Federal Parliament Year in Review

As the Coalition’s year began, many wrote of its end. The press, the public and even some Liberal politicians were convinced the jig was up – a Labor government was an apparent ‘sure thing’ after the May election. However, they were all wrong. The man who has “always believed in miracles” led the Coalition to a third term in government, earning an electoral mandate which shaped the next seven months of Federal politics.

From the election we have seen a metamorphosis of Scott Morrison from a tough-on-borders, coal carrying hard head to the daggy suburban dad, and the rise of Prime Minister SCOMO – the messiah from the Shire.

The Federal parliamentary year ended very differently to how it began – with the resurgent Prime Minister kicking away the last remaining crutch of Labor's parliamentary dominance — the medevac legislation.

The last week of Federal Parliament saw Morrison begin to sow the seeds of a political strategy for 2020; a public service shake-up acting as substantive demonstration of the power of government and the forcing of the union-busting laws back into the parliament in defiance of Labor, the unions and the Senate.

With Morrison using the last week of Parliament to setup for 2020, and the excision of both Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull from Parliament, it seems that Morrison will go into next year in a unusual position for recent times – as a leader of the Liberal Party who can confidently order their stationery in bulk.

The Election

The Federal election saw Scott Morrison defy opinion polls and public expectations, leading the Coalition to election victory. The result was a crushing defeat for the Labor Party and a win for quiet Australians.

After leading the polls for two years, when it came to “the only poll that counts” there was a 0.9 per cent swing away from Labor. The Labor Party framed the election as a referendum on climate policy and wealth inequality. The Liberal Party framed the election around economics, and the Australian dream – a country with “a fair go for those who have a go”.

Labor’s campaign was risky, campaigning on polices that had identifiable and quantifiable losers, and focusing on big changes to tax loop holes including franking credits and negative gearing. The lack of clarity on who would be affected by Labor’s tax changes meant Morrison could cast doubt on who would be impacted by a Labor government. Morrison’s message was piercing, and he never diverged from the one central claim — that Labor was high-taxing, a risk to the economy and Shorten would take money "from your pocket".

In his victory speech Morrison remarked, "Tonight is not about me, it's not about even the Liberal Party. Tonight is about every single Australian who depends on their government to put them first."

The final results saw the Coalition returned to government with 77 seats out of 151, a net increase of two seats compared to the 2016 result, and the Coalition winning 51.57 per cent of the national two-party preferred vote.

Ten House of Representatives seats changed party as a result of the election. The most notable of these was former Prime Minister Tony Abbott losing his seat of Warringah (NSW) to independent Zali Steggall. The Liberal Party won back Wentworth (NSW) from Independent hands. The Liberals also won Lindsay (NSW), Braddon (Tas.) and Bass (Tas.) from Labor. In Queensland, the LNP won Longman and Herbert from Labor.

The only material seat gain for Labor was Gilmore (NSW), which it won from the Liberal Party. Labor also won Corangamite (Vic.) and Dunkley (Vic.)—seats which were held by the Liberal Party, but which were notionally Labor following the 2017–18 redistribution.

A number of additional seats changed member but not party following a number of sitting members not re-contesting, including high-profile frontbenchers such as Julie Bishop and Christopher Pyne from the Liberals and Wayne Swan, Jenny Macklin and Kate Ellis from Labor. A less-typical example was the Independent for the division of Indi (Vic.) Cathy McGowan, who stood down and was replaced by her chosen successor, Helen Haines. In total there are 18 new members of the House of Representatives.

In the aftermath of the election Bill Shorten resigned as Labor leader, resulting in Anthony Albanese – affectionately known as Albo – becoming Opposition Leader.

Public Service Shake-Up

This week saw Scott Morrison announce a dramatic shake-up of the public service that will see five department heads axed and the number of government departments reduced from 18 to 14.

Morrison said the move would allow the government to “bust bureaucratic congestion and improve decision making,” declaring priorities for delivering on drought, water, education and the environment. The changes will come into effect on February 1.

Tax Cuts

With the help of Labor and the Senate crossbench, the government's tax cut bill - the major policy it took to the May election- passed through Parliament in the first week of July.

Morrison declared the passage of the government’s $158bn tax cut package through the Senate a victory for “quiet Australians”, and remarked the parliament had voted to “reward aspiration”.

The change means more than 10 million Australians will receive a tax cut up to $1,080.

The bill passed 56 to 9, with One Nation abstaining, the Greens voting against the bill, and crossbencher Cory Bernardi absent. The result prompted claps from Coalition senators and heckles of "shame" from the Greens.

National Drought Response Plan

Drought continues to be a major issue across Australia, and November saw Prime Minister Morrison announce the Coalition’s National Drought Response Plan.

Infrastructure

In November the Morrison government announced it will accelerate a $3.8 billion spend on road and rail projects in a bid to boost the economy. The government will bring forward the outlays on major projects by striking agreements with the states to quicken the pace of construction. This comes after the Reserve Bank of Australia earlier this year called for the government to bring forward infrastructure spending to boost the economy.

The Morrison government has pledged $1.3 billion for Queensland, while Western Australia will get an $868 million injection. South Australia is set to receive $415 million.

The great state on NSW is getting $570 million, with the package including the acceleration of $530 million in previously-planned funding for regional projects including Newell Highway upgrades and the Princes Highway Corridor, an extra $20 million will go towards the final link of the Pacific Highway upgrade from Woolgoolga to Ballina and $4 million for the Dixons Long Point Crossing project between Orange and Mudgee.