Letters & Editorial

We don’t have a presidential election system in Australia and yet so much of this campaign and its media coverage has focused on the contest between the two major party leaders. It doesn’t need to be this way, nor should it be.

Peter Dutton shrugged as he answered. You could see the political calculation playing across his face. Underneath the studio lights, he looked like a smooth and blinking Chupa Chup.

According to Julie Bishop, she didn’t lobby for Greensill Capital. She did call Josh Frydenberg while he was treasurer, but that was only to set up a briefing. She did introduce the company’s founder to Mathias Cormann on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, too, but she promises she didn’t make any representations.

It is not unusual for opposition leaders to perform better than they should in the polls. It’s a gentle way for voters to register their dissatisfaction. The surprise is that it’s true even for Peter Dutton.