Anthony Albanese was criticised for spending part of last week playing tourist at a panda zoo and sightseeing at the Great Wall of China. As soon as wheels were up on his six-day visit to China to deepen the bilateral relationship with Australia’s biggest export partner, he wasted no time refocusing on domestic politics.

With parliament resuming on Tuesday for the first time since Labor’s stunning election victory in May, the prime minister used his mid-flight interview with The Australian Financial Review to warn the opposition parties against obstructing the government’s agenda in the Senate.