Many critical values at stake in Saturday’s election

While the economy is at the top of most voters' minds, other issues matter more, as Alan Austin reports.

SADLY, OPINION POLLING confirms the craven liars in the mainstream newsrooms are succeeding in deceiving their audiences. Australian voters believe the Liberal Party is better than Labor at economic management, 36 to 31.

That Labor is better 99 to 1 has been proven abundantly by independent economic analysts worldwide, including those here at IA, most notably Stephen Koukoulas.

In fact, as reported here for about a year, Australia is now the world’s only economy with triple-A credit ratings, in budget surplus for the last two years and continual growth in gross domestic product (GDP) for the last three years.

It is also the only economy with the jobless rate below 4.2%, inflation below 2.5%, and median wealth per adult above $390,000.

That contrasts with the economy being near the bottom of most global tables under the Coalition.

Factchecking the leaders on cost of living, budget repair and Gaza

In a rare memorable moment during a rather desultory Federal election leaders’ debate on Tuesday this week, Anthony Albanese accused Peter Dutton of gaslighting the Australian people.

Latest excellent data

As is now routine, economic updates all bolster the three principal economic theses of this column over the last year or so:

the Coalition’s cost of living crisis, which began in the second quarter of 2021, ended in the third quarter of 2023;
Australia moved into a strong consumer spending upswing in late 2023; and
living standards, which fell under the Coalition, have now been fully restored for the vast majority.

Last Thursday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported that employees in food and accommodation services have hit a new record, confirming Australians are dining out and holidaying more frequently.

That same ABS release confirmed that jobs in other areas of discretionary spending – arts and recreation, luxury retail sales – are also surging.

Total household spending in February reached a fresh all-time high of $75.6 billion, 3.3% higher than the year before. That’s five consecutive record months.

The Chamber of Automotive Industries reported that 109,647 new vehicles were sold in March, beating the previous March record in 2018. Sales from January to March of 304,452 comprised the best first quarter ever, up 13.2% on last year’s.

The record Labor takes to the Election

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers have done pretty much everything required of them in economic management, a reality few mainstream media consumers know.

The ABS shows costs of food and other essentials have risen 6.7% since December 2022, when Labor’s first budget began to take effect.

AUSVOTES ECONOMIC FACTS #4: Labor brought down government debt by billions

The economy is a dominant issue in the Election. From now until polling day, Independent Australia will outline some key facts on the economy that put the kybosh on many of the myths, lies and distortions being peddled in the election campaign.

Since then:

the fortnightly age pension is up 12.2% from $936.80 to $1,051.30;
the adult unemployment benefit has risen 16.9% — from $668.40 to $781.10; and
the living away from home youth allowance is 25.1% higher — from $530.40 to $663.30.

The weekly minimum wage is up 12.7% from $812.60 to $915.90 over that period. Average weekly earnings are 8.9% higher — from $1,876.00 to $2,043.80.

Wage rises fell below the inflation rate in 2021 and 2022 under the Coalition. They have been well above inflation for the last 16 months.

The current Liberal Party ad campaign claiming citizens are worse off under Labor is riddled with deliberate, blatant lies, confirming their moral bankruptcy and contempt for voters.

Priorities for voters this Saturday

While polling still suggests the economy is voters’ principal concern, this ought not be the case this time. Four other issues are much more critical.

The fourth is military preparedness. This outweighs the economy. The Coalition years 2014 to 2022 saw a series of destructive blunders, including two welched submarine contracts, which cost tens of billions of dollars with nothing to show for it. The Coalition’s record on military procurement is worse than on the economy.

The third concern is the Robodebt scandal, which cost thousands of lives needlessly. This malicious Coalition scheme, according to the Royal Commission, ‘was launched in circumstances where little to no regard was had to the individuals and vulnerable cohorts that it would affect. The ill-effects of the Scheme were varied, extensive, devastating and continuing’.

The second is climate change, where the Coalition’s track record is one of denial, incompetence and corruption.

Long-term goals vital for voters in upcoming election

Short-term promises being made by the major parties in the lead-up to the election offer nothing more than the illusion of security.

The most serious issue, however, remains the treachery of Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and his colleagues in withdrawing support for the long-overdue 2023 Voice Referendum at the last moment — purely for tawdry political advantage.

Such bastardry warrants all members of the Coalition parties to lose their seats, except the four who publicly repudiated the party leaders — Bridget Archer, Andrew Bragg, Russell Broadbent and Julian Leeser, who resigned in protest as Shadow Attorney-General.

Dutton’s betrayal spat in the face of delegates to the bipartisan First Nations National Constitutional Convention and set back the aspirations of the First Australians by a generation. This must be remembered on Saturday.

Emulating Hawke and Keating

More positively, the greatest social and economic reforms since World War II were accomplished in the third and fourth terms of the Hawke/Keating Labor Government after it had repaired the damage to the economy and international relations by the preceding Coalition regime.

These include trade and security pacts with Asian neighbours, expanding exports to China, universal superannuation, creating the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), building the Collins class submarines and other military ordnance, and restructuring the economy.

Many challenges lie ahead for Australia today. These include climate change, taxing energy exports, social housing and reforming the taxes that distort the housing market. Maybe even building submarines again.

Albo and Dr Jim have shown they can run the economy, manage an effective ministry and deliver significant reform. If they have a second term to consolidate those achievements and then map out bolder future projects, there is every chance their third term will be as transformational as Bob Hawke’s. Definitely worth a shot.