Knowing, as we do, the dishonest campaign employed by No-Policy Morrison, the question must be asked – who was sucked in?
And the answer is not what you would expect.
It wasn’t rich people seeking to protect the advantage they know they receive through overly generous tax concessions or seeking to have their taxes cut even further.
It wasn’t the people who actually know what franking credits and negative gearing mean.
It wasn’t migrants protecting their children from moral decay.
It wasn’t old people scared of change and longing for the golden days of the past.
An analysis by Nick Evershed at the Guardian shows some very interesting results that should inform future campaigns.
“Electorates that swung harder to the Liberal and National parties are more likely to have higher unemployment, lower income, lower levels of education and fewer migrants”, whereas “electorates that swung to Labor were more likely to have higher levels of education, more young people, more people in work or study, and more people over the age of 80.”
As Labor fell into the trap of talking about the minutiae of unsustainable tax concessions, they failed to sell their message to the very people they would have helped the most.
Those with higher education qualifications, or more political and economic engagement, were able to see through the razzamatazz of the ProMo show.
Those who are concerned about the environment, young and old, recognised the danger.
But those who just want someone to look after them without them having to be involved in thought or deed, handed the reins to Scott the Messiah who tells us that everything is just fine and dandy – don’t you worry about that you people.
The interference run by Pauline Hanson and Clive Palmer was also influential in directing preferences to the Coalition. Some of the biggest swings to the government came in coal-mining regions but often via a primary vote for one of the fringe parties.
Labor must change the way they communicate – less about the how and more about the why, less about the numbers and more about the benefits.
None of the current crop of politicians could be genuinely called inspirational so, in the absence of a real visionary leader, it must be a team effort by all of us to identify the challenges we face, to better communicate the needs of our society, to hold our politicians to account, and to explain more simply the path to a better future.
As Bill said, we cannot change the past, but it is our duty to do the best we can for the future.
Maintain the rage and keep the bastards honest.
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