The ‘stark choice’ faced by voters in Currumbin
THERE is one seat, more than any other, that encapsulates the choice facing Gold Coast voters on Saturday. A seat where border closures, traffic and transport and the fate of small business are massive factors.
A true bellwether of Gold Coast opinion.
The real battle for the soul of the Gold Coast is being fought not in Gaven or Burleigh, but between two very able candidates in Currumbin. What happens there could shape the future of the Gold Coast for many years.
It was somewhat appropriate that in a Bulletin election debate between Currumbin candidates, the real divide between Labor and the LNP in this election suddenly became clear.
While on the surface little would seem to separate the two main parties, in truth, there is an enormous ideological gulf. Labor’s Kaylee Campradt was the one to highlight it.
“I believe in this election there’s a stark choice to be made,” she said.
“... Whether you believe that it’s the role of government to get out of the way, open the borders, survival of the fittest, let business get on with it ... or whether you believe, like I do, that government’s role right now is more important than ever, that because we put the health and safety of our community first, that we’re able to have a strong economic recovery.
“Whether you learn to live with this virus and let the vulnerable people and businesses in our community be left to their own devices or whether it’s really important that government has a strong set of hands on the steering wheel.”
Essentially, Ms Campradt was making the case for big government. For an approach that sees the state, as she said, firmly at the steering wheel.
It’s not a message that would normally be pushed with such vigour, but the COVID-19 pandemic has emboldened many to make it.
Ms Campradt’s LNP opponent, sitting MP Laura Gerber, had a different take.
“When I am doorknocking, when I am talking to the people of Currumbin, they are worried for their jobs, for their small businesses, for their neighbours’ jobs, for their kids who need to get a job,” Ms Gerber said. The sitting MP was clear about what she believes must be done to see new jobs created.
“... We are guaranteeing no new taxes,” Ms Gerber said. “You cannot tax your way to growth ... the only way for small businesses to grow and create more jobs is less red tape and lower taxes.”
In other words, government that “gets out of the way” as often as possible.
Voters must decide which is the better approach. Bigger government proponents believe the course of the COVID-19 emergency has proven their case.
That the state has saved our economy from catastrophe by warding off the virus.
This is something that’s open to debate. The NSW experience strongly suggests that the extreme version of state border closures espoused by Queensland and Western Australia has had little real effect on controlling the virus. But it has had a profound effect on the economy of the Gold Coast. How astonishing to read that 99 per cent of businesses here fear they may not see out another year.
Even former Premier Peter Beattie is begging Annastacia Palaszczuk to change course.
“This can’t be on a state-bystate basis, we are a country after all and frankly you’re just killing the economy, killing jobs and the economic devastation will be with us for years,” he said this week.
“... What may have given people security in the past and made them feel safe will not make them feel safe in the future. Queensland is a small business state and … unless you get them driving jobs and opportunities then you don’t have any economic growth.”
The other main argument against big government is that it creates an insatiable need for more revenue to sustain itself. Could this be why state costs like car rego and bulk water charges have been on a strong upward curve in recent years? Why the ridiculous global tourism hub idea – essentially a second casino that would have funnelled more gambling money into state coffers – was pursued with such gusto?
On the flip side, Labor argue that the LNP’s lower tax, smaller government vision, can only be achieved by making cutbacks to services. That amid the pandemic, now is the time for more government, not less.
How the voters of Currumbin decide will have an enormous impact not just there, but on the Gold Coast as a whole, for at least the next four years.
Ms Campradt was correct. It is indeed a “stark choice”.