It is clear they spent their wilderness years playing the man (and woman) and not the ball. It is also clear they have spent decades developing relationships with donors and vested interests which in turn has alienated them from everyday Australians and from the majority.
They have however done the nation a great favour. They have awoken a sleepy electorate, made them more politically engaged, and galvanised them... against everything the Abbott government stands for.
And the slow motion train wreck that is the Abbott government just keeps giving (to the Opposition), and keeps growing national unity (against it).
Hockey, once perceived as the best of the government's performers is now clearly one of its biggest clowns. Bob Ellis takes him to task for delivering catastrophic news for so many Australians with a smug smile on his face, in between puffs on his cigar. Hockey has also been portrayed as a hypocrite... for introducing huge fees to tertiary education after protesting against it as a student.
Abbott recently compared the budget situation to one where there was a fire that needed to be put out, but there is remarkably little evidence for this. Productivity is on the rise and in relatively good shape. Wages growth has flat-lined. And everyone knows debt is not an issue. It is a very difficult task to sell a harsh budget (especially one which punishes the poor), when there is no urgent need.
All we can conclude is that this is a budget designed to punish those who the Coalition are ideologically opposed to. They are perhaps based on ideology alone. A hard sell, made harder by both Abbott and Hockey who make repeated schoolboy errors, recently demonstrating they don't understand their own policy in relation to the GP tax. This was followed by support for extracting outstanding HELP debts from deceased estates by both Pyne and Hockey, before it was shot down by the Mad Monk himself.
They also have the cart before the horse. A Department of Human Services phone line is telling callers that changes to Medicare, including the new $7 GP co-payment, are set to apply from July 2015. Despite the fact that it is yet to pass the Senate. With Clive Palmer the key to this legislation passing it seems that secret meetings are being organised with treasury officials which include Mr Palmer, but seem to sideline the Treasurer. Very strange.
Hockey is starting to show the strain - asking photographers to stop taking his picture during an address to ACOSS, an audience where he had no friends.
For First Dog on the Moon's take on the budget, follow this link.
Added to this is a recent event which, due to Morrison's secrecy, makes it unclear if further violence directed at asylum seekers on Manus is a high risk.
For the perspective of First Dog on the Moon on Morrison's handling of asylum seekers, follow this link.
There are voices of reason within the government... but sadly they get nowhere near cabinet. Backbencher Dennis Jensen labels the science policy as incoherent. As reported by Michelle Grattan 'There appeared to be a lack of understanding of how science worked, said Jensen who has a PhD in Materials Science and Physics and worked as a research scientist.'
The Coalition has members with talent. People of reason. But no one is listening to them. As sure sign of a dysfunctional government.
People's perceptions that this is a government of vested interests is only supported by the revelation that they have shifted funding from the Royal Commission into Childhood Sexual abuse (which has unearthed a great deal of hidden scandal and provided some healing and closure for victims), to the Home insulation scheme royal commission which has achieved relatively little. The government clearly sees value in more money being spent on cheap political point scoring.
As the party's popularity is plumbing new depths, it is lucky for the Liberals, ICAC in NSW is currently taking a break.
- a massive slump in expectations for Australia's economic growth.
- political defections from the Liberal party in South Australia
- the steep decent in approval for Abbott.
On the last point, it took Abbott in concert with the Murdoch press 3 years of concerted effort to trash Julia Gilliard's reputation. In less than a year Abbott has destroyed his own reputation despite a great deal of sympathetic press from the Murdoch stable. Abbott now rates lower than Julia did just before her replacement by Rudd on measures of Hard-work, Trust, Leadership and Intelligence. And at the same time he rates much higher than Gilliard did on measures of Arrogance, Intolerance, Aggression, Narrow-mindedness, and being out of touch.
Abbott.... the Worst PM ever!
The last word on the government (or more specifically Bronwyn Bishop) goes to First Dog on the Moon.