Anthony Albanese had a chance on Tuesday to expand the scope of his second-term agenda, following his thumping election win on May 3, and lay out a more ambitious reform plan.

It was a chance he very deliberately chose not to take.

Mindful of the uncertain international environment; a looming meeting with US President Donald Trump (the source of much of this uncertainty); the risks of exceeding his mandate so soon after the election; and conscious of the need to begin to rebuild faith in government, institutions and even the media, Albanese stuck to his narrowly defined path.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addresses the National Press Club on Tuesday.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

In his first major speech to the National Press Club since the election, Albanese hewed closely to the policy script he took to the election campaign – cheaper childcare, making Australia a renewable energy superpower, developing advanced manufacturing, and expanding Medicare bulk-billing.

There was a concession of a sort, in the form of a roundtable meeting in August that will bring together........

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