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Author: Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
Original article: https://theconversation.com/election-diary-there-were-a-couple-of-moments-in-second-albanese-dutton-encounter-254586
Two “moments” stuck out in Wednesday’s leaders’ debate, the second head-to-head of the campaign.
Peter Dutton cut his losses over his faux pas this week when he wrongly named Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto as having said there had been a Russian approach to base aircraft in Papua.
So that was a mistake, ABC moderator David Speers asked. “It was a mistake.”
The other “moment” was in a discussion about negative gearing, when Anthony Albanese denied the government had sought modelling on that. The public service “certainly wasn’t commissioned by us to do so”. In fact, we know Treasurer Jim Chalmers asked Treasury to do it.
That enabled Dutton to repeat a favourite Coalition line. “This prime minister has a problem with the truth.” (Albanese has given grist for this line by his denial earlier in the campaign that he fell off a stage, when the footage contradicted him.)
While the leaders were predictably well-rehearsed across the broad sweep of issues, they could not prevent their weak spots being put on display.
Albanese struggled with something that has not been canvassed enough.Wasn’t there a case for more means testing of some of the big spending the government has undertaken?
Then of course there was the perennially unanswerable question: when will power prices come down? The PM squirmed.
Dutton left us no more informed about what a Coalition government would cut to finance his programs, although he did concede, when asked whether cuts to the public service would be enough to cover all his spending, “The short answer is no”.
On climate change, the opposition leader looked awkward, when asked what seemed simple questions, such as whether the impact of climate change was getting worse. That’s a judgement he’d prefer to leave to others, “because I’m not a scientist”.
Aware that he is paying a political cost by being painted as Trump-lite, Dutton dodged when asked whether he trusted Trump. “I don’t know Donald Trump” was his lame response (although he continues to declare himself confident of being able to get a deal on tariffs with him).
Albanese, for his part, said he had “no reason not to trust him”.
The PM reconfirmed that in tariff discussions with the US, Australia’s critical minerals were on the table, but lacked clarity when pressed on what precisely was Australia’s proposed critical minerals reserve.
The two leaders were at one on being behind AUKUS (just like they are on not touching negative gearing) despite increasing criticism of the agreement in Australia.
Housing was thoroughly canvassed but without taking us much further. It now seems it is the politicians against the experts, many of whom are sceptical of much of both sides’ offerings.
Speers’ raising the issue of renters was a reminder that the housing issue in this campaign – at least as it’s being argued by the main parties – has been firmly focused on promoting ownership. The plight of renters has been the bailiwick of the Greens.
Asked about the one big reform change they’d like to be remembered for, Albanese nominated affordable child care.
Dutton went to a more ambitious level, nominating energy, which was, he said, “the economy”, an inevitably more contestable area than childcare. This opened the usual claims and counter-claims about nuclear.
For those who want to hear the next round of the leaders’ duelling, they will meet again on April 27 on commercial TV.
Business signals post-election fight on gender-based undervaluation of work
The Albanese government has made reducing the gender pay gap one of its signature issues. Among other initiatives, its legislation in 2022 required the Fair Work Commission to take into account the need to achieve gender equality.
The commission’s expert panel for pay equity has been investigating five areas: pharmacists, health workers, social and community services employees, dental assistants, and child care workers.
On Wednesday its results were released, finding gender-based undervaluation of work in all these areas and proposing pay rises up to 35%.
There is an immediate determination for pharmacists, who will receive a 14.1% pay rise phased in over three years. In the other areas, a process of further hearings will commence.
The government reacted cautiously. The bill for the wages of many workers in the care sector falls on to the public purse.
A Labor spokesperson said: “A re-elected Albanese Government will engage positively with the Commission consistent with the principles set out in our submission [to the expert panel] , including our obligation to manage any changes in a fiscally and economically responsible manner”.
The Australian Industry Group declared “many employers will struggle to meet the scale of the increased costs proposed”.
“Industry will be anxiously awaiting the response of the major sides of politics to the decision and what concrete commitments will be made to assist employers in grappling with its implications.”
The last thing the government wants to make on this before the election is a “concrete commitment”.
Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.