Labor can’t let itself get ‘distracted’ from cost of living: MPs & unionists

Labor MPs and unionists are pushing the party to stick to addressing the cost of living crisis until the next general election and not allow its agenda to get too busy with additional social policies that may “distract” from the main economic message.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese holds a press conference on the Frankston foreshore with Jodie Belyea.

Labor MPs and unionists are pushing the party to stick to addressing the cost of living crisis until the next general election and not allow its agenda to get too busy with additional social policies that may “distract” from the main economic message.

While the government welcomed the Dunkley by-election result – which saw a swing of just over 3.5 per cent towards the Liberals – as a “heartening” show of support from working communities, many MPs urged for the party to remain “disciplined” and focus on cost of living for the rest of its term.

Queensland MP Graham Perrett said it was critical Labor focused on the “bread and butter issues” facing average Australians.

“Cost of living, particularly in terms small businesses feeling the pinch … and a healthy economy and educating the future, they tie into that,” he said.

“Focusing on that cost of living stuff should be should be our priority … some of the other things could be a bit of a distraction. And when we’ve got an opposition leader whose CV just reads ‘expert in divide and conquer’, the chances of an Opposition supporting anything that is … progressive is limited.

“We’ve seen what they’re going to do so that just takes the sting out of any mild social progress, and we just need to focus on the basics.”

Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers have confirmed Labor will unveil more cost of living relief in the May budget, but warned the government must still remain careful with spending to ensure it doesn't drive up inflation.

Another MP who wished to remain anonymous said that while Labor should progress the policy agenda it laid out at the election, it should refrain from announcing too many new ideas or risk confusing the message for voters. 

“First and foremost, we just have to stay the economic course and don’t lose focus on that. One of the one of the dangers is going for lots of bright shiny new things,” the Labor source said.

“Don’t get don’t get distracted by media desires for lots of new bright, shiny things. A little bit of the problem we got into late last year was a confused message where we were trying to talk about 10 things at once. We have to maintain discipline and focus.”

Assistant secretary of the Victorian Left faction, Julijana Todorovic, said it was “critical that the ALP doesn’t get distracted” ahead of the next election.

“The party that focuses on the intergenerational inequality that this being felt by Australians under 40, especially those without a university education in the outer suburbs and regions, will have the upper hand,” she said.

“It’s critical that the ALP doesn’t get distracted by side issues but is brave enough to pull the big economic levers that will make genuine change to the lives of working people, who face housing and economic hurdles we haven’t seen in decades.”

Electrical Trade Union secretary Michael Wright said the “number one issue” was the energy transition, which would “deliver the single biggest cost of living decrease in human history”.

“And if we don’t get this right, nothing else advances,” he said.

Labor has already progressed a bulk of its social reforms, including increasing the minimum wage and the pay of aged care workers, extending paid parental leave, reducing the cost of childcare, putting in place domestic violence leave and taking constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians to the election.

Remaining policies include truth telling and treaty making, which are the second two elements of Uluru Statement from the Heart after the voice that the government committed to “implementing in full”.

Labor is also widely expected to put forward its own religious discrimination bill in the first half of this year, after the Morrison government failed to pass such legislation in 2022.

Macarthur MP Mike Freelander said many “social issues” had positive economic impacts, such as closing the gender pay-gap, but was apprehensive of progressing religious discrimination.

Other Labor MPs including Jerome Laxale and Josh Burns argued the government could “walk and chew gum” and didn’t need to temper its social agenda.

“Our focus has been and will continue to be cost of living but there are other election commitments that we will fulfil and that includes extending the discrimination framework,” Mr Burns said.

CFMEU secretary Zach Smith said there’s was “no doubt”economic issues would be decisive at the next federal election, but warned against other policies such as increasing the number of senators for the NT and ACT being dropped.

“Addressing economic policy doesn’t mean abandoning social issues like territory rights, and our union will proudly continue to fight for both,” he said.