Reflecting on two years in Australia’s top job, Anthony Albanese has promised voters he hasn’t forgotten what it’s like to struggle.
As households buckle under the weight of a cost of living crisis, the prime minister reaffirmed it was front and centre for his government as he took to the Western Sydney Leadership dialogue to reflect on his tenure.
“I understand Australians are doing it tough right now – and I haven’t forgotten what it’s like to struggle and strive,” Mr Albanese said on Friday.
“To worry about your family’s economic security, to wonder if you’ll get the opportunity to pursue your aspirations.
“That understanding drives our government.”
Mr Albanese was raised by a single mother in public housing.
Labor has come under fire from social welfare groups for what they see as a lack of economic support for the nation’s most vulnerable.
The government must hold an election by May 2025.
The prime minister acknowledged there were still problems to solve, but the challenges the nation faced over the past two years had given him the confidence Australia would succeed.
Under Mr Albanese’s leadership, the government has navigated the economic aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic and international supply chain problems caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The prime minister said the nation could not return to a time when the then-coalition government treated every issue “as just a pretext for picking a phoney fight”.
“Australians have worked too hard to be dragged back to the era of conflict fatigue,” he said.
“We’ve seen what happens when the only test that politicians apply is their political self-interest – we saw it with Scott Morrison, we’re seeing it again with Peter Dutton.
“The stakes right now are too high for the shallow and shambolic approach we see too often from the opposition, the challenges we face are too urgent for a retreat to denial and delay, the progress we have made together is too important to go back to fear and division.”
The latest Newspoll published in The Australian found Labor leads the coalition 52 to 48 per cent on a two-party preferred vote and Mr Albanese still trumps Opposition Leader Peter Dutton as preferred PM 52 to 33.
“Serving as prime minister is the greatest honour of my life,” Mr Albanese said.
“I count every day of the two years I’ve spent in this job as an extraordinary privilege – and I’m determined to make every day count.
“Because the true privilege of public life – at every level – is the opportunity to make a positive difference to people’s lives.”
