Richardson: Government times its run to imperfection – InDaily

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A bid to seize the agenda on euthanasia coupled with the latest failed foray into shop trading reform smacks of a Government seeking a legacy and, writes Tom Richardson, getting its timing all wrong.

Politics is all about timing, as the well-worn clich goes.

Steven Marshall has, generally speaking, timed his run in government to perfection.

That is, if youre in the governing during a global pandemic is a Great Thing camp.

But, of course, weve seen around Australia time and again that incumbents during the coronavirus era have been returned and in the case of Western Australia returned so emphatically that the Liberal Party was reduced to a minor partner in a Nationals-led Opposition of just six MPs.

So while it certainly has its challenges, politics in the Age of COVID-19 has certainly favoured the party in government.

Which stands to reason its a bit like when the work-from-home edict went out last year, and all of a sudden all those extraneous noises in our collective lives were immediately silenced.

For me, the litany of extra-curricular activities to which I had to remember to ferry my children on any given day were all of a sudden shut down, as our familys focus shifted solely to adjusting to that strange new reality.

That situation, I guess, was a microcosm of what was happening in domestic politics.

Suddenly, all the issues that tend to dominate the news agenda were thrust into the background, if not forgotten entirely.

Which means, for an Opposition, that theres not a lot to talk about.

But 2021 is proving different to its much-maligned predecessor.

While COVID rages on worldwide, locally it has settled into its political niche.

Perhaps its fatigue, maybe just a greater understanding of what living with COVID entails, but there appears to be a renewed interest in the life of the state BC (beyond coronavirus).

Which is why issues such as voluntary euthanasia have once again found their way to the forefront of public debate.

Current and former MPs and supporters who have attempted to legalise euthanasia. Photo: Tony Lewis / InDaily

Voluntary Assisted Dying legislation, whose passage through the House of Assembly became an unfortunate own-goal for Marshall in the past few days, elicits strong responses in the community, both for and against.

Yet, successive polls suggest that euthanasia is supported by a strong majority of South Australians.

Thats as may be, but every MP is entitled to vote according to their own conscience and belief on the Bill as indeed they should.

And as, indeed, many of those who dont support the introduction of voluntary euthanasia have pointed out, its important that their voices arent silenced in the debate.

That, in essence, was what prompted last weeks party-room rebellion by a motley crew of mostly (but not merely) Right-aligned MPs, incensed that the Premier had unilaterally announced that the legislation would be fast-tracked by debating it in the time allotted for Government Business.

This was seen as the latest in a series of moderate-faction snubs to not merely the views of the partys conservatives, but to their right to properly present those views in the due process of parliamentary debate.

Initially, Marshall doubled down.

After all, were less than 12 months before an election, and while the euthanasia Bill is sponsored by Labor MPs in both houses, what better way to take some ownership of it than to effectively label it Government Business?

Ultimately thats a decision for the Premier we control the Government agenda, he said on Friday presumably not employing the Royal Pronoun, but its entirely possible.

However, at some point over the weekend the penny dropped that he is actually the leader of a minority government these days, and actively encouraging internal dissent may not be the wisest move less than 12 months out from an election.

So, the euthanasia Bill will be debated in private members time, and will pass parliament presumably after the traditional marathon late-night sitting sometime next month.

It already passed the Upper House last week, when Marshalls Treasurer Rob Lucas was among the minority who voted against it.

I just dont believe in euthanasia, Lucas told ABC Radio after the vote.

My position hasnt changed, and whilst my position was a majority for most of the duration of my parliamentary career, in recent years Ive had a minority position.

He noted I know its not shared by many in the media and many in the community, but reiterated that Ive got a preference for keeping people alive for as long as they can and thats just been my view.

Rob Lucas: likes deregulated shopping hours, dislikes voluntary euthanasia. Photo: David Mariuz / AAP

Lucas also has a view about shop trading hours.

And similarly, its a view hes maintained during his many years in parliament.

In fact, the zeal with which the Marshall Government has pursued the deregulation of shopping hours is no doubt driven by Lucass determination to deal with his political bugbear before he retires next year.

But, you know politics is all about timing.

As the well-worn clich goes.

And in a week dominated by parliamentarians determination to have their proper say on a euthanasia Bill that they acknowledge more than three quarters of South Australians want passed, maybe its not the best timing to push the whole shop trading deregulation should pass because its popular angle.

But, sure enough, Lucas chose that very week to launch his latest gambit in the eternal battle for more flexible shopping hours: a parliamentary bid for a referendum on the subject.

In the face of a political roadblock in the Upper House for his reforms, a poll of the people was necessary, he argued, because: We know that sensibleshoptrading hours reform has overwhelming public support.

Unfortunately for Rob, the same MLCs who blocked his reforms in the first place also get to vote on his referendum, which means the launch of his latest offensive went about as well as that rocket launch in Koonibba last year.

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Personally, Im sympathetic to the arguments for deregulation.

Ive occasionally found myself on a Sunday morning, preparing to host a lunch and finding myself short of a crucial ingredient and having to wait until 11am for the local supermarket to open.

And sure, thats a bugger.

But its not life and death.

Moreover, while Lucas has maintained the rage on deregulation for his decades in parliament, the world around him has kinda moved on.

These days, we have this newfangled thing called the internet, which means if I want to shop for something in the middle of the night, I can and without leaving the house.

So while the added convenience of deregulation would be nice at times, its not the burning issue it was in the 1990s and perhaps isnt worthy of the states first referendum since that same era.

Still, the real purpose of this weeks renewed shop trading push was as much about politics as it was policy.

Which was evident when the Liberal Partys social media channel created a meme depicting Labor leader Peter Malinauskas as a puppet of the shoppies union.

Malinauskas, of course, was previously the boss of the shoppies union, so the argument seems to be that hes a puppet of an organisation he used to run.

But in any case, the morning after Marshall was forced to kowtow to a handful of pissed-off rebel MPs seemed an odd time to be asking questions about who runs political parties.

A bit like Lucas and his we must respect the majority call for a referendum, while opposing the majoritys views on euthanasia on deeply-held principle.

The timing is all off.

And, as the well-worn clich goes, politics is all about timing.

Tom Richardson is a senior reporter at InDaily.

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Richardson: Government times its run to imperfection - InDaily