Issues are piling up for PM, who is being led by the Greens

A brewing fight over religious freedoms adds to the conflict and confusion engulfing first-term Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Having promised to safeguard religious schools, Mr Albanese is left stranded on the issue. Catholic leaders want the federal government to replace section 38 of the Sex Discrimination Act with more precise protections. Navigating changes without bipartisan support will be fraught. If hijacked by the protest parties it threatens a repeat of the unintended consequences brought by the government’s capitulation to former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern over the repatriation of convicted criminals to her country.

Fiery questions over Immigration Minister Andrew Giles’s poor handling of the repatriation issue dominated question time in federal parliament this week, overshadowing the federal budget, which has received a lukewarm reception from voters. The economic conditions continue to deteriorate, with the Reserve Bank of Australia warning that inflation is more entrenched. Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy told Senate estimates on Thursday that, contrary to government claims, a $300 handout to all electricity users would not reduce inflation in a way that would allow the RBA to cut rates earlier than it otherwise would have. Dr Kennedy also undermined the government’s signature Future Made in Australia industry policy, saying it was better to import cheap solar panels from overseas rather than subsidise companies to make them here.

The poor budget reception has stoked the first sign of tensions within the Albanese government over economic policy. Industry Minister Ed Husic broke ranks with support for lower company tax rates to stimulate investment. As national editor Dennis Shanahan writes in Inquirer: “While Husic may be just rattling Chalmers’ cage, it is clear there is a growing concern, particularly among MPs in suburban and regional areas, that economic policy is not going far enough on tax reform and that the politics are reflecting too much of a bias towards the agenda of inner-city Labor, Greens and teal independents.” Mr Albanese would be wise to listen to the advice of Mr Husic as well as Resources Minister Madeleine King, who has highlighted the important role gas will play economically and in the net-zero transition. Instead, Mr Albanese is siding with the Greens, who have pledged to hold the government hostage with their balance of power position in the Senate.

Business is nervously watching the passage of new laws to establish a federal environment protection agency and redraw the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. Mr Albanese has confirmed that a climate trigger, a key demand of the Greens, is still on the table despite the government earlier saying it was not. The upshot is that Mr Albanese looks weak and his team increasingly divided. Unless he finds the courage to deal firmly with Mr Giles and stare down the unreasonable and economy-wrecking demands of the Greens, Mr Albanese will find his task of holding majority government only more difficult come election time.