James Campbell: Anthony Albanese not taking the PM’s bait

Anthony Albanese is showing tremendous discipline in refusing to take the PM’s bait on nuclear submarines, the religious freedom bill and other issues, writes James Campbell.

Whatever worries you might have about Anthony Albanese’s chances of beating Scott Morrison — starting with the fact he sounds like he’s talking through a mouthful of sausage roll, through to his bewildering delight in unending eulogies to forgotten Labor heroes of the 1940s — you have to give him credit.

When he took over the job of opposition leader from Bill Shorten Albo found on his desk a piece of paper with the heading “Reasons Not To Vote Labor”.

It was quite a long list, made up of new taxes and a brave promise to do more on climate change that many suspected would end in new taxes.

But one by one, Albo has been putting lines through them.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese is getting rid of Labor’s Shorten-era baggage. Picture: NCA Newswire/Gaye Gerard

Going into next year’s election pensioners will be able to vote Labor knowing if it wins they will continue to enjoy their franking credit rebates.

Likewise, the future has been made safe for negative gearers.

Nor will we have to worry about Labor winding back legislated tax cuts for high-income earners.

In other policy areas Scott Morrison has made things easier for Albanese by moving the government’s chair closer to Labor’s, most helpfully by agreeing to move Australia to net zero by 2050.

But not only is Albanese getting rid of the Shorten-era baggage, he’s also had the brains not to bite on the baited hooks Morrison has put into the water.

A few weeks ago the Prime Minister announced, out of the blue, that Australia will be getting nuclear submarines, hopefully sometime in the next 20 years.

The deal came with an enhanced agreement to co-operate with the US and a post-Brexit UK keen to start playing a role “East of Suez” for the first time since the early 1970s.

I’m not saying the deal was created with the express purpose of baiting elements of the Labor Party, not least Paul Keating, but you can be pretty certain it crossed the Morrison mind that were the ALP to reject it, it might make a fairly handy point of difference at next year’s poll.

Albanese didn’t rise to the bait.

Much to everyone’s surprise, the ALP is now apparently cool with nuclear subs.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison keeps dangling the bait. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Mariuz

Morrison tried again last week with his legislation to protect religious freedom.

To secular Australia, this bill will, I suspect, look like a legislative solution in search of a problem.

But to a group of the government’s supporters — namely conservative Christians still shirty over their complete rout over same-sex marriage — its willingness to offer them this consolation prize has become a test of Morrison’s good faith.

The danger for the government is not that conservative Christians will suddenly decide to vote en masse for the Labor heathens if they don’t get their legislation, it’s that it will make it harder to motivate them to doorknock, phone-bank and hand out on election day.

As a Labor campaign veteran said to me recently, these days the evangelical churches are the Liberal Party’s secret weapon across much of suburban Australia.

But, just as with the nuclear subs deal, you can be absolutely certain the Prime Minister would struggle to see a downside for him if the ALP were to oppose his legislation.

But last week, again, Albo declined to bite.

Within a day of the government releasing its religious discrimination legislation, he announced Labor would support it.

Sure, the opposition would prefer there were more protections for teachers who work in religious schools — as would a bunch of Liberal moderates — but that won’t stop it voting for the bill.

Is Penny Wong looking to make a big point of difference with the government on China?

The don’t-give-people-reasons-not-to-vote-Labor strategy annoys the party’s members and fans, who say history shows it needs to think big to win government.

Albanese’s supporters retort there’s always a first time, and the opposite — a big target — strategy hasn’t worked so well most of the time either.

The discipline with which Albanese has stuck to his plan has impressed those of us who tend not to associate that word with the member for Grayndler.

Which is why it is surprising that at the 11th hour, Albo’s foreign affairs spokeswoman, Penny Wong, seems to be looking to open up a point of difference with the government on all things China.

Last week the South Australian senator gave a speech in which she suggested “It has been widely reported that the Morrison government want to make national security a focus of the coming election”.

On this she is undoubtedly correct.

But when you look at these stories, all too often they turn out to be reports Labor sources think the government wants to make national security a focus.

Which might be true — it probably is true — but how much it is able to do that will be entirely in the hands of the Labor Party.

If you are worried the government is trying to fight an election on national security, I really struggle to see why you would scream about it from the rooftops, as Wong did by briefing it to friendly newspapers ahead of its delivery.

Unless, of course, she thinks a big point of difference with the government on China would be a good thing for the Labor Party.

Expect more in this space as the government seeks to find more Reasons Not To Vote Labor next year.