While Anthony Albanese and Penny Wong have hit the ground running, with Albanese looking increasingly comfortable on the international stage, domestically it’s a different story. They’re still moving the furniture around in Canberra, with new ministers getting their feet under the desk and welcoming new secretaries who were appointed or shifted only last week.
Meanwhile, the clock ticks on some urgent problems. The aged care crisis continues in nursing homes across the country, with a workforce crisis that worsens by the week and is set to worsen still in a high-inflation environment. The energy crisis of recent weeks has shone a light on just how urgent it is that we ramp up investment in renewable generation capacity and transmission infrastructure. Poor access to healthcare — both primary and acute — is costing lives and affecting the well-being of many. The submarine debacle won’t start being resolved until next year at the earliest.
So we sit and wait for a new government to start making actual decisions.
To be fair, there are a number of good reasons why patience will be required. Our energy network is a mess because of nine years of Commonwealth neglect and climate denialism. It will take years to repair. The aged care crisis has an even longer-term origin — and there is a pile of reports and inquiries to show it. The AUKUS debacle comes with a $100 billion price tag. If the economy is not quite the “shit sandwich” Jim Chalmers says he’s been bequeathed, there are plenty of policy droppings waiting for ministers in the executive wing.
Worse, the capacity of the public service to hit the ground running with a new government is lacking. The Australian Public Service (APS) has been materially degraded and politicised over the past nine years, with the exception of Malcolm Turnbull’s period as leader. Scott Morrison presided over a historic period of disempowerment of the APS, shifting policy advice to external consultants, installing partisan hacks to senior APS positions and blocking bureaucrats from contributing to policy development. It will take some time for the APS to be match-fit for an active government.
But the time is rapidly approaching when it will no longer be tolerable for ministers to say they’re obtaining briefings from their departments. Australia voted for change, Anthony Albanese said repeatedly after the election. There has been substantial change on issues like climate policy and our relations with key allies, but there’s been little so far on the home front. Time to get cracking.
