I watched the final part of The Godfather trilogy on the weekend which explores the attempt by Michael Corleone (played by Al Pacino) to make his criminal family enterprise a legitimate one.
In one scene, a frustrated Godfather despairs of the mafia business “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!”
It’s become quite a famous line and it made me think of the current political environment and the state of the government. The Prime Minister has made a pretty good fist of putting the leadership turmoil and ructions of the past five years behind him whilst putting forward an important narrative focused on border security and the economy.
Unfortunately, every time he seems to take a step or two in the right direction, one of his team drag him back to the ignominy of the past.
We have the disgruntled ghosts of Prime Ministers past battling for legacy honours and jilted Nats playing a political game of thrones over the cult of personality while newly-minted ministers contradict themselves in the space of a couple of minutes.
Little wonder the polls reflect a drubbing for the Coalition.
Like Pacino’s character, I feel pulled back into the travails of the Coalition and I take no pleasure in viewing their implosion. I truly believe that mainstream centre-right policies are better for our nation than those of a left-leaning government. As such, I would prefer to see a Coalition government elected than a Labor one. That’s hardly surprising given my long history with the Liberal Party.
However, it is hard to rationalise that the current rabble deserve another crack simply because they would be less bad than their opposition. The shoots of policy hope are repeatedly dashed by the ongoing public drama. It shows how they still don’t know who they are or what they should represent.
Few policy areas capture their inherent inconsistency like the energy arena. First they embraced emissions targets and renewable energy subsidies that have only made our electricity sector more expensive and unreliable. Then they tried to blame someone else for those decisions. Now they promise to waste billions on more green schemes whilst talking about reliable ‘base load energy’. To rub salt into the wound, they also declare themselves to be ‘technology agnostic’ but won’t utter a word about the only proven emissions-free base load energy available source – nuclear power.
It is just one example of the policy duality at work within the Coalition.
Other than border protection, their only durable position is that things would be worse under Labor. That’s not much of an advocacy platform for the average voter to register their confidence in.
Even worse is that the answers to a consistent and principled policy platform are only a click or two away. The Coalition just need to visit the Conservatives website!
The Australian Conservatives have developed a comprehensive policy agenda that embraces the conservative heart of the nation and have a track record of success. Our policies are all about strengthening families, fostering free enterprise, limiting the size and scope and reach of government, encouraging personal responsibility and rebuilding civil society.
These are the essential building blocks of a prosperous, secure and confident nation. Only the Australian Conservatives are prepared to remain steadfastly moored to these cornerstones. If the Coalition happens to pull off a miracle election win, through the Senate, we will make them a much better government. If Labor seizes the treasury benches, only the Australian Conservatives can be trusted to defend you and the national interest.
No matter if you vote for team red or team blue to form government, it is more important than ever to vote Conservatives in the Senate. A vote for the Australian Conservatives is a vote to bring back common sense.
Cory Bernardi is the author of seven books and has been a member of the Australian rowing team, a publican, an investment portfolio manager and spent nearly 14 years as an Australian Senator.
