The Bruised And Battered Left Have Not Been Vanquished

Some columns are much harder to write than others. This one is bittersweet.

I am pleased that the Coalition was re-elected last Saturday but disappointed that the Australian Conservatives barely troubled the electoral scorers.

The lack of success wasn’t due to an absence of hard work. Our candidates and volunteers worked tirelessly to get the message out. They represented our Party well, with dignity and respect.

Alas, the hard work of these fine men and women wasn’t recognised at the ballot box but I can’t praise them enough. Their enthusiasm and commitment to principled policy and never compromising their integrity is something to be admired.

Naturally, there are lots of different thoughts about the result but after some reflection, I have drawn a few conclusions.

First and foremost is the campaign performance of Scott Morrison. He was simply phenomenal and his candour, humility and enthusiasm for our country were in stark contrast to his opponent (and his predecessor PM).

I have no doubt he drew many disillusioned conservative voters back to the Liberal Party. As one Party member wrote to me today:

“With Turnbull lurching to the left, we were a great alternative, but with Morrison, deeply socially conservative, and an evangelical Christian, it robbed us of our ability to differentiate.”

That said, the election result was a win for common sense and decency. Australia emphatically rejected the class warfare and identity politics that Labor sought to make the battleground of this campaign. To their credit, the Libs mostly rejected that mantra and this provided a refreshing contrast to what has been in recent years.

It can hardly be lost on anyone that when the Coalition presents a genuine alternative to the socialists they do better than when they simply mirror them. Tony Abbott won on that basis and now too, so has Scott Morrison.

With the strengthened authority that comes with such a victory, I can only hope he will keep the Liberals on their new course. If not, I’ll be there to remind them of where they should be.

This election was made all the more remarkable by some of the other political players. Palmer spent $60 million-plus not to get a result. The angry parties carved each other up competing for the conspiracy theorists, and the grandstanders suffered a fall in fortunes.

None of this glosses over the lack of success for the Australian Conservatives at this election but we said what we mean and did what we said we would. Of that, we can be proud.

An election gives any government the opportunity to reset the clock and have a go at delivering the policies our country needs. It also gives the rest of us a chance to regroup and refresh to prepare for the battles ahead.

Big government and the tribalism of the leftists may have been put back in their box for now but they haven’t yet been vanquished. Our task now is to be ever-vigilant to them making a comeback.

Things that make you go Hmm…

With rampaging Rwandans resettled here, Cate might blanche at the prospect of her own detention, while the Poms speed our passage through their ports. Sartorial ambiguity abounds, when claims of discrimination are just as much tosh as a Roman restaurant rip off.

We heard that AOC wants to tax CEOs as Kerri-Anne’s common sense attack on Bill Shorten worked a treat and America’s Bill Nye “the climate alarmist guy” wasn’t very nyce. Now Christmas has been banned, along with an unsporting parent, at least this was a Mothers’ Day gift worth receiving.