Happily unburdened, Albanese and Chalmers have now tied themselves to a heroic task

May 18, 2026 — 5:00am

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When looking at how a budget is going in its immediate aftermath, don’t look at the answers given by the politicians trying to sell it – look at the questions they are asked.

On the morning after last week’s budget, broken promises was the common theme. Which sounds like a negative, but in fact it was the closest thing to an endorsement Labor was likely to receive from interviewers, in the enormous, glaring absence it pointed to: criticism of the actual policies.

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On the occasions the policies themselves were questioned, it was often to ask why Labor had not gone further. By late Wednesday morning, the government would have felt safe declaring victory, at least in this first crucial phase.

If the general acceptance of the need for change was part of this, there was another element, too – more important still. Both Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese looked suddenly larger. There was a calm assuredness to Chalmers, who had seemed to change overnight: there are moments in political life that can do that.

Both seemed sufficiently comfortable in what they had done to move easily through different registers: humour when useful, ferocity when necessary. Albanese, challenged on having used such tax advantages himself, declared that when young he had drilled into him the importance of owning a home – like all “working-class........

© The Sydney Morning Herald