The target is only 9 per cent above the 35 per cent reduction Australia is already on track to achieve - but which the federal government has stopped short of committing to.

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According to the latest Roy Morgan poll, while Labor is ending the year with an 11-point lead in the two-party preferred vote, there is nothing like an election date to firm up voter opinion. If Labor has settled on a cautiously "Liberal-lite" suite of policies in the runup to the poll it is taking a big risk.

While scandals can influence opinion polls for good or ill, one would hope when voters enter the booth for the only poll that matters they take a longer-term view.

Unless the ALP is brave enough to offer significant points of difference there is no compelling reason to vote it into office.

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While the ALP was punished for the ambitious platform it took to the electorate almost three years ago, it has to promise to do something. Christmas is just weeks away. After that, most of the country will doze off until after Australia Day. That means that with a disappointingly low level of climate policy ambition, and plans to abolish negative gearing and tax rebates for franking credits already dead in the water, the ALP is running out of time to make its case.

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While more voters were dissatisfied with Mr Morrison than Anthony Albanese midway through November, Mr Morrison was still preferred PM by 46 per cent to 38 per cent. The Labor leader hasn't been able to cut through. One way Labor could address this would be to go hard with an ambitious suite of climate policies numerous opinion polls have shown would almost certainly resonate with a large percentage of voters.

While vision and leadership have always been rare commodities in politics, they now appear to be completely absent.

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