With less than week left in the federal election campaign, there are still several important policy issues Labor and the Coalition have so far been unwilling to touch.
Many of these issues featured prominently in previous election campaigns but, so far, they have been sidelined by the government and the opposition.
Let’s take a look at a few of them.
Where next after the voice referendum?
The voice referendum was supposed to be one of the biggest reforms of the Albanese government. After a bruising referendum campaign for Labor, Indigenous affairs has barely featured in this election campaign. So far, there has been scant detail about policies directly affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Labor says it remains committed to the “principles of truth-telling” but both parties have pledged to focus on practical rather than symbolic ways to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
Gambling ad ban
The Albanese government was planning to introduce a range of reforms last year in response to a major inquiry into gambling harm that called for a total ban on ads after a three-year transition period. This never happened, thanks to pressure from broadcasters and sporting codes. No policy has been taken to this election by Labor. The Coalition has not changed its policy announced in mid-2023. Labor has vowed to do more if elected but has not provided any details. Inaction has been highlighted by several backbenchers in marginal seats.
Environmental protection
Before the 2022 federal election, Labor vowed to introduce a national Environmental Protection Agency. This never happened, again, because of pressure from vested interests. Labor has flagged it would introduce some form of an agency if re-elected but has not provided details on how it would differ from what it didn’t deliver in 2024.
The Great Barrier Reef
In previous elections, the major parties were keen to splash cash on the reef to boost their environmental credentials and support the tourism industry. In 2022 Scott Morrison promised $1bn worth of conservation programs over the next decade. This year the Albanese government announced a $10m package for educational programs highlighting the importance of sustainable tourism. More than half of this money provides rebates for students to visit the reef. The major parties have mentioned the reef but the money committed to its protection is marginal compared with previous campaigns.
Jobseeker
The fortnightly welfare payment is only $781 for single people, helping keep about 858,000 Australians in poverty. A long list of organisations want it and the youth allowance increased but their calls have fallen on deaf ears in the major parties, although the crossbench and the Greens have highlighted the need for change.
Renters
The major parties have concentrated on helping first home buyers but have offered no support to renters and said little about affordable housing. The peak housing body Everybody’s Home wants limits on rent increases, longer tenancy agreements and national minimum standards. It has also asked for a more ambitious target of 940,000 social homes to be built within the next two decades.
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High-speed rail
For months the Albanese government has been sitting on a business case for the first stage of its much hyped east-coast high-speed rail line. Its promise to begin by building the Sydney-Newcastle section was a flagship policy of its 2022 election campaign. Despite all that Labor has yet to announce a plan for high-speed rail. Meanwhile, the Coalition has talked down the project’s likely huge cost.
Employment services
Countless reviews and inquiries have found that Australia’s employment services system is expensive and ineffective but any talk of reforming it has been omitted from this campaign. Economic Justice Australia and the Antipoverty Centre want the mutual obligation system abolished, with Acoss calling for an immediate end to the targeted compliance framework and automated payment suspensions.
Airlines
Labor has largely avoided talking about aviation despite widespread discussion about Australia’s lack of airline competition, high air fares, poor service and speculation about the government’s relationship with Qantas. In contrast, the Coalition has proposed loosening restrictions barring foreign airlines from operating domestic flights to boost competition and reduce ticket costs – but this would be a trial limited to the Northern Territory.
The NBN
Mention of the national broadband network, once an election-deciding issue, is notably absent from this campaign. There was a one-line mention of it from the prime minister in Labor’s campaign launch – just about the fibre-to-the-premises upgrade announced before the election, and saying Labor would keep the network in public hands – despite the Coalition ruling out privatising it. There has been no mention of the NBN so far from the Coalition. But the Liberal policy page says the party would “improve access to telecommunications and high-speed internet, including investing $3bn for further work on the NBN”.
Labor and the opposition support a social media ban for users under the age of 16 so the idea is not up for debate. Both parties also matched each other with $6m for digital literacy courses for school students. Perhaps not wanting to risk the ire of Donald Trump and the tech oligarchs, neither party has campaigned about regulating social media platforms, or getting Facebook, Google and TikTok to pay for news.
Aged care
This was a huge issue in the 2022 election campaign but has so far barely rated a mention. It could be because the main parties supported a new Aged Care Act but the chair of Palliative Care Australia, Dr Peter Allcroft, is frustrated about how little has been said during the campaign about improving access to care in a sector that faces chronic workforce shortages.
