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It's time for Malcolm Turnbull to tell us his agenda - if he has one

Adam Gartrell

If Malcolm Turnbull has anything resembling a policy agenda for 2017 it's high time he told us about it.

Parliament is set to return in just over a fortnight but why are they even bothering? There's almost nothing for MPs to do. The government's legislative list has gone from threadbare to barely there.

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Sussan Ley quits

Following days of intense scrutiny over her expense claims, Sussan Ley has resigned as Health Minister with Malcolm Turnbull announcing changes to the MP entitlements system. Courtesy ABC News 24.

There are still some government bills on the books but only a handful of any consequence: media reach reforms, cuts to paid parental leave, childcare changes largely crafted under Tony Abbott.

What else is on the horizon?

There are Turnbull's deeply unpopular company tax cuts, which have no chance of passing a hostile Senate without major overhaul.

And in the wake of the Sussan Ley expenses scandal there are changes to the entitlements system. Decades overdue but at least it'll give the government something to talk about for a few days.

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Beyond that?

Crickets chirping. Tumbleweeds tumbling.

Of course conservative governments by their very nature do less than progressive ones - but this is getting embarrassing.

People were perhaps inclined to cut Turnbull some slack last year while he was finding his feet, fighting an election and licking his wounds.

But 16 months into his leadership the time has come for him to answer some fundamental questions: What is the point of this government? What does he stand for and hope to achieve?

It's about much more than legislation or individual policies. It's about direction and purpose.

You can't really blame Turnbull's MPs though. They, like the rest of us, are waiting for their cues from the top

It's about - here it comes, that dreaded word - narrative.

Yes, we journalists just love to obsess over narrative - we're all frustrated novelists after all.

And no, ordinary Australians aren't sitting around at their summer barbecues bemoaning that this government doesn't have one.

But make no mistake: narrative is important.

Just look at the US election. Facts and policies were not important; narrative was the deciding factor.

Donald Trump had a compelling narrative. He was an outsider who would drain the swamp and make America great again. Hillary Clinton had experience and policies but no such story. 

Turnbull has tried positivity, exciting times, innovation, economic leadership and tax reform - but the only narrative he's managed to make stick is one of disappointment, dithering and drift.

When Ley finally fell on her sword last week government MPs were understandably relieved. Finally we can get back to telling our story, they said.

What story is that? I asked one cabinet minister.

I wasn't being cheeky - I was genuinely interested in how the government intended to position itself before Parliament's return. Governments, just like regular folk, use the new year to reset, regroup, recalibrate.

"Well it's all about the economy and jobs and innovation, and also health and education," the minister said. I'm paraphrasing a little but you get the gist.

Asked to outline the government's plan for the year ahead, to set out its vision and priorities - to articulate a narrative - a senior member of the frontbench could do no better than a vague laundry list of portfolios.

I was reminded of The Castle's bumbling Dennis Denuto: "It's the constitution, it's Mabo, it's justice, it's law, it's the vibe."

You can't really blame Turnbull's MPs though. They, like the rest of us, are waiting for their cues from the top.

The Prime Minister should start with a major headland speech to set the stage, frame the debate and draw the battlelines.

It cannot be a speech that seeks to trumpet his meagre achievements to date - the ABCC, superannuation, the backpacker tax - but rather one that finally elucidates his vision for the future and his plan to take us there.

The economy has to be his focus, of course, but he has to do much more than just recycle his "jobs and growth" mantra.

Slogans won't cut it in an era of deepening deficits, worsening debt, rising unemployment, moribund growth, stagnant wages, falling company profits, shrinking tax revenue and a wobbly AAA credit rating.

Meaningful budget repair has to be part of the picture.

How does he actually achieve that with a divided party, a razor-thin majority, a skilful opposition and an angry public in no mood for cuts? Beats me. But that's what the PM has to deliver this year and it has to start now.

Next week is Australia Day, which typically signals the end of the end of the summer break and the true beginning of the year's political hostilities.

This year we've already had a scandal, a cabinet resignation, a frontbench reshuffle and a damaging controversy over Centrelink debt recovery - the government's limping not to the finishing line but to the starting line.

But Turnbull has to make his plan clear before Parliament returns. If he doesn't we can only assume he doesn't have one.

This is the best - and perhaps last - opportunity Turnbull will get to recast his government and reshape perceptions about his prime ministership: to prove he's not a ditherer, that he has ticker. That he's a leader.

Peter Hartcher is on leave.

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