Abbott whistling for an us-and-them contest
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The dog whistle is out of the drawer. The opposition’s announcement that it rejects the idea of a ”big Australia” of 36 million people is the first clear signal that Tony Abbott intends to press the population button as an issue — maybe the issue — of the upcoming election. Yesterday’s announcement is likely to be the start. Expect the issue to ramp up as it resonates within the electorate and in public polling. Expect the rhetoric to become shriller, including the strategic use of code words such as yesterday’s line from Liberal immigration spokesman Scott Morrison that the coalition would erect ”guard rails on growth” and Abbott’s reference to population growing “in an out-of-control and unsustainable way”. Expect the optics of the debate to be built on the proposition that the opposition will listen to “community attitudes on where to go from here on future population growth”, as Abbott said yesterday. Expect growing support in the tabloid and shock-jock media. Expect the opposition agenda to highlight the role of asylum seekers and the state of environment. In other words, prepare for the one kind of election that could propel Abbott ahead of the government … an us-and-them campaign. We’ll be back on Sunday — yes, Sunday — for the two most important events on the political and social calendar: (in no particular order) the long-awaited release of Ken Henry’s tax review, and the TV Week Logie Awards. Crikey hard-heads Bernard Keane and Alan Kohler lead our lock-up team for a special email edition mid-to-late afternoon with all the political and economic analysis you need. And what better warm-up for TV’s “night of nights” — we’re live blogging the glitz, the glamour and all the wardrobe malfunctions from 7:30pm AEST. Ken and Bert … do Sundays get more exciting? |
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10 Comments
Funny, that’s the same line the greens raise, that a population bigger than the one we have now is unsustainable and not in our national interest.
I eagerly await you calling them out on their dog whistling politics as well.
Still waiting
@Michael James: The Greens use a different dog-whistle, is all.
the very first paragraph of your newsletter reads:
“Prepare for an ss-and-them election campaign.”
an unfortunate typo, but now you mention it Abbott does look a bit like Himmler without the glasses
That’s one of the worst Crikey editorials ever - almost cancel-my-subscription material. Crikey may choose to get in the gutter with the bewildered and the bigoted and the shock-jocks but this time we aren’t going to retreat under a barrage of such abuse. It’s not about race it’s not about religion and it’s not about boat people. It’s about population. It’s about how Australia, at our current rate of growth, will have almost 90 million people in another 70 years (and 180m in 105 years and so on). That’s unsustainable and it’s time that we started to plan for what we want to do about it. The growth-at-all-cost merchants need to be reined in. Plenty of European countries are doing well with stable populations - we can too while increasing our refugee intake and increasing per capita wealth. But it will take some work and a good start would be for Crikey to get real and refrain from using a discussion on population as an excuse to spray insults around. How about being constructive for a change?
John Burke, it might come as a real shock to you but we don’t own this island and while we might think we can control things we don’t.
People are all entitled to have a country to live in.
We can try and be canute but it won’t get us anywhere.
As if any decisions made in the next term by the Liberal or Labor joke masquerading as a government will make a scintilla of a difference to the population outcome in 2050. The bastards have long had a policy time horizon of one term, that’s all.
The Henry review is no big deal because from day one it had both hands tied behind its back, i.e., until you address taxing the family home and negative gearing the rest is window dressing. So, I won’t be hanging on the edge of my seat for that one…
Dr Harvey M Tarvydas
SEX exposure, but first ….
@JOHN BURKE – threatening to take away is actually bullying, quite the opposite direction to intelligent discussion.
Crikey love, keep it up but I’ve got something for you.
Now, ssshhhhh, quiet, I am going to tell you something that only my closest family and friends know, that is, I read minds very accurately (but I refuse to exploit this gift inappropriately) so this is a rare political adventurous use I will commit simply because of the importance of SEX freedom so I will reveal.
RS Tony Abbott is planning to licence and charge for all sex, yours and mine (but not his) in an overwhelming flash of RS brilliance he solves population and budget deficit issues in one grinding and infallible way.
RS – Rhodes Scholar, Rat Shit, Redback Spider, Really Smart
What really concerns me is Abbott’s dog whistling on community service.
By being in the life saving movement, volunteer fireys, charity athletic endeavours and teaching in aboriginal communities,he is actually dog whistling that he is a good citizen - whilst Mr Rudd is a self absorbed twittering twat.
Abbott has no shame.
I could live with a 36 million population, but I see no willingness to stop at 36 million. I see no willingness to stop growing, ever.