Malcolm Turnbull's parliamentary year ended, if not with the high marks he's awarded it, then with some salient accomplishments. The Registered Organisations bill was passed, the Australian Building and Construction Commission reinstated, and the backpacker tax issue settled.
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And last month the government navigated its superannuation changes through Parliament with Labor's support, saving the budget over $2.8 billion over four years.
Lacking a Senate majority, Mr Turnbull had to grant crossbenchers concessions to pass the bills. The Coalition's readiness to do so, some commentators have argued, has blunted their effectiveness and added nothing meaningful to the budget bottom line. That accusation probably matters little given the brief shelf life of so many political issues. Mr Turnbull has his list of achievements and he will trumpet these to voters. However, a realistic assessment of his performance since the July 2 election victory would be that it rated a D minus rather than a B or B plus.
The ABCC bill was an important plank of the government's industrial relations policy. But claims it and the Registered Organisations bill will deliver significant economic benefits should be treated with scepticism.
On budget repair, the government's record since July 2 has been similarly spotty. While the “super” changes delivered important savings, the bid for a 32.5 per cent tax rate on backpackers (announced in the budget to save $540 million over three years) verged on the farcical. After complaints from farmers, the government proposed dropping it to 19 per cent in September. It finally agreed to 15 per cent – along with a Greens demand for $100 million extra for the Landcare program.
Mr Turnbull is more or less mute on how he intends to get the budget back on track. He's presented no proposals to lift productivity growth, streamline the tax system or improve housing affordability. He also appears to be running dead on same-sex marriage and constitutional recognition of Indigenous peoples.
That reticence sits oddly with the energy and resolve he promised when he became PM in 2015, and he may be a prisoner of the circumstances in which he took power. It's likely the electorate cares less about his party room issues than his ability to confront economic obstacles with determination and purpose. He'd be advised to flesh out such a narrative before Parliament sits again.
