Anthony Albanese has failed to lift his personal stocks with stage three tax cut revamp

Anthony Albanese has failed to deliver the political dividend Labor needed to begin the pre-election year.

Labor’s internal polling may tell a different story but that could prove to be overly optimistic.

After Albanese’s 2023 annus horribilis, status quo was never going to be enough in 2024.

The Prime Minister sought to set the agenda early and lead from the front. While this left the ­Coalition flat-footed and impotent, it hasn’t necessarily excited anyone outside of Canberra.

Cost-of-living pressures accumulated over Christmas and will only multiply over the next five months. Inflation may be easing but prices are still rising.

While the promise of relief in five months has been welcomed by most voters, it is hardly surprising. But the pain from now until then will continue.

This would be enough to explain why the government, having ended last year badly, finds itself in no better position starting 2024.

There is no reward yet for a ­future promise.

The great tax reset has failed to deliver the political prize that Labor and Albanese may have been expecting.

No bang for their buck.

Having held his breath over the stage three tax cuts and dived right in with a triple reverse tuck somersault, Albanese was trying to execute the most difficult political manoeuvre known to politics.

That the judges’ score is underwhelming reflects the general ­antipathy.

Sure, no one is going to argue against a tax cut, but considering the scale of the depletion in living standards over the past 18 months, it hardly touches the side.

While most voters applaud the Prime Minister for trying it, they have baulked at rewarding him for doing something he promised not to do.

Voters accept the tax cuts. But they don’t like the government more for delivering them.

Nor are they any more endeared to Albanese.

There are two reasons. And both have nothing to do with a broken election promise.

The first is that they don’t amount to a lot more than they were getting already under existing law. The second reason is that they won’t have a weekly impact until the middle of the year.

The transactional cost for breaking such a foundational promise on tax cuts was always going to be high.

Yet for Labor, the Newspoll results may not be a disappointment.

The tax cut hit the sweet spot of Middle Australia as the target. And the poll shows that those aged between 35 and 49 and those between 50 and 64 were the most supportive.

It has also resonated strongly with female voters.

The problem appears to be converting support for the tax cuts into voting intention for Labor.

Clearly this hasn’t happened. Yet. And Albanese’s early intervention in the political cycle has done nothing for his own personal numbers.

.