Australian voters have sent Peter Dutton a clear message; he would be silly to miss the cue

Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton in 2019, during the energy policy wars which resulted in a ‘national electricity grid … held together with rubber bands and gaffer tape’. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Every time I think my job is too hard and I need to retrain as a florist, I think of the poor officials who have served during the climate and energy policy wars – smart people held hostage by a public policy atrocity.

Back in July 2018 – when Malcolm Turnbull and Josh Frydenberg were attempting to land the national energy guarantee (Neg), wedged uncomfortably between post-truth rightwingers and state governments increasingly annoyed about being conscripted to an omnishambles – the Energy Security Board (ESB) ran out of patience.