It’s been a high-octane few weeks for the Albanese government when it comes to managing complexity on the global stage. We’ll get to keeping the US engaged in the region, rapprochement in China, and managing climate change and security in the Pacific, shortly. But we need to start our story in Sydney, just over a month ago, at an event that felt like a high-water mark in the relationship between Australia’s federal government and the Islamic community.
On 6 October, Anthony Albanese visited the Lakemba mosque. The prime minister, then in the closing stages of a losing referendum campaign, was rallying support from churches for the voice to parliament. Albanese told the local community he had been “deeply moved” by how strongly Australians of Muslim faith had rallied in support of the constitutionally enshrined advisory committee for Indigenous people. It was a significant bit of outreach, and signalling.
