In its final session for the year, the Australian Senate passed 45 bills last week, most of them in a marathon session on Thursday. The ones that were left behind show the priorities of the government as we all head towards an election in 2025.
For Treasurer Jim Chalmers, this was a ‘triumph of outcomes over politics’, but there was no shortage of politics in the abandonment of new federal environment protection laws, taxes on big super balances, a ban on gambling advertising, and on electoral reform.
Still, the Coalition and the crossbench were surprised and out-manoeuvred by a prime minister apparently determined to pull the government out of its morass and get something serious done while it was still possible, aided by their very capable manager of business in the Senate, Katy Gallagher.
Afterwards, Albo took to social media to declare that Labor had been busy ‘turning promises into progress’, with a 16 year old social media limit, low deposits for new home buyers, reduction of student debt, a pay rise for child care workers, boosting of public school funding, aged care reforms, a crack-down on the supermarket duopoly, Made in Australia laws to create regional employment opportunities, and 80,000 new homes for renters.
There will also be a crackdown on money laundering (despite opposition from the Liberals), reforms to family law, changes to how Australian courts handle sexual assault complainants, and new legislation to deal with immigrant offenders.
The detail of how many of these things will actually work in practice is yet to be worked out, but the momentum was clearly with the prime minister as the parliamentary year ended, in a stark contrast to this time in 2023, when he had bet and lost most of his once substantial political capital on the Voice referendum.
What does Labor stand for, these days?
Stuck between idealists on one side, and people who worship fear and money on the other, Anthony Albanese has staked everything on the idea of a pragmatic middle ground which will appeal to middle Australia, while not offending those who really run the show enough to get rid of him.
He has proved himself no champion of the Australian environment, reportedly caving to mining interests again last week and undoing Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek’s careful bridge-building with the Greens. Albo has also disappointed many by choosing to listen to people like his mate Peter V’Landys rather than Tim Costello on the gambling advertising issue.
It’s now clear that Peter Dutton and his puppet-masters, including Gina Rinehart, will attempt to copy the strategy that re-elected Donald Trump in the USA; using hatred, scapegoating and circus tactics to turn working people against their traditional party, so the ultra-wealthy can run rampant.
Anthony Albanese’s recent surge of energy shows that he’s alive to the challenge. How will Labor respond federally in 2025?
Ben Chifley’s light on the hill may be a distant memory, along with Gough Whitlam’s passion for revolutionary change, Bob Hawke’s hair and Paul Keating’s wit, but it’s clear after last week that Anthony Albanese still has a Labor man’s traditional concern for workers, education and social justice buried somewhere deep in his DNA, along with the fighter’s courage that led him to the top job.
The question is whether that will be enough for his political survival in a universe in which both planetary physics and post-factual opponents conspire against him.
Originally from Canberra, David Lowe is an award-winning filmmaker, writer and photographer with particular interests in the environment and politics. He’s known for his campaigning work with Cloudcatcher Media.
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