Australia is demanding bold changes. If Albanese doesn’t deliver, he will have failed us

February 26, 2026 — 5:00am

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The accusation Prime Minister Anthony Albanese bristles at most is that his government hasn’t done anything significant. Four years into its tenure, the Labor government has every suitable condition to make major changes to address our society’s deepest problems. In this cost-of-living crisis, there’s a need, there’s support from experts, and the government has a record majority and tons of political capital.

If it doesn’t seize this opportunity, take a big risk and invest that capital in fixing the generational inequity that is diminishing our society, its members will have failed us.

From one fundamental issue, so many problems flow. What we call a cost-of-living crisis is not just about the cost of goods and services. It’s got just as much – and possibly even more – to do with the cost of buying or renting a place in which to live.

The next election is two years away. The opposition is adrift, a shambles putting most of its energies into trying not to look like one. An insurgent force, One Nation, is picking up support and momentum by promising to set fire to the established way of doing things – the institutions, the system, even what’s left of polite, respectful public language. Left unchecked, One Nation could well start to eat into Labor’s support in the same way that it has taken supporters from the Coalition parties.

Labor has a political obligation to defend and recharge the orthodox political and economic systems – to........

© The Sydney Morning Herald