John Harrison comments in the Brisbane Times (30.10.16) on the Prime Minister’s recent appearance in Queensland, amid continuing conjecture over his leadership of a fractious and disgruntled Coalition government at odds with itself on various policy fronts.
‘Malcolm Turnbull was in Queensland last week. Like a crusading St George fighting the Dragon, or leading the Roman attack against the flame-haired Boadicea. Either way, a Roman come to do battle. And a battle it is.
‘Coming off a bad week in Canberra where his own side suffered self-inflicted gunshot wounds, Malcolm arrived to a Newspoll showing a further slide in his popularity. Remember that under Turnbull, Newspoll is the means by which performance is measured.
‘This also means communication, not policy, is the core skill needed by his government. Malcolm’s own prolix style notwithstanding, he is not helped by the fibbers, babblers and simply deluded among his senior ministers.
‘… So if the patrician of Point Piper is to successfully take on Queensland’s own Boadicea, his troops need a lot more discipline than shown so far.’