On the weekend the Prime Minister launched the Coalition’s election campaign six days before polling (for reasons which amount to “MPs and senators can still claim travel entitlements etc until the official campaign launch – hey, Labor only held theirs a week earlier).
And in the almost hour long speech there wasn’t that much to report – aside from the clanging line “It is my vision for this country as your Prime Minister to keep the Promise of Australia to all Australians.”
And just in case there was any doubt that this was a line he had actually written and not just a glitch in the autocue, he tweeted the exact phrase:
It is my vision for this country as your Prime Minister to keep the Promise of Australia to all Australians.
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) May 12, 2019
And sure, but… um, what exactly is the Promise Of Australia?
At first blush it looks like an ockerisation of “The American Dream”, or more jumbled phraseology from the man who has seemingly abandoned his briefly-but-fervently-loved “get a go if you have a go” slogan.
And the phrase “Promise of Australia” has been used in Australian politics before – most notably by Bob Hawke in his 1987 election speech. However, in that one he clarified that this promise specifically meant what could be achieved “by a free, proud, independent, intensely individualistic, uniquely diverse people” that wanted a fair go for themselves and each other, with a particular focus on children.
This time around Morrison didn’t offer that sort of clarity.
However, for those familiar with the odd cadences of church, there was something very familiar about the claim. Specifically It’s very like the Promise of Nations, aka God’s promise to Abraham.
And a few viewers suspected that this was Morrison putting up the religious batsignal to others of his faith that the big G was on board with his campaign and that the faithful would be rewarded:
@ScottMorrisonMP, “Promise of Australia” is a dog whistle to fundamentalist Christians. It is related to the “Promise of Nations”, also known as the “Dominion Covenant”.
Pentecostals and Apostolics believe God promised *them* dominion over nations and, until … 1/6
— ??Chrys Stevenson (@Chrys_Stevenson) May 13, 2019
To leap to the end of Stevenson’s thread above, “Morrison and his church will see him as a prophet, anointed by God to reform Australia ‘s 7 cultural Mountains and bring them into line with Biblical law. They see his Prime Ministership as fulfilling God’s promise to give them dominion over nations.”
Now, this might sound a bit like conspiracy theorising – and even in the Pentecostal tradition which contains Morrison there is great diversity of doctrine between different strands and even individual churches. However, many churches speak of “the Great Southland of the Holy Spirit” as being part of God’s promise – which, in the increasingly secular Australia, might explain why such a reference would fly by without registering.
Then again, it’s entirely possible that Morrison was speaking in the language he’s used to hearing and that that the Promise Of Australia is simply more empty campaign-speak.
Alternatively, it could be that Morrison is a Girl Guide?
Dib dib di… wait, that’s the other ones, right?