Albo’s leadership L Plates are on display for all to see

The newly elected Opposition Leader should be focused on the actions of Scott Morrison and his government. Instead, Anthony Albanese is struggling to keep Labor’s own house in order, writes David Speers.

It’s five weeks since the election and the pressure remains squarely on Labor, just as it did during the campaign.

While Scott Morrison lay on a beach in Fiji, the political conversation was all about the opposition this week. Cracks emerged over tax cuts, the internal war over John Setka continued to rage and a fresh debate sprang to life over border protection.

Anthony Albanese, however, remains sanguine about it all. He’s showing no signs of panic.

On tax, he’s sticking to his first promise as leader: not to be rushed into policy decisions.

He wants less haste and more consultation, even if that means some short-term pain amid the clamour for answers.

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He’s using this tax debate to send a message to the media and his own troops that he’s not worried about the noise and will take his time.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese says he doesn’t want to be rushed into making policy decisions. Picture: Colin Murty/News Corp Australia

Others are less patient. A growing number of Labor MPs are agitating for a decision. Peter Khalil was the first to publicly call for the three-stage tax plan to be waved through if the government refuses to split the bill.

There was no phone call or reprimand from Albanese when he did so.

Labor’s Joel Fitzgibbon rightly points out there’s nothing wrong with a bit more public disagreement. The idea all MPs in a major party robotically agree on absolutely everything is ridiculous.

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What matters is where Shadow Cabinet ultimately lands. It’s already held one discussion on the tax cuts and will hold another on Monday. No final decision is expected at the meeting and Albanese himself remains genuinely open minded.

Labor makes the not unreasonable point that the third stage of tax doesn’t kick in for another five years. Who knows what the Budget will look like by then?

Labor MP Peter Khalil has called for the Coalition’s tax plan to be waved through. Picture: Mick Tsikas/AAP

The government, however, is on strong ground here. It took the full tax package to voters and won. In an otherwise slim policy platform, this was central to the Coalition’s pitch. If Morrison has a mandate for anything, it’s his tax plan.

The dangers for Labor are obvious. If Albanese’s first act as leader in parliament is to vote against tax cuts, he will be accused of ignoring the will of voters and failing to learn anything from the election defeat.

With parliament resuming in 10 days, a decision must soon be made. The wrong decision could haunt Labor for the rest of this term.

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On the brawl with John Setka, there’s no equivocation from Albanese. Despite the pushback and threats from sections of the CFMMEU and other like-minded unions from the industrial left, Labor MPs are confident their leader has made the right call in pushing to boot the rogue union leader out of the ALP.

Victorian CFMMEU secretary John Setka is due to face court this week. Picture: Aaron Francis/News Corp Australia

Setka will face court on Wednesday where he is expected to plead guilty to two charges. One of them relates to using a carriage service to harass a woman. If convicted, Setka’s supporters will have a much harder time defending him. The national leadership of the CFMMEU will have to clear up where it stands.

The ALP National Executive will then meet the following week to decide on his expulsion. No one expects it to defy the leader’s wishes.

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The battle within the union movement over Setka has been messy and will leave scars. It could also prove costly for the ALP if angry unions carry out their threats to pull funding. Yet Albanese is likely to ultimately emerge with enhanced authority for taking a stand and picking a difficult but necessary fight.

On border protection, a Federal Court ruling this week brought the so-called Medevac laws back into sharp focus and gave the government fresh ammunition to argue for the legislation to be repealed.

The Court ruled doctors don’t need to consult asylum seekers on Nauru, even via Skype, before recommending they be transferred.

Albanese needs to redirect his attention but doesn’t seem able to just yet. Picture: Jane Dempster/News Corp Australia

Around 1,000 people have already been transferred to Australia on the government’s watch. They’ve come for medical treatment, or as direct family members of patients.

The government has fought against many of these transfers, but this is also how it’s been able to remove all children from offshore detention, something it often boasts about.

Only 22 people have come to Australia under the Medevac laws, with a further 8 cases pending. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says some of “bad character” have been allowed in, but he isn’t willing to give any details.

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So far, Labor is feeling comfortable about defending the Medevac laws. It believes the government’s warnings about a “flood” of transfers has been exposed as hollow.

The government, by contrast, is relishing the prospect of another parliamentary fight over border protection and an opportunity to brand Albanese as soft.

On each of these fronts, it’s Labor having to define and defend its position. Albanese would love to get the focus back onto the government and needs to do so. There’s no sign of that happening just yet.

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