A year since the federal election...

What is the legacy of Anthony Albanese?

I live in Anthony Albanese’s electorate, in Sydney’s Inner West. When I was born in Marrickville in 1998, Albo had been the local member for just over two years. That young man probably held views relatively close to my current beliefs. I’m not sure what happens to people who spend decades inside the political party machine, and I hope to never find out. What I do know is this: the Albanese who stands in front of us today is a stranger.

I enter this conversation with a clear bias. I’ve been a member and volunteered on campaigns for both Labor and the Greens. I’ve worked with community independents. The best job I’ve ever had (besides running my business) was working for the Electrical Trades Union in Queensland. I love getting involved in different movements and making change. Each experience has shaped me, helped me to understand what does and doesn’t work about our existing models, and has allowed me to form my own robust views about where I sit politically.

At the last federal election, I advocated for a Labor minority government. Keeping Dutton out was a priority; pushing Albanese to do more for Australians was my goal. The 2025 campaign period was relatively uncompetitive, with mediocre offerings from both sides. After a disappointing first term, Labor announced a more significant policy platform than the Coalition. The election was a landslide victory for the ALP, achieving the most seats in the House of Representatives since WWII. However, Labor’s primary vote share was only 35%, and it was the first election where a major party received fewer votes than minor parties and independents - which took a combined share of 34% of primary votes nationally.

Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg

This told us that something significant had shifted. The 2022 Federal Election socialised the idea of an independent wave, and by 2025, the challenge to the two-party system was seen as far more than a protest vote - but a call for something different in Australia. The Coalition aren’t sure where the phone is, Labor is screening the call, and One Nation is answering - but putting everyone on hold to check with Gina first.

We’re at a crossroads. The Greens are stuck, with polling showing they are not picking up the frustrated voters fleeing Labor. The Coalition is uncompetitive, with talks of new movements emerging to replace them. The community independents remain incredibly popular, and need to overcome the ‘teal’ branding projected onto them by both the media and major parties. This movement must expand and diversify.

Still, we know the winning lottery ticket is authenticity. It is undeniable that the most trusted politician in the country is Senator David Pocock - who cuts through without relying on politicking, grievance or performance. The same is probably true of Jacqui Lambie. Australians are drawn to people who can’t help but be themselves, and who fight relentlessly for their communities - even when we may not see eye to eye with them on every issue. Candor is kryptonite to party politicians who have been trained to defend their position and public perception, not the interests of the people they represent.

The defining word of Anthony Albanese’s leadership has been disappointment. Australians feel betrayed by a party who claim to fight for the working class, and a leader who refuses to do more than the bare minimum to improve our standing. But honestly, disappointment no longer feels like an appropriate descriptor.

I feel betrayed by a leader who cuddles up to multinational corporations instead of raising $17 billion for Australians every year by effectively taxing gas exports.

I feel angry that after three years of sustained pressure, the Albanese Government announced watered down gambling reforms that appease the betting industry with minimal impact on spending.

I feel disgusted that our Prime Minister invited Israeli President Isaac Herzog to our country while claiming it was an act to unify the nation.

I feel nauseated that Albanese was the first world leader to support the US-Israeli war on Iran.

I feel that we are being gaslit by a man who claims this government’s core principle is ‘no one held back, no one left behind’, while cutting 160,000 people from the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

I am not overcome with gratitude at the hint of tax reform in next week’s budget. I am sick of the breadcrumbing from an ALP supermajority who also have a crossbench willing to work with them on a range of reforms to help Australians. I am fed up with seeing social media posts gloating about pre-election promises. We cannot even locate the bare minimum.

I understand political pragmatism and incremental change, but this is not what we are witnessing. This is a political leader fighting solely to secure a third term, responding only to One Nation, who refuses to consider anything that disrupts his cosy relationship with donors and lobbyists.

No one said it better than Lucy Hamilton last week in The Shot:

Our politicians and dominant media class need to decide if they are with us or content to function as puppets cooperating with our extinction.

Albanese appears to have made his choice.

It is hard not to feel like a broken record. The political legacy of Anthony Albanese is not a man from social housing championing equality, but a leader proudly smiling for a photo as he puts a band-aid on a haemorrhage.

The Prime Minister has the tools, the ability and the power - and no urge to fucking do something unless forced. After four years, we all know this. Where people are turning for solutions varies, but we must remember that our frustrations are shared.

It is not radical to say we are entitled to better than this.