It wasn’t hard to hear the MAGA undertones in the Coalition’s newly announced “Let’s Get Australia Back On Track” campaign. As Bernard Keane wrote yesterday, Peter Dutton is relying on the “same tropes, slogans and gurning mannerisms” as Donald Trump, sans the unhinged charisma, though is tripping himself up when it comes to migration, with a pamphlet full of contradictory claims.
There is a similarly Trumpian flavour to the cop-turned-property investor’s talk of a return to “prosperity” — a vague term increasingly owned by conservatives, attempting to appeal to all.
“I want future generations of Australians to not be denied the prosperity that previous generations of Australians knew,” Dutton told the party faithful on Sunday, arguing this was the “last chance to reverse the decline”. It’s a hollow pitch that just might work, as it did for Trump, reaching those nostalgic for a time when it wasn’t so hard to get ahead.
But who is responsible for coming generations being denied the “prosperity” Dutton was himself lucky enough to attain, buying his first home at 19 as he proudly proclaimed? Ah yes, the Coalition, which has spent its years in office ensuring the rich get richer, often at the expense of those struggling to get by. What would a Dutton government do for those unable to secure their slice of the pie in an increasingly stratified Australia, with a broken housing market and obscene generational wealth transfer only set to exacerbate the situation?
The gist of Dutton’s plan appears to be Cut Spending, Lower Inflation, Profit (?) — though he’s fairly silent on which of Labor’s cost of living relief measures (“Panadol policies”) would be cut. Calls to get “back on track” by cutting red tape are standard Liberal fare, quipped the Australia Institute’s Greg Jericho, as standard as lower taxes, which, lo and behold, are also part of the “plan” — though not in any concrete form.
Unsurprisingly, there is little to be found in the policy-vacant “Back on Track” booklet that would help those treading water to “prosper”. Variations of the word are used eight times, mostly emphasising how integral business is to “our” prosperity, a claim long made by the business lobby as it demands preferential treatment.
The pamphlet has a section on the housing crisis, which lists “boost housing supply” (how? by how much?) and the Coalition’s “super for housing” policy — a policy unlikely to help young people who aren’t already high earners, that will boost prices to boot.
The Coalition’s definition of prosperity appears more like that of libertarian think tank Americans for Prosperity, under which prosperity means the smallest government possible, freedom for the rich to get richer, because trickle down economics (watch out for new vehicle, Australians for Prosperity, run by former Liberal MP Julian Simmonds, which is currently attacking the teals for being too pro-tax). After all, if we’re enhancing Arsehat of the Year Gina Rinehart’s prosperity, we’re enhancing Australia’s, right? Nevermind that intergenerational inequality is set to further entrench our growing wealth gap, weakening economic mobility.
What would it take for “future generations of Australians to not be denied the prosperity that previous generations of Australians knew”, as Dutton awkwardly put it? Addressing intergenerational inequity, in particular when it comes to property, would be a start, with tax settings making it too easy for the already prosperous to hoard. But of course, policies that might help ration out Australia’s prosperity are vehemently opposed by Dutton, whether wealth or inheritance taxes, or even something as small as adequately taxing high super balances.
Is this prosperity promise going to work for Dutton, as it worked for Trump, convincing the many to vote against their own interests, in order to prop up the wealth of the few? It’s worked before, with the Coalition securing big swings in 2019 among low socioeconomic groups — those least likely to be impacted by then opposition leader Bill Shorten’s plans, but led to believe they would be a tax on them.
Dutton seems to be reading the political mood here — even if he doesn’t have any policies to back it up. As Redbridge research officer Alex Fein wrote in a recent, compelling blog post, “promises of private splendour” are gaining “ever more purchase” in these severe times, something the right and far right are much better at capitalising on than the left.
“I want future generations of Australians to not be denied the prosperity that previous generations of Australians knew,” said the man who last year flew across the country to spend an hour at the birthday party of Australia’s richest woman.
Dutton, like Trump, doesn’t really care about most people being denied prosperity — not if his track record is anything to go by. But as with Trump, it doesn’t really matter what he means. What matters is the feeling that better days were behind us, when a young Queenslander could — apparently — afford a house deposit simply by throwing newspapers, mowing lawns, and working in a butcher’s shop after school and on Saturdays.
Have something to say about this article? Write to us at letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication in Crikey’s Your Say. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.
