The defeat of ‘The Voice’ will not trigger much self-reflection

Labor won the last election because the electors were tired of the Liberal-National Coalition, and even more tired of former Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Plus, Labor used a small target strategy, hiding the details of their policies as much as possible.

Polling on The Voice that I have seen said that once people could be convinced it wasn't racist to oppose The Voice and started looking at the details, they could switch from supporters to opponents. The same dynamic will play out on other policies.

No surprise that having won an election where Mr. Albanese was so light on detail-he couldn't even name the cash rate-he thought the way to win The Voice was the same.

Moral absolutism an Achilles heel for the left

The second problem is the sense of unassailable virtue that Yes campaigners appeared to have. If you weren't with them, you weren't just wrong, you were a bad person.

I was abused on polling day, not just by the odd voter calling me "filth," but by the lovely booth worker on the other side telling people to "do the right thing" or "dig deep."

I'm sure she didn't mean to be offensive, and we had a very convivial time at the booth, but that attitude is not only deeply insulting to those who honestly hold a different view, but also alienating.

It also means they are strongly inhibited from listening to other views or compromising, making every inflexible policy idea a potential SS Titanic.

All too frequently, they told voters they were "racists." Again, this is deeply embedded in the Labor and Green's DNA.

If you disagreed with them on COVID policy, you weren't just wrong, you were a "granny killer."

Disagree on climate change then not only do you want to destroy the planet, but the future of your children and grandchildren.

Support capitalism and you are an "exploiter."

If an employer makes a mistake on pay it is "wage theft."