Aussie Politicians Seamlessly Inserted Into ‘Struggle Street’ Makes The Election Way More Fun

One of the great cliches of politics is politicians claiming a background of struggle and hardship, especially during their childhood. Even the richest, most blue-blooded pollie has a distant relative on benefits or an ancestor who got their start as a turnip farmer or whatever, and come election time these hard-luck stories get wheeled out ad nauseum to make the people we have to vote for seem slightly less abominable.

The latest culprit guilty of this is PM Malcolm Turnbull, who’s done his damndest to combat the perception that he’s a hyper-wealthy former investment banker with a few anecdotes and campaign ads about growing up with his dad and living in rented flats. There’s nothing wrong with someone of a privileged background going into politics — Parliament is meant to be representative, after all — but Malcolm Turnbull trying to suddenly cry poor after a lifetime of staggering wealth is a bit much.

Turnbull’s act has caught the attention of Youtube wizard Ace Alderman, who’s stitched up footage of politicians going on about how hard-done by they are with shots from Struggle Street, the controversial SBS documentary about financially vulnerable people in Sydney’s west. It’s pretty difficult to imagine Malcolm Turnbull waiting in line at Centrelink, but if you’ve ever wondered what that might look like, wonder no more.