As they bask in the afterglow of their narrow 2022 election victory, and begin to implement a significant change of direction and pace in several critical policy areas, the new Australian government should pause and reflect on what sort of opposition they will face in the Parliament.
It will not be smooth sailing. Australia post-COVID will enter a volatile era, domestically and internationally. Sudden storms from multiple directions are likely to crash frequently upon the Australian ship of state. Waiting in the fog of politics nearby will be a new disciplined opposition, ready to add to the chaos by taking advantage of every policy slip-up. That is the role of the opposition - to hold the government to account.
