Anthony Albanese’s single mission in his first set piece speech of the year will be to define the very purpose of a second-term Labor government.
So far it is unclear what this purpose is beyond nebulous motifs and vague objectives.
What voters see is a nation more divided and less prosperous than the one he inherited as Prime Minister in 2022. This is indisputable.
And this is the problem he must tackle in his address to the National Press Club.
Albanese has so far failed to articulate how he proposes to address these twin challenges.
The Prime Minister must be explicit. Just what is Labor’s future vision? It is a vision that is so far not apparent to the electorate.
In other words, he will have to offer more than just another three years of political and economic drift.
In an interview with the Australian at the end of last year, Albanese described the election battle as one between the future and the past.
This may have broad appeal but it is limited by Albanese’s inability so far to put definition to what a second-term Labor agenda looks like.
While he will boast a record of achievement in his first term, the macro failure of Labor’s management of the economy in terms of arresting falling living standards and now a breakdown in social cohesion are ones that have come to define the government’s first-term legacy.
Considering the events of the past week, the Prime Minister’s speech has become even more critical to Labor’s hope of redesigning the political landscape and wresting back control of the agenda as both parties prepare to campaign.
What we know is that the Prime Minister will use his National Press Club address to outline Labor’s vision for “Building Australia’s Future”.
Beyond the slogan, he will need to explain to voters what this means.
Over January, Albanese has sought to set up the contrast between Peter Dutton’s “back on track” and Labor’s Building the Future.
Albanese seeks to frame this as competing paths – one that goes backwards and Labor’s forward-looking vision, using tangible announcements on projects such as the Bruce Highway and the NBN as concepts that people can grasp as examples of setting the country up for the coming decades.
A key feature of his speech will be $10,000 incentive payments for apprenticeships in the construction sector, to stem the high dropout rate.
As a measure to address the skills shortages contributing to the housing shortage crisis, it makes for good policy but perhaps one that shouldn’t have needed to wait until now.
While there will be a strong economic focus to Albanese’s speech, a failure to thread together a more cohesive narrative on how Labor will restore living standards while projecting its more optimistic future will amount to a failure of the purpose.
Spending as a political solution is now entrenched. Albanese has hinted at more cost-of-living handouts. Already this month, he has pledged $14bn in other spending programs under this Building Australia’s Future banner.
Albanese needs to also address the more fundamental problem.
The perception of him as a Prime Minister reacting to events rather than leading the agenda risks becoming entrenched. His speech will need to project strength and vision, both attributes that now favour the Liberal leader.
It won’t be enough for Labor to assume that not being Peter Dutton is a pathway to victory.
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