Peter Dutton and his colleagues shouldn't take too much heart from the risible claims by their commentariat cheer squad that Labor is on track to be a one-term government.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
While the LNP has gained some traction at the ALP's expense in recent months it has some Everests to scale before it can be returned to government.
Recent polling shows Mr Albanese is still the preferred prime minister over Mr Dutton at 48 to 34 points, respectively, and Labor is ahead on a two-party preferred basis by 51 per cent to 49 per cent.
While support for Mr Albanese fell by two points in the most recent YouGov poll, conducted in the middle of Labor's so-called "week from hell", support for Mr Dutton did not increase.
That said, with Parliament set to resume today for the final sitting of 2023, Labor is under pressure to step up and regain lost ground. It is suffering the consequences of a number of "own goals", especially the immigration detainee release debacle and mixed messaging from senior figures in the party over support for Israel.
After a very long honeymoon it has a bad case of the "mid-term blues". The PM also lost a lot of paint over his handling of the Voice debate. Labor has been told its supporters, particularly the traditional blue-collar base, won't follow it blindly on what some have unkindly branded as "vanity projects".
There is also an argument much of the strong "no" turnout was more a protest against what many saw as a distraction at a time when they were struggling with soaring interest rates, rents and inflation than a rejection of Indigenous recognition per se.
The opposition and conservative media have made much of the frequency of the PM's recent overseas trips, even though these have been on a par with his recent predecessors.
National leaders must travel to represent their country's interests and to attend important summits and other gatherings.
Nobody could credibly argue Mr Albanese's recent trips to China and to Washington were a misuse of his time.
The ongoing thaw in relations with Beijing is a diplomatic success for the Albanese government which, while defending Australian interests, has adopted a much more measured tone in the way it speaks to and about China.
Mr Albanese, Senator Wong and Richard Marles have managed to do this while, at the same time, making significant progress on AUKUS and the submarines.
Although national security failures have been making headlines in recent times, a situation not helped by the arrival in the Northern Territory of what are believed to be a boatload of asylum seekers this week, the government's biggest vulnerability is on the economic front.
While it has done the responsible thing by banking this year's surplus rather than writing out cheques to support struggling households that has come at a political cost.
Many are asking how it is that banks and supermarkets are making record profits while they must choose between paying the electricity bill and the rent or buying groceries.
Labor is also under threat from the Greens who are actively marketing themselves as "the party of renters" in order to target traditional Labor seats in the major cities.
While the Greens' vote was down by 1 per cent to 13 per cent in the last YouGov poll there are signs this is resonating with many.
Labor's challenge is to avoid distractions and to maintain a sharp focus on the issues that matter to voters. Elections are won and lost on domestic issues.
