A year ago this month, during what was the last sitting week of parliament for 2023, deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley paraded a life-size cut-out of Anthony Albanese through the corridors of the Parliament House press gallery.

At the time, the prime minister was, and had been for months, averse to conducting press conferences in Canberra, opting instead for easy FM radio interviews, social media videos, parliamentary answers and the like.