Tens of thousands of free meals delivered to schools every day will neither be an election saver for Steven Miles nor a life saver for most recipients. There is no thing, after all, as a free lunch.

Yes, it will be convenient for families weighed down by the daily grind of getting the kids to school and it will certainly help many household budgets. But it’s merely a token headline grab that doesn’t even pretend to confront the pressing social issues that are screaming for a more cohesive government response.

David Crisafulli, having agreed to the permanent drain on transport revenues from people using trains and buses to go to their workplaces, has thankfully said a quick no to this one.

What I would like to see from the man most likely to be Premier next month is a more comprehensive position on how his government might tackle the interwoven social issues that are wearing us down.

They have been lost in this campaign which has narrowed (as it always would) to the serious issues of an inefficient health system and crime. Add to that the opportunistic issues of abortion law reform and whether or not doctors working in a medical centre should be subject to payroll tax – or what is now labelled a patient tax.

I have written recently about the likely public service changes that Crisafulli will make, hopefully with some semblance of a merit-based selection process rather than the unusual direct appointment to the very top job favoured by Stephen Miles.

What will be more interesting after the initial flurry of a change will be whether or not a new government gets over its hubris, takes a deep breath and refocusses where its efforts should lie.

The current government’s free lunch gambit, in isolation, is a laughable contribution to solving many social problems we are seeing more and more of. Yes, it will feed some children whose development is suffering from poor nutrition. But it won’t put a roof over their heads. Or protect them from predators.

And it does nothing for the many other groups we are seeing isolated from society. This week is Carers Week, a chance to recognize the underrewarded efforts that unpaid carers make to care for those who can’t care for themselves.

This month is Mental Health Awareness Month, a chance to lift community understanding of mental health and wellbeing.

Does either rate a mention in this election? No. And the reason is that those who would most benefit from some political attention have become invisible to the political class – unless they offer an opportunity to win a vote.

A few years ago I wrote a book, Has The Luck Run Out?, which canvassed the state of modern Australia and concluded that despite some problems, we still had plenty of luck. We just had to watch it.

I don’t think we have watched it enough. The luck in this lucky country is less than it used to be, particularly for those struggling to get a foot on the ladder of opportunity. And the way politics and government is run is accelerating this.

Governments have many complex challenges – revenues are declining, population demands are rising as we age, communities are becoming more cynical. Diversity should be a bonus but is too often seen as an encumbrance.

And we have a Premier (soon-to-be-ex-Premier) who declares on Sunday: “I certainly want (a) mandate so I can do things like deliver free school lunches.” Spare me. Where is the ambition? Is he running to be class captain or Premier?

How about either the Premier or would-be Premier starts addressing the social dysfunctions that combine to create the big-ticket issues.

Problems with mental health are near epidemic levels but there is no sign of them being reversed. There is a direct link between mental illness and poverty, just as there is a direct link between poverty and crime, poverty and poor physical health (which overloads hospitals). And they all become intergenerational.

Those who step up to support those in need are under-supported. The Queensland Government has essentially walked away from programs that support carers whose support work (done mainly through love) solves problems and reduces demand on public services.

The risk David Crisafulli faces as Premier is that he does not give the priority to these seemingly intractable problems and they keep getting worse. Too often over the years, the agencies with carriage of trying to improve the lot of the vulnerable have been shuffled around junior ministries and the capacity to make more than a token effort is lost.

And so is the opportunity for an increasing number of people to dig themselves out of a hole that won’t be filled by no matter how many offers of free lunches, cheap fares or more juvenile prisons.

(David Fagan is a director of Carers Australia, the national body that advocates for the interests of carers)