A former senior member of the Hawke and Keating governments, Gareth Evans, has accused the Albanese government of political timidity, condemning its instinct to “move into cautious, defensive, wedge-avoiding mode”.
In a speech on Wednesday, Evans said the government had enough first-rate ministerial talent “to be a great reforming government in the Hawke-Keating tradition”, spending political capital rather then hording it indefinitely while its value eroded.
But, he said, the government had gone into a defensive mode on issues such as gambling advertising, electoral funding, census questions, the Makarrata commission and any constitutional reform, including for a republic.
