Analysis: Why Albanese wants to sidestep cashless debit card questions

Anthony Albanese is known as a political street fighter, so his reluctance to be front and centre of the pensioner scare campaign is notable, writes Matthew Killoran.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese is known as a political street fighter, not one to shy away from an attack, which is why his reluctance to be front and centre of the pensioner scare campaign is notable.

If Labor were on firmer footing with its scare campaign, claiming that the Coalition will put pensioners on a welfare management debit card, he’d be out swinging rather than standing aside for his colleague Jim Chalmers when asked about it in the past two days.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese has stepped aside to allow Jim Chalmers to push the party’s pensioner scare campaign. Picture: Toby Zerna

But when independent third parties like Council on the Ageing and National Seniors say its not true, and that it is just being used to “scare old people”, it’s no wonder the leader is keeping his distance.

Labor’s tacticians are well aware that even calling out misinformation like this often has the impact of amplifying it, taking it from social media whisper campaigns to mainstream discussion.

It puts the Coalition it a tough spot; let it be and have the misinformation spread or call it out and risk more people hearing it.

The ALP is still smarting from the Coalition’s own false accusations during the 2019 election that Labor would bring in death duties, which was not backed up by any facts, or the success of its own MediScare campaign in 2016.

As well the claims as being condemned by COTA and National Seniors, a State Labor MP was forced to apologise for misleading the Parliament for repeating the claims while the Social Services Department deputy secretary confirmed there was nothing in the legislation that allowed it to happen.

But mud sticks, so don’t expect to see it stop being thrown during the next five weeks.