As the Albanese government approaches the midpoint of its second term and following last week’s gathering of its constituent parts, it’s time to submit it to a health check. While I’m nothing but a humble spin doctor, I’m here to offer my diagnosis.

In a time of global instability and political turbulence, Labor presents with strong vitals – a commanding majority and stable posture. Since its last public examination there have been no catastrophic incidents demanding major surgery.

An external scan shows there are some concerning spots to keep an eye on with the global outbreak of a new strain of divisive populism. While the spread of this contagion appears to be receding, this should continue to be monitored.

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In terms of heartbeat, the government is registering a stronger pulse after embracing a new fiscal regime, rebalancing the tax system to unwind investor privileges, a position that had been discarded in 2019 after some overextension. Further work is recommended.

This brings us to the internal probe conducted in Adelaide last week. Focusing on gas policy would needlessly torture our metaphor, but the agreement to plug this issue cleared the party bowels of any obvious blockage.

Having been to ALP conferences back to the halcyon Hobart casino days of the........

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