An Albanese government struggling for a growth agenda ahead of the 2025 election unfortunately thinks that it’s found one in Labor’s long-dead protectionist and interventionist instincts, which the party’s reform pioneers began sweeping away 50 years ago.

On Thursday, the prime minister announced that the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund, the Net Zero Authority, the $1 billion in taxpayer subsidies to build solar panels and multiple other measures would be packaged into a new Future Made in Australia Act.