Anthony Albanese’s kneecapping of Tanya Plibersek over so-called “nature positive” laws is a case of political confluence, where the demands of re-election combined with the existential Labor v Green conflict, and a dash of intra-party rivalry to add some more spice.

Albanese, months (or perhaps even weeks) away from an already tough re-election campaign, decided he did not want to give a rampant Peter Dutton a new front for criticism through the creation of a new cop on the green beat: the Environmental Protection Agency.