Anthony Albanese knows he isn't invincible and is swiftly addressing his political weaknesses

Australia Broadcast Center

14-05-2025

Much of the political focus since the election has been on Labor celebrating its mega-win, a brutal factional battle over the spoils of victory, and a divided opposition grappling with which way to turn.
The prime minister, as many have observed, is in a rare position of strength.
Yet at the same time, he's been moving to fix a range of problems before they grow any bigger. A political survivor, Anthony Albanese knows he's not invincible.
Consider some of the steps he's taken this week.
Earlier in the year the prime minister was accused of being left out of the loop on a "caravan bomb plot" that turned out to be a hoax. His opponents argued he was failing to pay sufficient attention to national security.
At the time, Albanese played down any problems with lines of communication. But this week he moved swiftly to shift ASIO and the Australian Federal Police from the Attorney General's portfolio back into Home Affairs. He specifically cited learning lessons from the "caravan incident". Problem solved.
During the campaign, Albanese was accused of taking his eye off the ball with Indonesia over its defence cooperation with Russia. Once again, he denied this charge and made hay when Peter Dutton over-reached on the issue.
But today, the prime minister is in Jakarta meeting President Prabowo Subianto as his first post-election port of call. The two will discuss ramping up military exercises. Albanese doesn't want any lingering suggestion he's ignoring such a vital relationship.
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Then there are the frontbench changes. Some of the moves are designed to fix lingering first term headaches, most notably in the environment portfolio.
Fears of a backlash in Western Australia saw Labor shelve its "Nature Positive" laws. Now a Queenslander has been sent in to sort it out. If Murray Watt lands a deal early in the term, the new environment minister will take the mantle of Albanese's "fixer".
The notable exception to the prime minister's mission to clean up messes has been the blood left on the floor from Labor's internal factional fight.
For better or worse, Albanese stayed out of that one, leaving two former ministers aggrieved and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles stuck with the tag of "factional assassin".
When it comes to policy problems, however, the prime minister is trying to remove vulnerabilities. He's demonstrating a keener sense of identifying issues that need to be resolved than he did after his first election win when the euphoria of victory was on show.
Perhaps this is Anthony Albanese learning and growing in the role. The real test will be his willingness to fix the bigger problems of lifting productivity and economic growth, while bringing spending under control.
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On the Coalition side, the Nationals' decision to stick with David Littleproud and the Liberals' decision to install Sussan Ley as leader also suggest a willingness by the respective parties to fix their electoral problems.
The Coalition needs to win back the centre and the alternative options of Matt Canavan as Nationals leader and Angus Taylor (together with Jacinta Nampijinpa Price) leading the Liberals would have represented a more conservative direction.
The leadership decisions, however, are only a first step.
Over the coming week, Ley and Littleproud will discuss a new Coalition agreement before frontbench positions can be settled. The Nationals have greater clout, given the Liberal rout at the election, and are demanding more spots in the Shadow Ministry.
This doesn't make life easy for Ley and perhaps explains why she's begun with such policy timidity, unable to say where the Liberals went wrong at the election or where they need to go now.
Every Liberal policy is under review, including the commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050. The Morrison government signed Australia up to the target. Dutton remained committed to it. Now the Liberal position is up in the air.
When Ley confirmed in her inaugural press conference as leader that net-zero was under review, even some Nationals were surprised.
Abandoning the target is hardly going to help the Liberals win back the swathe of urban seats lost over successive elections. Nor will prolonged indecision over what to do.
Ley is aware of the need for a credible policy to both reduce emissions and keep industry alive. But she also needs to hold her divided party together and hold the partnership with the Nationals in place.
The prime minister isn't rushing a return to parliament. MPs won't re-assemble in Canberra for at least another two months. Liberals aren't complaining. They need as much time as possible to sort out some basic positions and personnel before even contemplating how to take on a prime minister determined to tidy up outstanding problems.
David Speers is national political lead and host of Insiders, which airs on ABC TV at 9am on Sunday or on iview.