‘People are bored with the Liberal Party’: Dispatches from Dunkley

Jackson Harding writes: As an Australian who is currently residing across the ditch, I watched the Dunkley count with interest. It was much later here, but it was still interesting to see the difference between the ABC telling it like it is (ALP vote exactly the same, up maybe a tad with the collapse in the Green vote, and the Liberals up by the amount of the right-wing ratbag vote not going to One Nation and Palmer by virtue of them not being there) and then the Sky after dark crowd completing the quadrella of disbelief (federal election 2022, Victorian state election 2022, Aston by-election 2023, and now Dunkley). The looks on their faces! If only that could be bottled! I’d buy a dozen cases.

It shows us that the LNP simply does not need to pander to the ratbag elements on its right — as many have noted before me, that vote is coming back to it anyway via preferences. Here we have proof. Howard’s attempt to head Pauline off at the pass was a fool’s errand. It could steer back towards the centre-right where it once was without any electoral damage whatsoever, and reclaim ground lost to the teals. But will it? Of course it won’t, at least not while the current mob are in charge. And at least not while He Who Must Not Be Named is still among us. No, expect the cry in the next few days that the LNP needs to go further right to please the base.

Marilyn Hobban writes: I met the wonderful Peta Murphy through my work with another charity and decided that although I didn’t live in Dunkley I’d campaign for her in the 2022 election. So it was only natural that I would campaign for her anointed successor, Jodie Belyea. I helped with markets, door-knocking and pre-polling.

Labor volunteers came from all over Melbourne to help Jodie win the seat. All had worked on the Yes campaign for the referendum and were still getting over the trauma of that horrible, abusive eight weeks. The camaraderie was incredible as we worked together with a common goal.

I did pre-polling at the Mt Eliza Scout Hall where you were actually in an unsealed shopping centre car park. The Liberals drove their billboard up and down the car park at least once every day and sat in front of our sandwich boards. Advance Australia parked its enormous billboard about 20 metres away. It was reported to the AEC and moved on.

Steve Brennan writes: The result shows clearly Dutton’s tactics aren’t working. Yes, people are doing it tough, but he simply went to them with no policies of his own to alleviate these day-to-day pressures.
People are sick of negative campaigning, which in the case of the LNP is based on misinformation and lies. It really comes across as an insult to one’s intelligence.

The other major factor in my view was that the Labor government clearly made the stage three tax cuts more equitable than the Coalition’s version. And this could easily be seen by voters as a tangible effort by Labor to ease their burden. This, I believe, was a body blow to Dutton because he had no choice but to concede the point — again, no policies to back up his aggressive negative attack and offer some kind of credible alternative.

Peter Carlin writes: As a voter in Dunkley I think people are bored with the Liberal Party. Every night on the news there is a Liberal politician opposing everything the Labor government does. It’s a habit of the TV channels to seek a reaction from the opposition. It’s an opposition reflex to criticise without presenting an alternative. It’s predictable and boring and seems scripted and insincere.