Did the PM just get mogged at Adelaide’s big Labor conference?
A slip on the escalator just before appearing on stage alongside a glowing Premier with a holiday tan pushed the PM into the shadows, writes Mike Smithson.
A talkfest, a gathering of ideas, a showcase of persuasive orators or was it something else?
The national Labor Party conference in Adelaide had a “look at me” aura from the moment Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stumbled at the top of an escalators on his way to deliver the opening address.
He was always going to be in the shadow of Labor’s energetic today-man Peter Malinauskas, so his near disaster on a piece of sticky Convention Centre conveyancing apparatus was all part of Albo looking like yesterday’s hero.
It was the SA premier’s time to shine yet again on a national stage, and he didn’t let a moment go to waste.
Fresh from a family holiday he wasn’t going to be a shrinking violet when his time arrived on stage.
Contrast Anthony Albanese’s faltering Joe Biden-like arrival with a confident and suntanned Malinauskas, and it almost appeared to be an audition for the reality show equivalent of Who Wants to Be a Prime Minister?
So, let’s analyse the content of the Premier’s powerful welcoming address to hundreds of topflight Labor delegates.
Against the backdrop of the conference’s cliched slogan Delivering Real Change, whatever that means, Malinauskas told the audience to be under no misapprehension that the Australian Labor Party is a party of government, that is firmly in government.
No arguments there, but then his message was subject to conjecture.
“Governing is always a privilege,” he passionately explained.
“A privilege that guarantees our opponents are going to spend all their time worrying about us, worrying about each other and then worrying about themselves.
“And while this occupies their attention, ours is only focussed on the great Australian project, a national project defined by the character of the Australian people.”
You might like
Those were stirring words accompanied by many home-grown images of dinkum white- and blue-collar workers and those from other cultural backgrounds.
So, where’s the discrepancy?
In recent times the SA government has gone into overdrive trying to demonise those from opposing parties or interest groups.
During the Premier’s annual leave, three ministers launched into a tirade against SA Liberal Senator Kerrynne Liddle over her attempts to relay an alleged message of inconsistency during the Telstra outage and what she thought was a resulting death.
Whether she was right or wrong, or badly misguided in her social media post, is open to interpretation.
But make no mistake.
The government was trying to land a blow on her and looking for a scalp whether it be self-inflicted or a disciplinary whack from her own party leader Angus Taylor.
Just one minister speaking on one occasion would have been enough to get the message across.
But over three consecutive days the pile on came from three Labor ministers who displayed faux, but believable, anger at the so-called Liddle gaffe.
It also happened to coincide with NAIDOC week, and Senator Liddle is of proud Arrernte indigenous heritage.
That doesn’t strike me as a government with its only focus on the great Australian project.
“People who know it’s our generosity of spirit which brings us together and that’s what sets us apart,” the Premier went on to explain on the big stage.
“We are a people who understand that if we do live in the lucky country, it’s because we make our own luck,” he said.
“Not simply because we work hard, but because we work hard together.
“People who, at our best, instinctively think the better of one another, rather than racing to assume the worst.”
That obviously was a less-than veiled criticism of One Nation, its leader Pauline Hanson, all the party’s MPs and, by inference, voters who put them there.
It even stretches to Australia’s richest woman, and key One Nation financial backer, Gina Rinehart.
Are we to believe that Labor’s not fully focussed on One Nation and the rapid rise of conservatism in this country?
Stay informed, daily
That Mali statement seems to contradict any notion that One Nation is spending all its time worrying about Labor.
I would contend that it’s quite the opposite.
The Premier’s rallying of the national party faithful was commendable and had more than a hint of him wanting to go places in the future.
But he’s also mindful that South Australians aren’t ignorant of his home-grown issues.
Stop the Chop protesters in the parklands are a constant reminder of minority groups having a major agenda-defining nuisance factor.
His government’s honest attempt to locate a new primary school in the booming outer suburban Mount Barker area also has bureaucrats madly paddling under the water as the owner of much-loved restaurant, Wok the Duck, steals the headlines.
It appears the land this establishment sits on will be compulsorily acquired for a new school despite howls of protest from him and others.
The government has floundered to sell its case that locals were properly consulted or whether another suitable site exists.
Back at the national conference, the Premier proudly claimed that we are a country full of people who are optimistic.
His speech had all the correct buzzwords and phrases but many of those out in suburbia and the regions wouldn’t share his grand vision as they struggle under the increasing weight of cost of living, housing and rising fuel prices.
The conference was largely a peaceful and unified Labor showpiece except for Ed Husic’s attempted debate on Israel’s role in the Gaza conflict being gagged before it even started.
The Liberals also have plenty of explaining to do.
Federal leader Angus Taylor was coincidentally in Adelaide last week but keeping his distance from the media.
He maintains there will be no SA coalition between the Liberals and One Nation.
That may be so, but with key conservative Liberal Senator Alex Antic appearing odds-on to run as state president, there’s more than a whiff of something happening behind the scenes.
Words were important, but the political spin during such a momentous week was almost off the charts.
SA’s unlikely to be at the centre of such national attention for a long time to come.
Everyone will be judged on what they deliver, but the Prime Minister’s attendance might be best remembered for his near-banana skin moment on that pesky escalator.
The Premier’s unmistakeable national glow is just dawning.
Mike Smithson is weekend newsreader and political analyst for 7News.
Want to see more stories from InDaily SA in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily SA as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily SA". That's it.
