Listen: The opportunity Labor has not had this century and won't have again

Sydney Morning Herald

2 days ago

Much has been said about Australia's standing on the world stage recently. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, after all, walked a diplomatic tightrope with President Xi Jinping in China this week, while US President Donald Trump's shadow loomed from across the ocean.
But next week will see a new term of federal parliament begin, with fresh faces and, hopefully, fresh ideas tackling our domestic issues. Speaking with Acting Federal Editor Nick Bonyhady in a new Inside Politics podcast episode, Nine's Chief Political Editor Charles Croucher delves into the rare opportunity that Labor hasn't had since before Kevin Rudd's first turn as leader.
Click the player below to listen to the full episode, or read on for an edited extract of the conversation.
Bonyhady: Albanese's trip to China wrapped up on Thursday. He's back in Australia today, Friday, and straight back into parliament next week. What does he face in that sitting period? The Coalition are trying to rebuild from an absolute walloping at the last election. Labor's got a remarkably large agenda. Can we expect to see them be more optimistic in that first sitting week?
Croucher: Yeah, I would assume so. And I would assume there is a stability that this government has that no government's really had since probably John Howard.
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Now, I was doing a talk with some year 5 kids doing government studies the other day. And one of them asked, 'What's been the one bit of policy we've got right?' And I was trying to think of something good for them. And it was really hard. And I realised that for their whole life, they've had this instability, right?
We had Rudd, but Rudd came in with all this hope and promise, and then was hit with the [Global Financial Crisis]. And then Julia Gillard ... always had to look over her shoulder at Kevin Rudd. And then in comes Tony Abbott, and again, he had Malcolm Turnbull, Malcolm Turnbull had Tony Abbott, then he goes, Scott Morrison comes in.
It was what the Betoota Advocate called the Nightwatchman, so he was just there for a short time. Then he wins the surprise election, all of a sudden, there's a mandate, but there's also COVID-19. And so that robs him of that opportunity. Anthony Albanese takes over, it's a slim majority, he's got inflation, he got hit with cost of living and the Voice.