We have spent a lot of time this last week criticising Labor’s policy decisions – which is entirely valid – they are the goverment, they have power and the decisions they are making are not in the best interest of the environment, the future, or Australia has a whole. The budget did leave behind people living in poverty, there is no structural reforms of the tax system on the horizon and nothing in the budget will address the housing affordability crisis or growing inequity across our communities.

Add in Labor’s position in refusing to sanction Israel, as international law dictates, or stand up to vested interests like fossil fuel companies (and even News Corp most of the time) and it’s not exactly inspiring.

But that doesn’t mean we are also not taking a critical look at what the Coalition is offering. It not only supported Labor’s gutting of environmental protections this week, it is heading to an election having opposed energy bill relief, is promising domestic gas reserves by opening up more fossil fuel projects (rather than redirecting what we export – and let’s not forget that in opposing energy bill rebates, they also opposed the gas reservation policy that was part of it), forcing people back into the office, even though it will make the life of people with care responsibilities (mostly women) harder, sack 41,000 people (at the minimum), repeal tax cuts and offer a temporary fossil fuel subsidy in its place, approve a fossil fuel project that will be like adding the emissions from 12 coal fired power stations into the atmosphere every year, increase housing costs even further by giving people access to their super, which then makes them poorer again when they retire, cut migration without thought to the labour market, further criminalise protests (if those protests are against genocide or for climate action), add it’s definition of anti-Semitism to visa forms, deport people who are critical of Israel, and potentially cut from basic public services imposing austerity on the nation.

Not much of a choice, is it?