MAY 11, 2019

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If you thought this election was boring, get out of the metro bubble. That’s the word from our correspondent at large Guy Rundle.

This week, Guy has been on the road, from Indi to Canberra and back again, talking to people livid with the major parties and looking for a new way.

Strange blue-green-orange alliances are forming to kick the old guard out, especially in the regions where NBN, water and jobs are drying up — or never materialised.

As one woman told Rundle, “they do what they want in the city, and then just tell us how it’s going to be”.

As always, comments, clarifications and questions on the week’s news can be sent to boss@crikey.com.au.

Have a great weekend,

Bhakthi Puvanenthiran
Managing Editor

Everyone wants to be Mr Black — except in Indi, where all is orange

GUY RUNDLE 5 minute read

Voices For Indi is a movement focused on keeping the seat for an independent, and achieving a handover from independent to independent — a first in Australia.

The climate election

Does Australia really have a ‘green tape’ crisis?

BERNARD KEANE 3 minute read

As evidence mounts of a major environmental crisis, Scott Morrison says "green tape" is deterring investment and destroying jobs.

Coming extinction crisis could be mitigated by Indigenous knowledge

BENJAMIN MILLAR 3 minute read

A landmark United Nations report makes a compelling case for turning to Indigenous groups for knowledge to prevent further environmental destruction.

Is this report enough to bring climate to the election?

BENJAMIN MILLAR and BERNARD KEANE 3 minute read

The 2019 election campaign has been put into stark relief by a report saying that around 1 million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction — many within decades.

New ABC managing director will have to forge his own path

EMILY WATKINS 3 minute read

The ABC's freshly appointed managing director David Anderson was the subject of discussion at the Sydney Writers' Festival at the weekend.

Pre-polling disrupts more than just the theatre of election night

WILLIAM BOWE 3 minute read

Politicians have a strong motivation to cast doubts on the democratic merits of early voting. Unfortunately for them it's here to stay.

Labor goes for diversity over the coronation of King Bill

“	Given how shambolic the Coalition campaign has been despite Scott Morrison’s endless mugging for the cameras and News Corp’s cheerleading, it’s tighter than it should be. Labor’s two big risks — a detailed and risky platform, and an unpopular leader — could yet prove fatal. — Bernard Keane

Labor’s campaign launch emphasised that the economy needs to deliver for working people. But many working people remain unconvinced, because their dissatisfaction is wider than that.

Are troll farms ruining Australian political debate?

RICHARD CHIRGWIN 5 minute read

Are journalists getting more abuse than ever before? And if they are, could troll farms be to blame?

News Corp slugs Shorten, hurts mainstream media instead

BERNARD KEANE 3 minute read

News Corp's attempt to exploit Bill Shorten's mother not merely delivered the Labor leader his best day of the campaign, it diminished all the mainstream media in a campaign where journalists are under fire.

Watching for the rural revolution in Farrer

GUY RUNDLE 7 minute read

The dominant feeling of the country is that of being slighted, blindsided and ignored. Now add social change, general political dissatisfaction and water scandals.

Labor should stop lying: the Liberals did not cut health spending

BERNARD KEANE 3 minute read

Labor has long insisted the government cut health funding. In fact, health spending has risen significantly under the Coalition.

On Pat Dodson, Labor’s paternalism and avoiding lip service

NATALIE CROMB 4 minute read

Senator Pat Dodson's potential appointment in a Labor government is merely tokenistic if it does not empower him to make structural changes.

Father Rod Bower feels the call for politics

GUY RUNDLE 5 minute read

Bower made Gosford Anglican Church famous for its provocative and insistent messages on refugees, LGBT rights and more. Can that radical voice now disrupt the political establishment?

Is the war on piracy over?

MICHAEL BRADLEY 4 minute read

Five years ago, piracy was seen as the death of all content creation. Now, it's almost an accepted reality of success. Can this last?

Labor’s boring but sensible fiscal policy will avert future crisis

“	It’s the unsexy, risk-averse and boringly sensible fiscal play, and Labor is absolutely right to embrace it. We may never need the insurance it provides, but hundreds of thousands of workers could pay with their jobs if we don’t have it. — Bernard Keane

Despite the government’s focus on tax, Labor’s fiscal policy is the more boringly conservative and risk-averse approach of the major parties, and is all the better for it.

The anger and envy of Higgins’ bourgeoisie

GUY RUNDLE 5 minute read

At a candidates' forum, Greens candidate for Higgins Jason Ball was bombarded but unfazed by the angry, comfortable middle class.

Why federal election polling numbers should have you concerned

WILLIAM BOWE 3 minute read

You may think that unanimity across the results of multiple two-party preferred polls would mean they must be accurate, but you'd be wrong.

Eight Lives: a pacy medical thriller

SUSAN HURLEY 4 minute read

"A smart, sophisticated thriller that explores power, class and prejudice, Eight Lives will keep you engrossed until the last page." — Affirm Press