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Annabel Crabb’s Civic Duty ★★★
Ever since she started knocking on politician’s doors in 2012 for Kitchen Cabinet, Annabel Crabb has been determined to put a human face on our elected representatives. She has always made them reveal more than what they could, or could not, cook: Christopher Pyne was funny, former treasurer Joe Hockey lived like a sharehouse student, while former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce blithely served up beef stew to the non-meat-eating Crabb.
Annabel Crabb with Member for Fowler Dai Le in Annabel Crabb’s Civic Duty.
It always made for fun viewing, back when watching Q&A was a national sport, tweeting was a lark and politics seemed rather quaint. How times have changed. Q&A – or rather the revamped Q+A – is but a memory, resigned to the political dustbin with Malcolm Turnbull’s leather jacket. These days, politicians are even more cautious about popping their head above the parapet or showing any type of personal taste or style (Joy Division, anyone?).
So what’s an ABC journalist and self-described election nerd to do? Take on the Australian electoral system, of course, and revel in all its quirky glory and the joys of preferential voting.
As Crabb details in her three-part series Annabel Crabb’s Civic Duty, Australia holds a unique place in the world: we are the only nation on earth who relies on preferential voting. We are a democracy like no other, with sausage sizzles, Saturday voting, cake stalls and good cheer. We don’t need to set a building on fire to change the government, we just tick a box.
Annabel Crabb with proud election nerd AEC commissioner Jeff Pope in Annabel Crabb’s Civic Duty.
But is it enough to sustain three episodes? With only one episode available to preview, it’s hard to say, but when you’re dealing with the proudly “beige” Australian Electoral Commission, any level of excitement is thin on the ground.
Crabb has gathered a high-profile roll call of talking heads, filled with former prime ministers, journalists, historians and yes, our chief election high priest, Antony Green. She showcases the hardworking and happily nerdy Australian Electoral Commissioner Jeff Pope and his band of helpers, all studiously sorting the little pencils, the plastic chairs and the cardboard booths as the countdown to the 2025 election begins. We watch as the Independent member for Fowler, Dai Le, waits to see where her name will be placed on the ballot.
It’s all very wholesome – as it should be! – but does anyone really want to see how the democracy sausage gets made? Don’t we all just want to eat it and then not think about it for another three years? None of it’s helped by the fact this year’s election was as boring as could be. A comfortable win for the sitting government doesn’t make for great drama.
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I’m not saying I don’t appreciate our very functional democracy, it’s something we can all be very proud and exceptionally smug about, and Crabb is an intelligent and inquisitive journalist who has done more than most to interrogate our politicians, but this feels a little thin. Like a sausage sandwich with no sauce.
Sure, there is a place for these programs. And we can all be thankful it’s not another panel show with comedians making wink, wink, nudge, nudge jokes about voting outside their electoral division, but are we not full-to-the-brim with pleasant shows about pleasant things? I’ve enjoyed them all, but I also miss a cracking Australian drama or comedy, both of which have been thin on the ground on the ABC (and every other free-to-air network) this year.
None of this is Crabb’s fault – she is a charming and knowledgeable TV presence, happily making us eat our political oats – it’s a bigger problem. If only there was some way we could make our voices heard, vote on what we wanted to watch…
Annabel Crabb’s Civic Duty premieres at 8.30pm on Monday, November 10, on the ABC and on ABC iview.
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