After a rare double dissolution, on July 2 Australians will vote for every seat in both houses of Parliament. The ruling Liberal-National coalition began the exceptionally long eight week campaign by pitching its competent economic management to ensure growth and jobs. The Labor Party has put a fair Australia at the center of its campaign.
This is a false dichotomy. Like all countries, Australia needs both economic growth overall and the benefits of that to be shared equitably by all. Else we will validate Winston Churchill's bon mot that capitalism is deeply flawed for the unequal sharing of wealth, while socialism is fatally flawed because it guarantees the equal sharing of misery.
Moreover, already both major parties have shown a willingness to dissemble, mislead and otherwise deceive voters, treating them as stupid and gullible. This despite decades of evidence that, in the famous words of a now retired Australian politician: The mob (the people) will work you (the politician) out.