Anthony Albanese’s ballooned caucus risks becoming an albatross

Six days after Labor’s historic election win, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told his then 122-member caucus that discipline was crucial to success.

The size of the party’s caucus had ballooned from 106 during the last parliament, when 77 lower house MPs left Albanese’s hold on majority government on a knife edge.

“I repeated the message a number of times in this room of the importance of unity,” Albanese told the group on May 9. “Not getting ahead of ourselves, of being focused, not on ourselves, because I have seen that happen as well. We know where that ends.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese enters the May 9 caucus meeting, the first held after the election victory.Credit: James Brickwood

The emphasis on discipline, unity and focus – words repeated in his speech seven times – is not only Albanese’s style of leadership but a cautionary message in light of the leadership spills of previous Labor governments, as former MPs warn the larger backbench will test the prime minister.

Holding control of the now 123-member caucus – which has 94 lower house MPs and 29 senators, including former Greens senator Dorinda Cox – will be at the forefront of Albanese’s mind when parliament returns next month.

The last time the party had a large caucus was then-prime minister Kevin Rudd’s 2007 win. It quickly diminished into a leadership contest against former prime minister Julia Gillard, with ambitious factional power players, such as then young MPs Bill Shorten and Mark Arbib, pulling strings behind the scenes.

These factional power moves were resurrected last month when former senior ministers Mark Dreyfus and Ed Husic were demoted to the backbench. Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles masterminded the move to make room for younger factional allies Sam Rae and Daniel Mulino in the ministry.

“In the first instance, there will be a lot of newcomers who are grateful they’re in parliament. But gratitude is short so won’t last very long,” one former senior Labor politician said on the condition of anonymity. “People will begin to realise it’s not a long political life, so there will be frustrations.”

ANU Australian historian Frank Bongiorno said former prime minister John Howard would regularly invite backbenchers over for dinner at The Lodge to hear their views.

“It will be hard [for Albanese]. There will be challenges in ensuring that such a large parliamentary party is involved and engaged and don’t feel decisions are passing them by,” he said. “I think a wise prime minister within these circumstances will ensure that backbenchers feel included, that they’re consulted.”

There are 27 new federal Labor politicians, who won seats from incumbents or took the baton from retiring politicians, in the parliament.

Last term, Labor held a lower house majority of 77 out of 151 seats but, for this parliament, Albanese can boast of holding 94 out of 150 seats.

The increase in backbenchers means promotions such as committee chair roles, a tool to keep junior party members satisfied, will be limited for first-term politicians.

Labor caucus chair Sharon Claydon described the ballooned party as a good problem to have. She said it was prepared to deal with the size, with party committees to help give backbenchers a voice.

“I don’t think you’ll see first-term MPs in [committee] chair roles; they will no doubt become very active participants inside those parliamentary committees,” she said.

“There’s potentially some more curious minds so it’s important to make sure people know how to shape policy at an early stage. It’s also about trying to steer people to understand there are ways to make a difference without being on the frontbench.

“The caucus is about ensuring that people have a forum there and that they’ve got opportunities to shape policy.”

Albanese’s May 9 caucus speech also touched on how his colleagues in his first term gave him “extraordinary support and confidence”.

“I was never looking behind, always looking forward … focus on the Australian people, on the people who voted for us,” he said.

Assistant Minister Julian Hill echoed the view that a large majority was a good problem to have. He said the first caucus meeting in May “felt like modern Australia”.

“No matter what you bring into the parliament there’s so much more to learn, and frankly if you’re not learning something every day it’s probably time to go,” he said. “There are so many ways to contribute to the work of the government, the parliament and your community, including committees, policy work and getting to know other parts of the country and what makes our economy and society tick.”

Albanese’s previous term was not without disunity. Senator Fatima Payman become the government’s first defection in July 2024, accusing the prime minister of pressuring her onto the crossbench over Labor’s stance on the war in Gaza.

Another revolt occurred in August 2024 following the government’s decision to not count the number of LGBTQ Australians in the census to avoid a divisive debate. Assistant Health Minister Ged Kearney and five other backbench MPs called for Albanese to reverse the decision.

Days later, he backflipped and confirmed there would be a question in the census on sexuality.

The Prime Minister’s Office was contacted for comment.

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