Anthony Albanese has told Labor’s true believers the party needs to set itself up to govern for the long term if it is to leave a lasting legacy, and that requires having strong credentials on national security and the economy, and not breaching trust with voters on policy promises like the stage three tax cuts.

As ministers and factional bosses worked behind the scenes to defuse a potentially damaging debate over the AUKUS security pact ahead of Friday’s national security debate, the prime minister said everything the government had achieved could be undone unless the party consolidated itself in power.