By: Clare Bruce
It was the ‘real’ Scott Morrison people saw on the campaign trail, with a capacity for compassion and change, which won him the votes to secure the Coalition’s surprise victory, says former Liberal politician – Stephen O’Doherty.
Chatting in a recent interview about the Federal Election results, the political commentator shared his views saying he believes Morrison took his party to victory “by being himself”.
“People [needed] to get to know a different side of Scott Morrison than the one they’ve seen in the past,” he said. “He was the hard-nosed treasurer, he was a fairly hard-nosed immigration minister, and yet what we saw on the election trail was the real Scott. And he is the real deal.
“I’m standing with the three biggest miracles in my life here tonight, and tonight we’ve been delivered another one.” ~ Scott Morrison
“He is the family man, he is the person who has a passionate Christian faith, which leads into a life of service, and he genuinely loves his country. The more they saw Scott Morrison the more they liked him.”
In his post-election victory speech on Saturday, Mr Morrison, who attends Sutherland Shire’s Pentecostal ‘Horizon Church’, wished opposition leader Bill Shorten and his family all the best and “God’s blessings”. Then, in another reference to his faith and the surprise win, he declared that “I have always believed in miracles”.
“I’m standing with the three biggest miracles in my life here tonight, and tonight we’ve been delivered another one.” ~ Scott Morrison
The leader’s strong beliefs were no doubt a comfort to many voters concerned about religious freedoms, something Stephen says was a positive in Morrison’s campaign.
A Huge Mandate: Welfare & Justice Issues to Address
But while Scott Morrison is enjoying his moment of popularity, he now has “a thumping great mandate” to fulfil, said the political commentator.
“He’s got a tremendous amount of goodwill right now, [but] I would want to see him turn around and take seriously some issues that have been niggling away, that have to be addressed,” Stephen said. “Climate change has to be addressed. Energy policy has to be addressed. He’s got the opportunity to do it now in a careful way. He has to do something about the welfare system. Almost everyone agrees… that the Newstart allowance needs to be lifted.
“He needs to find conciliation with our First Nations people. We have to really listen carefully to what our Aboriginal Elders are telling us.”
“And I’d love to see them taking a more compassionate view towards foreign aid, and not be divisive around the immigration question. Yeah, we get the secure borders, but the fact that he got the children out of detention was a necessary precondition to him winning—and I hope he takes a lesson from that.”
Stephen added that he hopes Mr Morrison will address the issue of indigenous reconciliation.
“He needs to find conciliation with our First Nations people,” he said. “We have to really listen carefully to what our Aboriginal Elders are telling us. He’s capable of it. That’s the Scott we saw. Let’s see more of that Scott now that he’s had this thumping victory.”
Article supplied with thanks to Hope Media.
About the Author: Clare is a digital journalist for the Broadcast Industry.