Last week’s televised debate between Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton confirmed what many voters already suspected: Dutton remains unfit to lead, and Albo is no Gough Whitlam.
The event marked a rare appearance for the Coalition’s top dog on Australia’s national broadcaster, the ABC, but the future of that venerable and battered institution – of crucial importance as a counter to billionaire-controlled media, especially in rural and regional areas – was one of a number of major topics that were kept firmly off the agenda of this TV debate, moderated by David Speers.
Which other elephants remained unacknowledged?
Big issues
1. The Great Barrier Reef. This jewel of Australia and the world is threatened on multiple fronts by the policies of both major parties. The reef has just been hit by its sixth major coral bleaching event since 2016. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority says the main culprit is marine heatwaves, courtesy of the climate crisis. Record rainfall has also caused damaging runoff.
Peter Dutton lives in Queensland, but apparently his local underwater wonder is out of sight and mind as far as he’s concerned. Labor has thrown some money at the problem while continuing to subsidise coal and gas production.
Across the country, Australia’s other World Heritage listed reef Ningaloo has recently been hit hard by bleaching from extreme, unprecedented heat stress.
Anthony Albanese needs to do well in Western Australia this election, but for him and his state counterpart, this apparently means appeasing wealthy mining interests, indigenous heritage and tourism be damned.
WA’s unique environment is expendable. Too bad, so sad.
2. Gaza? Crickets all round from David Speers, Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton.
3. Wealth inequality. Speers attempted to get the politicians to discuss tax breaks for investors, negative gearing and the capital gains discount, but Albo only wanted to talk about the supply side of the housing issue, while Dutton attempted to use the question to entrap the prime minister in a gotcha about whether or not the government had officially engaged Treasury officials to model changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax. What could be worse than that?
Economists have suggested the policies of both major parties are likely to push prices up even further, aiding the investor class, of which these men are clearly a part.
4. Treaty and truth telling. Neither leader had anything to say about these issues, which were the second and third big requests emerging from the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
Albanese’s position appears to be that he tried his best with the Voice referendum and failed, end of story, while Dutton preferred to talk about school attendance rates and Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, who worked on behalf of Dutton, Gina Rinehart and others to destroy the Voice campaign, and is now apparently intent on doing the same to the Australian public service, in the vein of Elon Musk’s DOGE.
5. Corruption. This was a central issue of the last federal election, leading to the establishment of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, a secretive and ineffectual organisation that has pleased no one but the corrupt politicians it was supposedly created to deal with.
Political corruption wasn’t mentioned at all in the ABC debate. Sadly, this doesn’t mean the problem has been magically cured.
6. Gambling and gambling advertising. Crickets again, although the death toll from online gambling is steadily rising, and poker machines continue to wreak havoc. Australians are now losing a staggering $25 billion a year to this ‘industry’, which preys particularly on the poor and the disadvantaged.
The ALP have tinkered with the edges of the problem and the Coalition have been equally useless, although prominent members of both parties have claimed to care about gambling issues in the past.
7. Climate change. On the night of the debate, perhaps not wanting to hurt Gina Rinehart’s feelings, Peter Dutton refused to say whether he ‘believed’ in the science of climate change. Did he believe in gravity or the Easter bunny? Sadly, David Speers didn’t ask him. Apparently unable to look out the window or read a graph, Mr Dutton said this was purely a matter for scientists. Nuclear power though, well that’s entirely different.
With Australia in the firing line for ever more disastrous climate catastrophes, this nonsensical position alone should disqualify Dutton for political leadership of any kind in 2025.
The morning after, he appears to have woken up remembering all those seats lost to the teals last time and reversed his position, but the damage was done. This is what happens if you limit your media appearances to the crazy right wing echo chamber for years, and then emerge blinking into the light.
Where the hell are ya?
Anthony Albanese’s hypocritical position on climate is equally untenable, of course, just like his position on AUKUS, where both leaders are in furious agreement that Scott Morrison’s most toxic legacy should be preserved at all costs, no matter how crazy the occupant of the White House.
The latest opinion polls show Dutton sagging and Albanese maintaining his position, with an increasing number of voters heading towards the minor party exits as they see more of the uninspiring fare on offer from the big parties.
If this trend is maintained, Australia is heading for minority government (a very normal thing in many parts of the world), and Peter Dutton might have to go back to property management.
The federal election will be held on Saturday, 3 May.
Originally from Canberra, David Lowe is an award-winning filmmaker, writer and photographer with particular interests in the environment and politics. He’s known for his campaigning work with Cloudcatcher Media.
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