Albanese risks epithet of our ‘worst PM since Whitlam’
The Albanese government is in a mess: a legislative, policy, process, political and personnel mess.
The final parliamentary sitting days before the long pre-budget break have exposed serious problems for Labor. These include the Prime Minister having to assert himself over ministers, rising rivalries and tensions within cabinet, growing concern and resentment among backbenchers, ministerial ineptitude and failures, the pursuit of politically damaging ideological policies and targets, alienation of industry groups, and the corrosive effect of obsessive secrecy.
Too often, politics is being put ahead of policy.
The past few days exposed political and legislative crises involving record immigration and the bungled handling of the release of 150 convicted criminals from immigration detention, a backdown on controversial fuel efficiency standards after a rebellion by carmakers and buyers, a suspension of moves to protect offshore gas production, a standoff on resources rent tax, and a complete rejection by all faith groups of any Greens involvement in a “bipartisan” settlement on religious freedoms.
Some of these issues have been obvious for a long time, some are new threats, and others are just now apparent after brewing almost since Labor was elected.
All have been made worse by ministerial failure or overreach and/or the longstanding and pernicious process of Labor insisting that industry groups, so-called stakeholders and even church leaders abide by authoritarian and unnecessary nondisclosure agreements that limit discussion within and between interested parties negotiating with Labor.
The resulting prime ministerial interventions, policy overreach, political backlash, ALP caucus concern, ministerial arrogance and then backflips, gross ministerial failures, distraction from core business and a disdain for critics are leading to more comparisons with the Whitlam government – as in “the worst since Whitlam”.
Most spectacularly, the government’s urgent efforts to introduce new draconian migration measures, designed effectively to put released immigration detainees back into detention and perhaps forestall further High Court challenges that may release more convicted criminals, failed dismally.
Adding to the sad saga of bungling on this issue from Immigration Minister Andrew Giles and Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil, the government was unable to specify genuine grounds for the extraordinary urgency being sought to pass the legislation, which includes mandatory 12-month jail sentences.
In a third attempt to fix faulty legislation Giles pressed for the draft bill, shown only to non-government parties an hour or so before tabling, to be passed within 24 hours with only a one-hour committee investigation and guillotine in the Senate.Spectacular incompetence.
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