Albanese government has work to do to keep electorate onboard

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s reshuffle is a make-or-break opportunity for his first-term government to reset.

The electorate is restless and anxious which means it is open to hearing new messages – any messages in fact – from leaders and politicians who can allay people’s fears about a stagnating economy, a runaway property market and a world that seems an increasingly unstable place.

The latest Resolve Political Monitor, conducted for the Herald, shows people are tuning out from the Labor government. Voters boosted the Coalition to another high in support after months of steady gains for Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton and his team.

The Coalition increased its primary vote from 36 to 38 per cent between June and July, while core support for Labor has been steady at just 28 per cent – the lowest level since Albanese took power at the last election.

The government has drifted in popularity since the failed Voice referendum in October last year. Weeks later the High Court ruled against indefinite detention, leading to the release of about 150 people, some of whom were later found to have serious criminal histories. The constant slow dripfeed of negative economic news has been water torture for households facing sustained cost of living pressures as they struggle to understand why economists are again discussing another interest rate rise.

It’s fertile ground for Dutton.

But the prime minister has opted for a winter reset with a reshuffle that he says was caused by the resignation of three Labor stalwarts – Linda Burney, Brendan O’Connor and Carol Brown. Their departures presented Albanese with a rolled gold opportunity.

Out with embattled Andrew Giles, sent from immigration to skills, and in with Tony Burke, an indefatigable and ambitious operator with excellent communication skills. Burke’s first move was to announce a trip to Indonesia where he will hold talks with his counterparts about people smuggling. It was a smart choice.

Clare O’Neil goes from home affairs to housing, an area which should be a winner for Labor but on which it has languished. O’Neil, therefore, finds herself with both a challenge and an opportunity, to say nothing of a second chance. She must reassure an electorate all but convinced it is locked out of the property market that Labor has the answers to the complex issues at play in housing. On this her first challenge will be to convince people the solutions to housing are more complicated than the populist, but still appealing, suggestions offered by the Greens.

Albanese was able to say he reshuffled his ministry because of resignations, not because any of his team was doing a terrible job. The electorate can make up its mind about this. Albanese has less than a year before he will go to the ballot box for the ultimate decision on the fortunes of his government. Burke and O’Neil will be pivotal to their chances. The countdown has begun.