Election 2022 recap: what to remember at the polling booths

The last six weeks has certainly been a wild ride, and the 2022 election campaign is finally coming to a close. Before we grab a snag at our local polling centres, here’s a quick revisit some of the highs and lows, the biggest issues and what we should think about when we cast our votes tomorrow.

Why is this election so important?

The Coalition Government has been in power for nine years now, and by all accounts have been missing in action. Wages are going down while the cost of living is going up, and workers across Australia are worse off for it.  

In the aftermath of living through a pandemic, the cracks in the system have been exposed. We’ve seen monumental setback in real wages growth, swathes of forms of insecure work and wage theft, a haphazard vaccine rollout and zero action on climate change. Time’s up on the Morrison Government. 

Workers at the heart of the election

Scott Morrison and his government seem to have forgotten that our economy is made up of workers. They have failed to recognise that a healthy economy is based on basic respect for all workers.  

In the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, devastating truths were revealed about our broken aged care system. The Coalition Government are responsible: they ignored the critical recommendations made by the Royal Commission and opposed much needed wage rises for workers in aged care. This has shown a fundamental lack of respect for workers who care for the elderly and most vulnerable in our society. This is unacceptable. 

Since the Coalition came into power in 2013, we’ve seen stagnant wages which are now actually going backwards. We are seeing the lowest wage growth in Australia since the 1930s. With the cost of living and housing prices through the roof, workers cannot afford the basic necessities they need in order to survive.  

If a Coalition Government is re-elected, the future looks even more bleak. ABS data has shown that the average worker will receive a real pay cut of nearly $2,000 in the first half of this year, nearly four times more than the Morrison Government projected in the budget.  

Scott Morrison has turned his back on workers. It’s time we turn our backs on him. 

What can we do before election day? 

Before we cast our votes tomorrow, remember it’s not too late to have that conversation with friends and family members about who they’re voting for.

Those who aren’t sure who to vote for or aren’t politically engaged hold a lot of power in this election. It’s important we reach out to them and remind them of all the ways the Coalition Government has been missing in action for the past nine years.

Workers deserve better than what this Morrison government has to offer. The solution is simple: support workers by pledging to vote out Morrison tomorrow.