Anthony Albanese’s director of media Liz Fitch has quit amid rumours of PMO tensions

Anthony Albanese’s media director Liz Fitch has resigned amid talk of friction and claims of shouting matches within the Prime Minister’s Office.

Liz Fitch, left, Anthony Albanese’s former communications chief. Picture: Toby Zerna

Anthony Albanese’s most senior media official has quit amid ­rumours of tensions within the Prime Minister’s Office as the ­government comes under sustained political pressure and amid worsening polls.

Liz Fitch, media director for Mr Albanese, will leave the PMO in early January after handing in her resignation on Wednesday. Ms Fitch is the most senior media operative in the PMO, having joined three years ago after being promoted from the office of then ­opposition energy spokesman Chris Bowen.

Labor staffers have often ­referred to Ms Fitch as the “Albo whisperer”.

However, several Labor sources confirmed they had heard that tensions had been heightened within the PMO recently, with claims of shouting matches.

Sources close to the PMO strongly denied this. The official line from the government is that Ms Fitch’s departure was entirely her own decision and had been building for several months.

“She was well liked and well respected,” a source said. “People are genuinely sad to see her go.”

Another Labor staffer referred to internal messages Ms Fitch had recently sent, alluding to rumours of her imminent departure.

In one message sent to PMO staff in the past week, Ms Fitch asked colleagues to hose down any rumours of an imminent ­departure. But in an internal message to ministerial staff late Wednesday, Ms Fitch said: “After 7½ in APH, I’ve decided its time for me to take on a new challenge in the new year.

“I came into politics to work to get Labor into government, and now after four years with Chris Bowen, 3½ years with the (now) PM and 18 months in government it’s time for me to put the suitcase away, take a break and find out what’s next.

“It’s been on honour being your colleague. I’m proud of what we have done together in opposition and in government – which has ­involved hard work and dedication from all our teams.”

Ms Fitch’s departure comes amid growing concerns from Labor MPs about the government’s direction and its broader media strategy.

The relationship between the PMO and the Canberra press gallery has also ­deteriorated with several veteran reporters recently describing it as the most difficult office they have had to deal with.

A senior Labor source said the model the Albanese government had adopted for its media strategy didn’t involve being “friends” with the press gallery, a departure from previous administrations. The view is that Labor can use social media to talk over the ­mainstream media, which often involved cutting journalists out of the loop.

“There are a few MPs who are very grumpy about how things are going,” one source said. Another told The Australian that it was common knowledge that there were tensions within the PMO.

A source close to the PMO insisted that Ms Fitch was not pushed and that the decision to leave was her own decision.