Former Labor advisor and political strategist Bruce Hawker says he’s not surprised at all the Morrison government is sending defence support to Ukraine as other countries are doing the same thing.
Mr Morrison on Friday announced Australia would be committing $70 million towards lethal and non-lethal defensive support to Ukraine.
“The Australian government, if they want to really elevate this as a political issue have to try and create a scenario which is as close as possible to troops on the ground,” Mr Hawker told Sky News Australia.
“In the past, Australians have backed incumbent governments when they’ve seen their troops entering into theatres of war.
“Problem here for the government is that we don’t actually have troops on the ground; it’s a world away, and I suspect that most people are saying at the moment, ‘look the government’s doing the right thing, they should be taking all those steps to make it harder for the Russians and easier for the poor Ukrainians’.
“But I’m not sure that it’s going to be the big vote shifter that Scott Morrison wants it to be.”