By Alex Schlotzer:

Looking back at the political pundits” various musings since Christmas 2009 one notes an interesting trend. It appears that the current government is being held hostage to the opposition’s agenda, though this is problematic as the Opposition appear not to know quite what the agenda is themselves.

Tony Abbott’s style as opposition leader is to oppose absolutely everything; knowing that Senator Steven Fielding (Family First) will follow the coalition’s position. The government has been frustrated time and again by having its legislation pass the House of Representatives but repeatedly stall and fail (or get shelved) in the Senate.

While completely predictable (even boring), the Opposition’s tactics have succeeded somewhat in setting the political agenda.

However the fact that Abbott blocks and opposes everything also shows a lack of leadership and conviction. He may enjoy his media image as a super fit tough guy, spouting predictable hard-line policies, but it reveals the lack of conviction he has for anything else. The Liberals under Abbott are reverting to type in an election year with their hard-line positions mastered under former Liberal Party leader (and Prime Minister) John Howard now revived as they see these as both safe and appealing to their conservative base.

The problem is for the government to tackle effectively an opposition with no agenda and no real policies on anything except immigration and law and order. The government, knowing full well that it will be unable to get the majority it needs in the Senate, shelves important legislative programs, including the “greatest moral challenge” facing Australia (the emissions trading scheme).  Where the government seeks consultation with Abbott, they’re constantly stone-walled. The government was vindicated on the Building Education Revolution (BER) scheme, while efforts to fix the insulation scheme were scuttled by Abbott’s daily flip-flops on the issue.

It doesn’t seem that long ago when Howard Government ministers, including Abbott, were bemoaning the obstinate and obstructive Senate as they tried to ram through their agenda at the time (including WorkChoices, which they later pushed through with their majority in the Senate after 2004).

The latest challenge for the government is to find a way to ensure their tax reforms are passed in an obstructionist Senate. They hope it will not go the way of the CPRS (Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme) because Abbott’s takeover of the Opposition’s top job coincided with a revolt in the Liberal/National coalition against then leader Malcolm Turnbull’s decision to support the scheme.

Abbott now prefers to block and obstruct on this issue however he has, in the past, supported a similar ETS scheme under John Howard. It seems he is willing to change his position on an emissions trading scheme at the drop of hat or , more importantly, depending which way the polls are going.

Using gimmicky catch phrases is a poor, poor substitute for solid policy positions. Ultimately it illustrates a political party incapable of governing themselves let alone the country.

Alex Schlotzer is a straight talker when it comes to politics and loves to vent his spleen. Actively involved in Australian and international politics with a keen understanding of the dynamics of the political machine, Alex has a prolific online presence and has been a cyber activist for over 15 years. Managing editor of theangle.org, he can also be found at his blog and his exciting online project Australian Politics TV.

Tags: australian politics, ets, government agenda, Kevin Rudd, opposition agenda, senate, Tony Abbott