All change in Federal Parliament: All bets were off once Malcolm Turnbull called his double dissolution election. Tomorrow Australia elects a new government. Many of the parliamentarians shown attending Question Time in the House of Representatives will not be returning. Photo by James Mott.
All the world’s a stage, Shakespeare wrote – and there are few bigger stages than the one our political leaders strut.
Newsroom photographer James Mott spent Budget week in Canberra observing the first act in the long-running show that has been this painfully extended election campaign.
After eight weeks of electioneering, the only thing that has become clear is that neither Labor nor the Coalition has been able to win over a clear majority of intending voters. The polls seem agreed on one thing only – it’s too close to call.
Tomorrow is election day.
By Sunday morning the dust should have settled and we may know who will govern – Malcolm Turnbull or Bill Shorten. That, or Australia will have a hung Parliament in which minor parties will, once again, play puppetmaster.
By Sunday we should know which of these men – Coalition leader Malcolm Turnbull, left, or Labor leader Bill Shorten, right – is likely to lead Australia for the next three years.
As Shakespeare observed, all men and women are merely players, each having their exits and their entrances. Some took their leave of the last Parliament and will not return, others will be back. These are some of the players, as captured by James, strutting their stuff and desperate for a good review in the papers.
Clive Palmer will not return. He took his bat and ball and walked away from a less than triumphant Parliamentary career before the voters of Fairfax could tell him what they thought of his performance.
Pat Dodson was widely welcomed as a respected newcomer as a West Australian Labor senator who is guaranteed to return to the new Parliament.
Philip Ruddock, the long-serving Father of the House decided to call it quits last session after 42 years serving his electors.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, deputy leader of the Liberal Party, during Question Time. Beside her is Immigration Minister Peter Dutton. Both have campaigned relentlessly and are odds on to sweep back in for another term, whoever wins the election.
By next week we should know who will form Australia’s next government, unless Parliament is so evenly split that the decision rests on a disputed seat or a painfully slow count of Senate votes. The Newsroom will report a result as soon as it is available.
All photos by James Mott. With thanks to Canberra veteran Mike Bowers who very generously took time to show James around and secure media access for him.
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