Malcolm Turnbull’s suggestion that frustrated moderate Liberal voters consider voting independent has ramped up anxiety in government ranks over a new and different threat.
The media’s penchant for the “gotcha” game deflects attention from the big issues,but political leaders still need to be prepared.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg fired back after Monique Ryan,the independent challenger for the crucial Liberal seat of Kooyong,launched a piercing attack during an absorbing hour-long debate.
In the debate over the tightly contested seat,a relative newcomer to Kooyong cut to the heart of this rancorous campaign with surgical precision.
The March 29 budget contained billions of cost-of-living handouts while the campaign has included billions more. Economists say they helped push the RBA to act.
During the Treasurers'debate,Jim Chalmers and Josh Frydenberg got to ask each other anything they wanted.
Josh Frydenberg said he would ‘use different words’ than the PM to describe the NSW ICAC as he fights against an independent campaigning for a strong federal integrity commission.
Politicians promising lower taxes are being disingenuous. They know unpopular cuts in government spending or increases in taxes – or both – are on the way,but you won’t hear about it during an election campaign.
A contest between two smart people to represent a smart,engaged electorate should make for good politics. Instead,the Kooyong campaign has turned rancid.
Josh Frydenberg told his election launch that independent Monique Ryan’s mother-in-law told him she would vote for him. Ryan soon hit back.
Frydenberg claimed Labor leader Anthony Albanese was “in bed” with independents challenging inner-city Liberals,as he invoked Robert Menzies’ “forgotten people”.