Editorial: Anthony Albanese’s 2022 election promise could come back to bite

Politicians should resist the urge to make promises on things they have little control over – but it won’t, writes the editor.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week. Picture: Nikki Short/NCA NewsWire

If Anthony Albanese loses the upcoming federal election and becomes a rare one-term-and-done prime minister, he would probably have a good reason to feel dudded by history.

As he sips on a gin and tonic while overlooking the ocean at his Copacabana hideaway, he may well feel that the timing of his three-year term – coinciding with rising inflation and interest rates (due to factors mainly outside of his control) – cost him any chance of really settling into the job and making a long-term impact on the nation he loves.

Last week we revealed that, with the latest hike from the Australian Energy Regulator, power prices will have risen a staggering 33 per cent during Mr Albanese’s tenure.

That’s bad enough, but let’s not forget that it comes on top of a 2022 election promise that Aussies would actually pay $275 a year less for electricity.

It is a promise that voters will remember when Mr Albanese speaks about energy policy during the forthcoming campaign.

And it’s one they might chose to act on at the ballot box.

Mr Albanese has blamed Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine for power prices, it should be noted.

All of this should serve as a cautionary tale for politicians, ensuring they resist the urge to make promises on things they have little control over – but it won’t.

Just last week, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton promised that he would secure an exemption from US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

He didn’t promise to try. He guaranteed that he would secure the exemption that no other world leader has been able to negotiate. Then he doubled down on the claim.

There is more bad news on the cost-of-living front for the Prime Minister.

Today our exclusive analysis of supermarket prices shows that Aussie families are paying 30 per cent more for their groceries than they were when Mr Albanese came to power.

And while Aussies are paying an extra $730 a year for their electricity, they are paying an extra $3000 a year for their groceries.

We should not forget that wages have remained stagnant – very few Aussies are earning 30 per cent more – so people have been forced to cut corners.

Coles CEO Leah Weckert told The Australian’s Global Food Forum last week that household stress relating to living expenses was still high.

“Our latest survey in January showed two-thirds of customers were still feeling very stressed in their household budget and that is a very significant number, and the biggest contributors to that are mortgages, fuel, electricity prices, but also groceries,” she said.

With inflation back under control and interest rates now officially on the way down, that stress should start to ease over the year ahead.

The temptation for Mr Albanese of course will be to promise that those favourable economic conditions will bring down the cost of your weekly shop by, let’s say $50 a week.

We hope he resists the temptation and sticks to making promises about things that he actually has control over.

GOUT’S THRILLING RIDE

How much fun are the next seven years going to be!

When Brisbane was awarded the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games back in 2021, hardly anyone suspected that we would soon have our own homegrown athletics phenomenon.

But that is what 17-year-old Gout Gout from Ipswich has become.

Grabs of his incredible finishing bursts in schoolboy competition lit up social media. But his exploits in the past few months have shown that Gout is more than a flash in the pan. He is the real deal.

Yesterday he became the first Aussie to break the 20-second barrier for the 200m, a time that won’t count officially because of a helpful tailwind.

Earlier, in the heats he had clocked 20.05sec – the second fastest time by an Aussie and just 0.01sec outside his own national record.

To put that time into perspective, it would have won gold at the Sydney Olympics, and bronze in Rio.

And let’s not forget, Gout is still just a skinny kid. He’s still growing. And he’s getting faster all the time.

While it’s true that no one wants to put too much pressure on him, it’s also true that Gout is a mature, level-headed young man with a sprinter’s ego. And he appeared to love the attention from a small but enthusiastic crowd at QSAC yesterday.

We hope he keeps working hard and gets faster every year. And we hope that he is hitting his athletic peak when the Olympics arrive in 2032.

Now all we need to do is build him a stadium.

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Chris Jones, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details here

Originally published as Editorial: Anthony Albanese’s 2022 election promise could come back to bite