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With an election likely less than a year away, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recently told the Labor caucus his cabinet is preparing “an offer” to put to the Australian people for a possible second term.
So, what might that offer include? And how might the make-up of the next parliament – and even a potential Donald Trump presidency in the United States – shape how ambitious he is likely to be?
Michelle Grattan tackles these questions in her column this week. She also taps a number of policy experts and politicians for their opinion on what Albanese’s strategy should be. These include Richard Denniss, head of the Australia Institute, and Rod Sims, former chief of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
The 2025 election could be decided by a handful of seats, Grattan writes, so a big question is whether Labor would go into minority government. This would make its second term far more complicated.
If this comes to pass, Labor would be operating from a weaker position than in its first term. “That would make it all the more important for it to have a clear second-term agenda for which it could then argue it had a mandate,” Grattan argues.
This should make the next 12 months very interesting, to say the least.
PS. Thanks to everyone who has supported our donations campaign so far. If you value the work we do, please consider donating to help support our journalism.
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Justin Bergman
International Affairs Editor
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