Like most governments, this one arrived in office promising more accountability and transparency. Also like others, in practice it has a penchant for control and secrecy.
The recent elections in Tasmania, South Australia and the byelection in Batman have left an impression that the advance of the minor parties has stalled. This is not necessarily the case.
While Labor lost in South Australia it was far from a disaster, and new Liberal premier Steven Marshall will need to move quickly to ensure he does not test voters’ patience.
After 16 years in government, the Liberals oust Labor in South Australia – but the biggest disasters of the night were Nick Xenophon and SA-BEST, with Xenophon not even winning his seat.
SA Liberal Party leader Steven Marshall said that state Labor policy had left South Australians with ‘the highest energy prices in Australia’ and ‘the least reliable grid’. Is that right?
The Australian Hotels Association of South Australia claims poker machine reforms proposed by Nick Xenophon’s SA Best party would wipe out ‘many of the 26,000’ jobs in the hotel industry. Is that right?
Nick Xenophon says the proposals encapsulated in his party’s gambling policy for the South Australian election are just the start of a wider push for reform.
Two decades ago, the then SA premier, John Olsen, defied a campaign promise and announced plans to privatise the state’s electricity industry. It’s been a high-voltage issue ever since.
As the fallout from the dual citizenship saga continues, the Greens and Labor are set to fight a close contest in Batman, while Nick Xenophon has work to do ahead of the South Australian election.
The polls are leaning towards the Liberals holding power in Tasmania, but the unpopularity of the federal Coalition government could help Labor get over the line.
Malcolm Turnbull says people won’t be casting a national vote until the due time of 2019 – although Labor is working on contingency plans for this year in case he changes his mind or is foxing.
Last year was a vicious one for climate and energy politics. And with a South Australian election and various other federal decisions in the offing, 2018 looks like being similarly rancorous.