Comment

As United States President Donald Trump’s tariffs unleash chaos and turmoil across global markets, financial authorities around the world are forced into the unenviable role of working out how to protect their economies.At such an unpredictable juncture, with the leader of the world’s largest economy going rogue, who would want to be a central banker?

Transparency and integrity are ideals imbued with symbolism, but they have very real practical meaning in our democracy … Together, they mean a government free from corruption and wrongdoing – or at least, a government where wrongdoers are held to account.

A lot of nonsense is peddled about balance of power. Top of the list is the idea that members of the cross bench can sail comfortably through the next period of minority government without a formal agreement with Labor or the Coalition.

Whether or not Donald Trump intended to reshape the world order within 100 days is unclear. What he certainly didn’t intend was for his ill-considered actions to expose the vacuousness of his entire administration.

We have invented the economy. We have fashioned it out of the air. We have made an altar of money. The market is the arbiter of all things. We are caught in its spell. It is a world no more real than Narnia or Moria but far less entrancing and far more evil.

Dutton’s lack of interest in policy is the Achilles heel of an election campaign built on complaint and tough-guy rhetoric. There is no detail on his nuclear policy, which is so far off it is hard to take seriously. There are serious questions about the workability of his gas policy. There are his three thought-bubble referendums and his destructive plan to cap foreign student numbers. The list goes on.

There is a lot of good in Australian climate policy, and some bad. The good news is that energy is on the political agenda this election cycle and finally we are seeing a race to the top. Electrification as a strategy is front and centre. Solar, wind and batteries are the cheapest way forward.

All elections turn on competence in political and economic management. Undermine voters’ confidence in either – or, worse, both – and the chances of success are seriously diminished. That is the situation Peter Dutton finds himself in at the end of the second week of the campaign.

As the major parties compete for the title of best economic manager, they are still ignoring the elephant in the room. Their future spending commitments, and voters’ expectations for further support, are not adequately funded by the prospective tax base.

When Peter Dutton links tariffs to national security, he is doing exactly what Donald Trump wants.