While it would be unfair to say the 457 visa reforms are without merit and only politically driven, it cannot be denied they sit well with the "Australia first", anti-immigration and Canberra-bashing rhetoric that dominated the national political discourse this week.
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Little of what Malcolm Turnbull and other Coalition politicians have said about clamping down on temporary work visas, making citizenship more about "our values" and deporting public servants from the ACT to the sticks would sound strange from the mouth of Pauline Hanson for example.
This has been all about arresting the alarming slide in support for the conservatives in their traditional heartlands in regional Australia.
The Coalition was attacked by both the ALP and One Nation over 457 visa abuses in last year's election even though the most blatant of these had occurred during the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd era.
This is arguably "clever" politics given refugees and 457 visa holders don't vote and, as Jo Bjelke-Petersen proved three decades ago, you can't lose ground in the regions by dumping on Canberra and Canberrans.
While it remains to be seen whether or not it is successful, the reality is Mr Turnbull and those who are advising him are playing with fire.
By indulging in yet another race to the bottom with the ALP on who can be toughest when it comes to workers' visas, refugees and immigration issues both major parties run a serious risk of alienating moderate voters with a more nuanced understanding of economic and social matters.
Most such voters live in the major cities, including Canberra. As a group they tend to be intelligent and literate, open to new life experiences and new ideas and are often tolerant, compassionate and fair minded as a result.
These are the voters now both amused and bemused by the announcement of even tougher English language and Australian values tests that appear to be have been lifted directly from the rather threadbare One Nation play book.
When you live in a suburb where the majority of residents were born overseas and speak at least two languages and you work in an office which employs people of every hue from all parts of the globe your conception of "Australian-ness" soon extends beyond beer, football, country music and Banjo Paterson.
These are also the voters who, while the first to agree it was bizarre to bring foreign workers in under 457 visas to flip burghers in fast food joints, are asking what either of the major parties will do to address the critical skills shortage they both helped bring about.
These are also the voters who support reconciliation, think there is a case to be made for gay marriage, are concerned about man made climate change and value the fact they live in a tolerant society.
If, as a group, they decide either or both the Coalition and ALP are hell-bent on wedge politics and patriotic fundamentalism then a hard rain is going to fall.
