviews that he has a plan, a very big plan. But if that is meant to sound reassuring, it’s mightily hedged by an economic reality that he almost admits is out of his control.

Had Christian Porter carefully considered the sorry history of defamation actions brought by politicians against the media, he may have paused and pondered for longer. While few things are certain in life, in defamation actions all bets are off.

The Morrison government won’t say how much Covid-19 vaccine there is in the country. They won’t say to which states it has been sent or how much has been administered. When asked in private briefings, the answer is: “That’s information in confidence.” There is no public data to say why the rollout has stalled, or if it was hubs that produced a record day for vaccinations this week, or to show if that was related to supply. There is no data to say what is working and what is not.