The prime minister is well versed in counselling patience. Throughout his time as opposition leader after Labor’s 2019 disaster, Anthony Albanese was constantly told by exasperated Labor supporters to get angrier, to attack the Morrison government more, to be bolder on a host of issues, to “throw the toys out of the cot”, as he described it to Crikey.
Instead his strategy was to play the responsible opposition during the pandemic, confining his attacks on the then-government to a few well-defined areas that would serve Labor well, and keeping the spotlight on Scott Morrison. Morrison, a master of the C|T/News Corp scare campaign, was left without material to frighten voters with about Labor, and instead had to govern and manage his own party competently — things he proved incapable of. It was enough to deliver Labor victory, albeit narrowly.
When Labor supporters and progressives who vote for the Greens lament the lack of ambition of the Albanese government, and its refusal to countenance breaking election commitments such as backing the stage three tax cuts, Albanese has been there, done that, and got the election win. Labor needed to “bring people with us”, he told Labor’s national conference yesterday, “earn and repay people’s trust”, “demonstrate our responsible approach”, in contrast to those who think “grand gestures and bold declarations are better than the patient work of ensuring lasting change”.
“Go the distance, to get to the destination,” he said, contrasting that to “a moment of progress — or a lifetime of opportunity”.
Crash or crash-through it ain’t. There’ll be no “throwing the toys out of the cot”. Not even Paul Keating’s approach of figuring out how much reform you can possibly cram into a three-year parliamentary term and then worrying about reelection later.
Albanese is right to talk about trust. Australians, especially after the disaster of the Morrison years, trust their governments less. Restoring some trust and sense of ownership in the political system isn’t a job that should be left to the teals, but should be part of the agenda of the major parties. So far, only Labor appears to have embraced that. And critical to the task of earning trust is sticking to election promises, regardless of how ill-advised they may now look.
The Albanese approach of going the distance, however, is ill-suited to a crisis requiring urgent and bold action by the federal government. The climate emergency gathering strength around the world is just such a crisis. It’s not Labor’s fault — when last in power, Labor introduced a successful and efficient carbon pricing scheme, only for it to be abolished by Tony Abbott.
Albanese would point to that as an example of why being cautious and staying in power is crucial to delivering real change. The problem is, the ensuing wasted decade has turned global heating into an immediate threat that requires hard decisions by Labor now.
The emissions abatement targets it took to the last election are far too low; its safeguard mechanism, and its reliance on fraudulent carbon credits, is insufficient to deliver them. Its refusal to countenance curbing Australia’s massive fossil-fuel exports is exacerbating global heating, and undermines the capacity of Australia to play a good faith global leadership role. Still, implementing election promises and not going beyond them remains the Labor mantra.
It may take another Black Summer — lives lost, vast tracts of the continent blackened, wildlife destroyed by the billions — to provide the government with the political cover it feels it needs to strengthen its emissions reduction efforts, to enable it to say to voters that it needs to move beyond the targets and mechanisms it took the 2022 election.
That’s assuming, however, that Labor’s close links to fossil-fuel giants such as Woodside, and the influence of climate-denialist unions such as the AWU and the mining division of the CFMEU, don’t continue to prevent meaningful climate action.
In any event, it must explain to voters in the lead-up to the next election whether it will retain the same unambitious abatement targets, or recognise the unfolding horror around the world and significantly strengthen them. The challenge of more urgent action has to be faced in the next 18 months no matter what the weather.
Governing can never be the mere methodical implementation of a pre-agreed agenda. Governments have to respond to unforeseen events and sudden crises, and perhaps even see them as opportunities. Global heating is neither sudden nor unforeseen, but Albanese’s counsel of patience looks dramatically at odds with the emergency we’ve created.
Should Albanese start “throwing the toys out of the cot”? Let us know by writing to letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.
Neither of the majors are any use to us. We need a new party that isnt owned by fossil fuel interests or big biz in general. Like yesterday. Albernese is not building trust. He is doing as he is told by the people who own him in return for some unknown personal benefit.
We already have that box ticked in the Greens, Michael. They just need more votes!
Sadly, there is no argument here. The personal benefit is staying in power, and I’m sure Albo’s writers will be crafting something along the lines of ‘government for all of the people, not just the shrill voices’ (if they haven’t already done it). But there’s a point where insisting that there’s time for you to finish your dinner with your wealthy lobbyists while the building is being engulfed in flames is not leadership, it’s self-serving denial.
the “shrill voices” are coming from horrified people desperate to try and save humanity – it’s the quiet, measured voices with sacks of cash that we need to worry about
$10,000 secured a dinner with Albanese and Chalmers in the last day or so. I didn’t see you there, Frank.
I was eating my meagre leftovers in my rented house.
Going by the graphics in the photo above, it looks like Albanese’s “Working for Bunnings” more than “Australia”.
And the West Australian is reporting this morning that Mark McGowan, who resigned unexpectedly only weeks ago, is now in talks with BHP about a job with the former Big Australian that is now nearly 80% owned overseas. The Game of Mates. There is only one party in WA – the Mining Party, whose biggest faction is Woodside.
We didnt know about this “secret benefit” at the time of his resignation from politics. Did we?
Certainly not prior to the landslide win last year. Whether it would have made a difference is moot.
I live in Perth, and we heard on tonight’s news. Mark Mcgowan is possibly going to work for BHP. you world thought he would have had a six month break rather than just 6 weeks, before joining the millionaire gravy train.
Sustainable Australia Party.
We don’t need a new party. We need people to realise that political parties are a huge part of the problem – they give individual ‘representatives’ something to hide behind.
In the end, Albanese’s slow, cautious and micro-incremental policies will be as deadly for us all as the Coalition’s neglect and incompetence. To quote Jonathan Swift (out of context) “… like a physician who has found out an infallible medicine, after the patient is dead.”
Apparently it will take one election win per any single policy resembling actual progress. I don’t know how many decades Albanese thinks that he’ll be PM, but it won’t be enough.
More often rendered as neolib economic policy “the treatment was successful though the patient died”.
Sometimes it seems as though Albanese (and Labor) has been in Opposition so long that he’s (they’ve) forgotten the purpose of Government.
I didn’t see Keating in the front row at the opening of the Labor Convention yesterday – was he there?
He should have been, and he should have been given a chance to speak freely. A bit of wisdom would have been welcome.
Or he’s devoted so much thinking into how to achieve government, that he’s had no time to think about what he’s going to do when he gets there.
Like a dog that finally catches a car – no clue what to do next.
Perhaps he could ask Toto for advice.
The contemporary ALP is a product of Keating the same way the Liberals are the product of Howard.
The last thing we need is more of his influence.
Like most undereducated autodidacts Keting was far too easily Duchessed.
First by John “Neolib is I” Stone telling him he would be the world’s best Treasurer in he just swallowed the noxious nostrum then Abeles, Hawke’s Svengali.
They destroyed the union movement, the social consensus and the larrikin spirit that once exemplified this country and made us easy prey for the Rodent.
They destroyed the union movement What union movement would that be? The one taken over by power hungry union “bosses” and membered by bogans with money? The movement exemplified by the closed shop CFMEU?
The largest union in Australia ia the nurses union (ANMF) and they’ve had to put up with BS from every “side” of politics.
ANMF is a feminised union in a feminised workforce. They pretty much have gone it alone and managed to grow while other unions have diminished. I reckon unions are mostly destroyed from the inside.
The very thing we do not need is another 20 years of reactionary, stupid, selfish, “conservative” government. It’s probably too late to save the planet for future generations. We need to take individual responsibility for having voted for short-term gains and ignoring long-term costs. The best we can hope for, while the planet burns, is a bit of re-distributive justice.
You’re too optimistic. The playing field is tilted way too steeply into the drain for any justice to fly.
…. So all we have to do is ‘Convince climate on the virtues of patience’?
He may say he wanted to bring people along with them, but what about the sorely disappointed people who are walking away?
Quite a few of those – I am one, and I have been rusted-on Labor for 50 years….
Im there too now.
Yes. Might as well vote informal these days. As they say, if Voting could change things, it wouldn’t be legal.
With so many (60%) Rustadons voting for the Duopoly, whomever the rest of us vote for, the government wins.
Yep,
As soon as he continued with the AUKUS farce and the Stage 3 tax cuts he was gone for me. I loved the description of Marles being Dutton with hair – that’s about right. I reckon he’ll be struggling for his second term. He needed to break an election promise or two and do something progressive and beneficial FAST. They’re not perfect but the Greens look better every day . ..
Don’t buy it.
Behind all the “we care” shtick the greens are just another gas lighting big Australia party.
Happily throwing our kids to wolves via unconstrained population growth whilst trying chatting the moral high ground….gimme a break.
Like me.
Won’t be conned again.
Albo needs to decide if he wants to be a minority government next term.
He will be! Which potentially could be beneficial!
Thoughts and prayers for a minority govt. Let’s see the Lib/Nats/Murdoch Coalition trying to negotiate with the Teals and Greens. How desperate will they be for power?
Thoughts and prayers for a minority govt. Let’s see the Lib/Nats/Big US-owned media Coalition trying to negotiate with the Teals and Greens. How desperate will they be for power.
Note – my original of this comment is in the AwApp bin because I inadvertently mentioned the name of Wendi Deng’s former husband.