Whatever the result on May 3, even people within the Liberals think they have run a very poor national campaign. Not just poor, but odd.
Nothing makes the point more strongly than this week’s release of the opposition’s defence policy.
As things played out, its Wednesday launch in Perth was overshadowed by the death of Pope Francis on Monday. But regardless of that unforeseeable event, the timing was extraordinarily late. Early birds had started voting at pre-poll places on Tuesday. The popularity of pre-polling means that, for many voters, the tail end of the formal campaign is irrelevant.
