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For Evelyn, who needs the world to change
THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL | How Scott Morrison won and Bill Shorten lost |
Erik Jensen |
A special virtue attaches to plays which remind the drama of how much it can do without and still exist.
Kenneth Tynan
SOUR CHEESECAKE
The first staffer says it just before eight oclock: Were fucked. Yep, completely fucked.
The swings in Queensland are coming through. Herbert is gone. Its like Hillary at 3 p.m. on that awful night, a staffer says, when everything would just have to go right if theres any hope.
Shortens election party is held in the function room of an airport hotel. On one side of the building is an industrial estate and on the other is the airfield. In the corners, balloons are clustered like grapes. The lights burn pink on peoples skin. Outside, the moon is unusually large.
Early on theres a good feeling in Braddon. It looks as if theyre ahead in Corangamite. A staffer says that if they hold in Tasmania, win Corangamite and hold Lindsay, theres no way the Liberals can keep government.
Just put me out for an hour, he says, and wake me up when its done.
Anthony Pratt arrives, wearing a Prada jacket. His father was close with Shorten. The richest man in Australia doesnt know quite where to stand. Hes been very good, Pratt says. Hes done it with great aplomb. The NDIS and those guys down in the mine. They say theres no small parts, just small actors. And Bills not a small actor. Hes just a great talent. There are some things you need talent for and I think Bills got that immense talent.
Trays of party pies are offered around. Very quickly, there is the feeling of a wake, only without the warmth or fond stories. Barnaby Joyce wins comfortably and the room boos. There are long, sad faces. Peoples eyes are underlined with resignation.
Tony Abbott is making a concession speech. He has lost to Zali Steggall, an independent. He claims the evening as a victory for the Coalition. Where climate change is a moral issue, we Liberals do it tough, he says. But where climate change is an economic issue, the Liberals do well.
Longman in Queensland is lost on One Nation preferences. The Liberals have won Bass in Tasmania. By nine oclock the room has emptied by a third. People look hollowed out. The wait staff bring out platters of sour-tasting cheesecake. This is a terrible night, a staffer says. Fucking terrible.
At 9.30, Antony Green calls it for the Coalition. Peter Dutton quotes Paul Keating: This is the sweetest victory of all. Peoples jackets smell more and more of cigarettes. The air smells of wine and warm breath.
On the screen, Scott Morrison makes his way to the side of stage. Bronwyn Bishop is there and when she hugs him her nails look like red beetles on his back. He shakes hands with Philip Ruddock and then John Howard. This is the party he has got back together.
Morrisons forehead glistens under the lights. His first line as returned prime minister is religious: I have always believed in miracles.
At the Labor function, they cut the sound. The corners of Morrisons mouth twist as he forms silent words. He is thanking the quiet people who have won him this victory. Just after midnight, Bill Shortens bus pulls out from the back of the hotel and disappears into the darkness.
ONE MORNING IN APRIL
The cyclamens are indifferent. Their faces are pink and beautiful, turned downwards against the cold. It is Thursday and Scott Morrison is in the prime ministers courtyard. He is announcing an election.
Earlier this morning, I visited the governor-general here in Canberra, he says, and he accepted my advice for an election to be held on the 18th of May.
As he talks, Morrison holsters his thumb in the crook of his forefinger. He rocks on his feet and the shoulders of his jacket shift independently of his head. We live in the best country in the world, he says, but to secure your future, the road ahead depends on a strong economy, and thats why there is so much at stake at this election.
He promises, again, a surplus. He says one and a quarter million jobs will be created in the next five years.
We will maintain those budget surpluses without increasing taxes, and pay down the debt, he says. We will deliver tax relief, as we have, for families, for hard-working Australians, for small businesses, allowing Australians to keep more of what they earn. We will keep Australians safe, as LiberalNational governments always do. And we will keep our borders secure, as you know we will. And we will be able to guarantee the increased funding for the essential services that Australians rely on. Schools, hospitals, medicines, roads all guaranteed by a stronger economy.
Morrison has the face of a man delivering bad news, not yet certain how bad it really is. His eyes are curtained with seriousness. His voice dips at the end of each phrase, like a mourner bowing his head before going into church.
There is more to do and a lot has got done, and we are getting on together with the job, he says. So at this election there is a clear choice. It is a choice that will determine the economy that Australians live in, not just for the next three years but for the next decade. Its a choice between a government that I lead and the alternative of a Labor government led by Bill Shorten. You will have the choice between a government that is delivering a strong economy and will continue to do so, or Bill Shortens Labor Party, whose policies would weaken our economy. You will get to decide between a government that has fixed the budget or Bill Shortens Labor Party, that we always know cant manage money. You will have a choice between a government that is lowering taxes for all Australians, or Bill Shortens Labor Party, that will impose higher taxes that will weigh down our economy. Its taken us more than five years to turn around Labors budget mess. Now is not the time to turn back.
Morrison says he believes in a fair go for those who have a go. He says that is part of the promise made by all Australians, to make a contribution and not seek to take one. The phrases bring satisfaction to his face. He enjoys repetition. He is pleased by rhyme.
