Anthony Albanese, Peter Dutton and Adam Bandt have reasons for seemingly chaotic end to parliamentary year
Legislative log jams at the end of the Parliamentary year, late sittings, all-night sittings, extra days of sitting – even one threat years ago that Parliament would have to sit on Christmas Day and Senators would have a turkey lunch – and huge numbers of bills are nothing new.
The Albanese government does seem to have more bills – about 40 – still pending on the last scheduled day of sitting than ever before but this is not a parliamentary procedural failure, it is a deliberate plan.
There are fundamental strategic and tactical objectives involved for Anthony Albanese, Peter Dutton and Adam Bandt as the Labor, Liberal and Greens’ leaders mix in with the teal independents and Senate independents to produce a seemingly chaotic end to parliament in 2024.
The Prime Minister, there is of course, a desire to get Labor’s full legislative agenda through the Parliament but there are also political and strategic schemes at play designed to damage the Coalition and the Greens by describing them as “blockers”, portray the Opposition Leader as a negative leader of the “No-alition”, and have a clean sheet next year to concentrate on the 2025 election and the second-term agenda.
This week in the Labor caucus, Albanese told his troops he wasn’t leaving anything “on the field” which had the double meaning of giving his all but also drawing a line under 2024.
Strategically such an approach means Albanese can start his re-election campaign next week and go into summer talking about a new agenda.
Tactically it means Albanese can, if he wishes, call an election early next year and not be left with “unfinished business”.
For Dutton, a Senate blockade and vision of sleepless Senators adds to a public view of a government in disarray and lacking direction. The Coalition can use the Senate shenanigans as a cover for its own lack of an agenda.
For Bandt, the use of the Greens numbers in the Senate is an opportunity to try and draw some victory out of a compromise with Labor on some small points and not being left to look irrelevant because they cannot bring themselves to actually vote against Labor.
The politics will continue but don’t expect anyone to be serving roast turkey in the Senate Chamber on Christmas Day.
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