Unless the connection between the Voice and the problem is made, the success of a referendum will depend on the number of Australians willing to constitutionally enshrine a virtuous sentiment.
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And the problem is that virtuous feelings often conflict. The point in this case is the no-cash social welfare debit card. Welfare advocacy groups oppose the card because it is stigmatizing and campaigned for its removal. But her drive to get rid of the card has been in direct conflict with what some indigenous communities want, especially the women inside.
If the Indigenous Voice in Parliament had already been consecrated, the government would have had to assume that it would have to listen to these indigenous peoples. And that could have meant not abolishing the care card without cash.
Thank God for the symbolism, eh? It allows a lot of margin. Defenders of indigenous spaces and well-being can simultaneously have warm and diffuse feelings without killing the atmosphere of others.
And since you can never have too many symbols, Albanese also christened an island in Canberra with the name of the Queen of England (and Australia), while practically in the same breath he swore an Deputy Minister for a Republic.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese lit the Commonwealth Lighthouse in Canberra as part of the Australian Jubilee celebrations. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Introducing some unintentional symbolism, the renamed island is a fake island, located on the fake lake in the center of the fake city. Maybe there is some sign in all this.
It should serve as an important early reminder that symbolism is of little value unless it is linked to substance. Politics has to solve a problem.
And that’s how Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ “welfare” budget should be judged.
Kiwi Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, a teacher of the symbolic, made the welfare budget a central piece of her prime minister when she presented her first welfare budget in 2019. Since then, the former chief economist of the Republic calls it “marketing instead of substance.” Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
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But Chalmers, who has made no secret of his ambition to convince Australians that Labor is the best economic manager, wants to introduce one. Its dual purpose will only come out if “measuring what matters” is a framework for better managing funds rather than raising them indiscriminately. And this is where symbolism can come in handy.
The treasurer has said he wants education achievement and health outcomes to be combined with economic data in the budget. These are two areas where rising spending has historically not necessarily translated into better results.
The Liberal Party has been saying this for years, of course, but no one on this side of politics had the ingenuity to adorn an spending reform program with a “welfare” ribbon. Perhaps what these political circles were hoping for was someone who could reject careless proposals to improve the quality of teaching staff and eliminate the perverse incentives of the health care system by wrapping them in new wrapping paper. This would create an important result that is worth measuring.
It is not yet clear whether the Albanian government will learn to systematically display symbolism for something other than itself. If so, perhaps a very long Labor reign awaits us. If not, this government will rise in an extremely virtuous puff of smoke.
Cut to the chase of federal politics with Jacqueline Maley’s news, opinion, and expert analysis. Subscribers can subscribe to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here.