Credlin: Broken promise shows how desperate Albanese is to regain political momentum

When circumstances change, the PM’s commitments change, even if that risks setting up a yawning truth deficit for his government, writes Peta Credlin.

‘My word is my bond,” Anthony Albanese said when explaining why he wouldn’t and couldn’t drop the legislated stage three tax cuts. Well, not anymore. There must have been a compelling reason for the PM to trash his own integrity and the only plausible explanation is that Labor is in trouble, so out comes the class envy card to play against Peter Dutton.

It shows how desperate the government has become to regain political momentum that it would take such a risk.

But it is in a dreadful hole after a dismal 2023, when the PM not only lost his Voice and his mojo, but released hundreds of dangerous foreign criminals into the community through lack of attention to detail and for the first time in decades, Australia failed to respond to a US request for military help.

Add in the fact that because of Labor’s out-of-control migration, we reached a population of 27 million last Wednesday, 30 years ahead of forecasts, and you can see why people are questioning whether the Albanese government is up to it.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese used the absolute necessity of keeping his word to justify actions that were doomed to fail – but when circumstances change, the PM’s commitments change. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Martin Ollman

Previously, the Prime Minister had used the absolute necessity of keeping his word to justify actions that were doomed to fail. He had to push on with the Voice, he said, even after he’d lost bipartisan support and the polls had turned, because he’d made a public commitment to do so. Keeping commitments was his justification for putting the country through a divisive and ultimately futile debate.

But not anymore. When circumstances change, the PM’s commitments change, even if that risks setting up a yawning truth deficit for his government.

Anthony Albanese promised he would cut power bills by $275 per household per year, but so far they’ve risen at least 20 per cent on his watch. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Aaron Francis

Pre-election, he promised he wouldn’t touch superannuation, but he has. He promised he would cut power bills by $275 per household per year, but so far they’ve risen at least 20 per cent on his watch. He promised he’d raise real wages, but they’ve fallen for most households while mortgage repayments have nearly doubled.

And despite personally voting for the stage three tax cuts in parliament, supporting them through two elections, and promising over 100 times to keep them, because “my word is my bond”, they’re now not going ahead.

Instead, in order to give around six million taxpayers a bigger tax cut, one million-plus won’t receive the tax cut they’d been promised by Labor for the past five years. People earning under $150,000 a year will gain up to $1000 but, beyond that, workers will start to lose as much as almost $5000 against Labor’s former commitment.

The stated justification is the need to give more cost-of-living relief to lower income earners without stoking inflation, even though lower income earners are more likely to spend the extra money, thus further fuelling inflationary pressure.

The PM also blamed it on war in Ukraine and the pandemic, but both occurred well before the last election when this promise was re-made.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is straight-talking, decent and honest. Picture: Richard Dobson

I’m not surprised Labor is desperate. After a year of the Voice and the “Airbus Albo” tag hurting the PM’s brand, they must reset. But torching the leader’s credentials for honesty just to set up an old-style class war with the Coalition is risky.

He might not have grown up in a housing commission home, but Peter Dutton’s background is still very modest and, as a police-officer before entering parliament, he’s certainly not flashy. But he is straight-talking, decent and honest.

From here on in, he’s the man with the last word on trust, and voters will be right to question any new commitment from Albanese; does he really mean it and will he deliver it?

Voters’ care about the honesty of their leaders. John Howard got away with pledging “never, ever” to introduce a GST because he was honourable enough to call an election seeking a specific mandate for his change of heart. Julia Gillard failed to get away with breaking her “there will be no carbon tax under a government I lead” promise because she broke it, without any real explanation or seeking a new mandate, in order to save her own political skin through a deal with the Greens.

Julia Gillard failed to get away with breaking her “there will be no carbon tax under a government I lead” promise because she broke it, without any real explanation or seeking a new mandate. Picture: Brett Hartwig

In this case, Albanese is banking on most voters’ preferring extra cost-of-living relief to politicians keeping their word. As with the Voice, I think he’s gravely misjudged the electorate. Voters’ do expect their governments to respond sensibly to their serious concerns but expect them to do so without junking commitments that have been constantly reiterated for five years, especially when both offering help and keeping commitments is more than possible.

Plainly, with the Liberals choosing a credible local mayor as their candidate, the PM is spooked at the prospect of losing Dunkley, even though a by-election sparked by an MP’s death doesn’t usually much punish the incumbent party.

With a 6 per cent margin, Dunkley should be reasonably safe even for a government that’s looking more and more like a one-term wonder. The fact the Dunkley polling has clearly panicked the PM into breaking his word says everything.

Imagine the doubts about the PM’s judgment if, having trashed his integrity, and junked what should have been a significant economic reform, there’s still a substantial anti-Labor swing? They say that truth is the first casualty of war.

In this case, truth has been the first casualty of prime ministerial arrogance, incompetence and incorrigible instinct to be a class-war warrior at a time when the country desperately wants to see leadership.

VIRTUE-SIGNALLING LEADERS ARE FAILING THE BASICS: TO KEEP US SAFE

While public debate has raged over whether our history should be a source of pride or shame, the politicians who should be standing up for Australia are falling short in what is always their most basic job: namely, keeping people safe in their homes and in their streets.

Much of eastern Australia seems to be experiencing a spike in violent crime, especially Melbourne. The recent fatal stabbing of a suburban doctor in his own home by knife-wielding intruders, one of whom was just 16, is a case in point.

This alleged offender was on bail at the time.

Statistics just out show that 29 per cent of offences committed by children aged between 10 and 13 years olds were “offences against the person”, which includes assault.

What’s more, 40 per cent of these very young offenders had been involved in 10 or more incidents (yes, 10!). Yet of nearly 1400 young offenders, only eight were remanded in custody.

Despite the evidence of widespread youth crime, the Victorian Labor government’s “key priority” is raising the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14, which means police won’t even be able to act in the future.

So why are these young thugs still out on our streets?

Part of the reason is soft judges and magistrates, usually appointed by green-left governments that think crime is a function of social conditions rather than human evil.

Part of it is the weakened moral sense of a post-Christian society that now seems to resent a line between right and wrong. We can’t excuse parents who don’t care, who let down their children and the broader community. But mostly, though, it’s elected leaders who are better at virtue-signalling than doing their job.

Watch Peta on Credlin on Sky News, weeknights at 6pm

Originally published as Credlin: Broken promise shows how desperate Albanese is to regain political momentum