The Liberal Party are as relevant nationally as they've ever been.

David, give us a heat check.

Well, I'm very bullish about how things are going federally, actually.

I think they're going well and I think the fundamentals for federal labour remain strong.

The LNP and One Nation remain locked in this sort of competition for the right, which is transfixing both of them and the attention of the media.

And that's a debate that's populated by some pretty zany, crazy people who say zany, crazy things, apropos our earlier conversation.

And that enables the Labor government to always look like the adults in the room who are busy talking sensibly about policy questions that are complex, while over in the corner, people in blue shirts and people in orange shirts are, you know, slapping each other and throwing cakes at each other and trying to steal each other's teddy bear.

I will say for our listeners, I think that I was once at a lunch where Daniel told David he didn't give a **** about the statue and David gave him this particular lecture.

David, with those figures about where Labor is trailing the Tories on particularly on cost of living and on crime, but slightly head on health, if you were the campaign director again, which one would you begin to prioritise first to start to actually make some other inroads or build a bit of a distance between you and the opposition?

Yeah, I think the...

Key thing about all of those issues, those polling numbers and the kind of methodology they follow encourages us to think about those issues in terms of silos.

And in fact, you need to think of them, I think, in terms of entanglement, because often they are deeply involved with one another.

And so you've got to bear that in mind.

When I think about cost of living, for instance... regarding the wonderful words that Yoda said earlier.

The thing about cost of living, and Albo, I think, gave us a masterclass in this in the lead-up to the last federal election, that there's only so much governments can do about cost of living, and the electorate comprehend that.

David, what do you make of New Liberal?

Mm

... within union councils as well.

So yeah, it's a stunning, um, effort, and it, I think it's been the case for a little while.

Um, and I think it speaks to the fact that the South Australian ALP, um, has kind of managed to, uh, create a, an environment where there is stability, but it's not, uh, stifling.

Um, it, it, it, in fact, nurtures talent rather than resents it.

I mean, we've seen other guided democracies in other states where it has a stifling effect, but here, in fact, it seems to have attract talent, nurture talent, grow talent.

So it's, it's a, it's a remarkable effort.

[laughing]

Um, it seemed to go reasonably well, I would think, unless you're-- Is there anything that when you're observing it as an outsider looking in that, that there was things that surprised you or jumped out at you? I wa- I'll ask you questions in a minute about the ballot itself for deputy leader, but anything else in terms of the lead up to it?

Uh, well, I guess, I, I mean, I think the, the profound issue, uh, for us as we contemplate what's transpired is we must contemplate, um, uh, the leadership of Jacinta Allen, uh, and, a-and, and why it unraveled in the way that it did.

I, I mean, reflecting on this, I'm very saddened by the fact that Jacinta Allen's, uh, premiership ended in the way that it has.

Um, but it is just another reminder to me about how, um, you know, the person you know is so completely different to the person you see in the media and on your television sets.

Um, you know, the, i- it's a truism, I think, that, that, that people never get to know their politicians, they just get to know caricatures of them.

And Jacinta lost, uh, control of her own caricature.

Uh, and so why did she lose control of her own caricature? I would say because, uh, for the first twelve months of her leadership, it was very much a business as usual continuity leadership.

And parties that, um, go into cycles of violence do not remain parties of government.

Now, I'm wondering to you, first of all, David Feeney, is this intentional by Labor? Are we keeping our powder dry? Are we lost for words or are we sort of stumbling around in the dark wondering how exactly do we approach this? What's your read on it after six months of them having some success?

I think Labor is still range-finding.

It's still working out what is an effective message and who are we really trying to talk to and how would we talk to them.

You might remember at the end of last year my prediction was that this bubble would burst.

when the Liberal Party resumed normal broadcasting because they'd gone offline for a period of time.

I was wrong about that.

They haven't.

The Dean Hutton category.

So David, great to have you back on the show.

Thank you very much.

And if I can just, um, uh, people might think from your remarks that you're interviewing two people tonight, one who's worked on, in both countries and is extremely qualified, and me.

Um, and so I guess just to lay out my credentials to comment on the United Kingdom, uh, I'd refer you to a decision of the High Court in 2018, which found that I was a British citizen, having inherited British citizenship from my grandfather.

And so while I'd never been to the United Kingdom or, or ever held a United Kingdom passport, I have since 2018 regarded it as the mother country.

Yeah.

Um, and I, I, I suspect what I'm about to say will be very unpopular with you, but I think the British Labour Party completely mishandled Southport and its aftermath.

Um, and, uh, I think describing, um, everyone, uh, who protested, um, as a far-right thug was an error of judgment.