The Full Bench Issue 2 2018

Page 5

LIAM FAIRGRIEVE I was contemplating what to write for my editorial in this semester’s edition on The Full Bench about law and power when a power struggle within the very place where our nation’s laws are made erupted from nowhere. What followed over the next four days was the most chaotic leadership change in the post-Howard era (and it’s a The leader of this charge was Home Affairs here is that this spill brewed around a familiar thorn in Malcolm Turnbull’s side: energy policy. Peter Dutton comes from a Liberal faction which views a shift towards renewables with suspicion, a policy which would turn the party to electoral poison the minute that there was even a hint of increased power prices. This is understandable, with power policy playing a pivotal role in this year’s South Australian state election. But did it justify the fourth party-room ousting of a sitting Prime Minister since 2010? The only plausible alternative government, the ALP, is campaigning on higher renewables targets than the Coalition has ever had; this could have allowed the Coalition some scope to pursue renewables policy while still maintaining the lower power prices high ground. On top of that, Malcolm Turnbull consistently polled as not only the preferred Liberal leader, but as the country’s preferred Prime Minister. The people who the Coalition need to win to be returned to power next year clearly lie towards the centre of the political spectrum, while the votes which Mr Dutton the Coalition via the preference system.

Yet 34 Liberals backed Mr Dutton in his quest for the Prime Ministership when Mr Turnbull called a snap spill. The result was catastrophic for Malcolm Turnbull, effectively guaranteeing a second spill by the end of the week. The balance of power within Australia’s governing party seemed to be drifting inexorably towards Mr Dutton and his supporters. As we now know, Mr Dutton’s numbers men got their sums wrong. By the Thursday of that wild week, most Liberals recognised the untenability of Mr Turnbull’s leadership, but too many saw the hard-right Mr Dutton as an unelectable alternative. Scott Morrison, loyal to Malcolm Turnbull until the Thursday, was able to head off Mr Dutton in the eventual spill by 45 votes to 40. The other thing to note here is that Peter Dutton holds his Queensland seat of Dickson on a 1.6% margin. With activist groups like GetUp! pouring resources into campaigning against Mr Dutton, and opinion polls consistently forecasting nationwide swings against the Coalition of upwards of 3%, Mr Dutton’s return at next year’s federal election is far from a certainty. Frankly, I think that it is reasonable to suggest that Mr Dutton was motivated by little more than a desire to be recorded in history as a Prime Minister of Australia, mindful that next year could bring a premature truncation to his political career. The explosive events in Canberra in lateAugust were a brazen power grab from a man who had just a bit less of it than he’d thought. Enjoy reading this semester’s edition of The Full Bench.

QUYEN NGUYEN Power.

cault. That strange panopticon diagram to explain power relations. That true power was about practicing self-policing, than the police policing you. You remember it, but don’t really remember it as a Communication student. Or maybe that book titled 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene that’s still collecting dust on my shelf. Luckily for you, we’re talking about a very

impact of collective bargaining power, our authors have have the dug the dirt to keep our hands clean. Ranging from legislative changes to espionage, we hope this read sheds some light on your own blind spots. As aspiring lawyers, we should always keep on our toes with any changes in the legal landscape. So don’t forget your tea or coffee as you di-

Bench. We’re talking about collective power to effect change. Much like my favourite heroes in X-Men I strongly believe in that cheesy cliche, ‘divided we fall, united we stand’. While you may be quick to brush off the

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The Full Bench Issue 2 2018 by UTS Law Students' Society - Issuu