Is patience in the face of the climate crisis a virtue? Albanese will find out

The prime minister is well versed in counselling patience. Throughout his time as opposition leader after Labor’s 2019 disaster, Anthony Albanese was constantly told by exasperated Labor supporters to get angrier, to attack the Morrison government more, to be bolder on a host of issues, to “throw the toys out of the cot”, as he described it to Crikey.

Instead his strategy was to play the responsible opposition during the pandemic, confining his attacks on the then-government to a few well-defined areas that would serve Labor well, and keeping the spotlight on Scott Morrison. Morrison, a master of the C|T/News Corp scare campaign, was left without material to frighten voters with about Labor, and instead had to govern and manage his own party competently — things he proved incapable of. It was enough to deliver Labor victory, albeit narrowly.

When Labor supporters and progressives who vote for the Greens lament the lack of ambition of the Albanese government, and its refusal to countenance breaking election commitments such as backing the stage three tax cuts, Albanese has been there, done that, and got the election win. Labor needed to “bring people with us”, he told Labor’s national conference yesterday, “earn and repay people’s trust”, “demonstrate our responsible approach”, in contrast to those who think “grand gestures and bold declarations are better than the patient work of ensuring lasting change”.

“Go the distance, to get to the destination,” he said, contrasting that to “a moment of progress — or a lifetime of opportunity”.

Crash or crash-through it ain’t. There’ll be no “throwing the toys out of the cot”. Not even Paul Keating’s approach of figuring out how much reform you can possibly cram into a three-year parliamentary term and then worrying about reelection later.

Albanese is right to talk about trust. Australians, especially after the disaster of the Morrison years, trust their governments less. Restoring some trust and sense of ownership in the political system isn’t a job that should be left to the teals, but should be part of the agenda of the major parties. So far, only Labor appears to have embraced that. And critical to the task of earning trust is sticking to election promises, regardless of how ill-advised they may now look.

The Albanese approach of going the distance, however, is ill-suited to a crisis requiring urgent and bold action by the federal government. The climate emergency gathering strength around the world is just such a crisis. It’s not Labor’s fault — when last in power, Labor introduced a successful and efficient carbon pricing scheme, only for it to be abolished by Tony Abbott.

Albanese would point to that as an example of why being cautious and staying in power is crucial to delivering real change. The problem is, the ensuing wasted decade has turned global heating into an immediate threat that requires hard decisions by Labor now.

The emissions abatement targets it took to the last election are far too low; its safeguard mechanism, and its reliance on fraudulent carbon credits, is insufficient to deliver them. Its refusal to countenance curbing Australia’s massive fossil-fuel exports is exacerbating global heating, and undermines the capacity of Australia to play a good faith global leadership role. Still, implementing election promises and not going beyond them remains the Labor mantra.

It may take another Black Summer — lives lost, vast tracts of the continent blackened, wildlife destroyed by the billions — to provide the government with the political cover it feels it needs to strengthen its emissions reduction efforts, to enable it to say to voters that it needs to move beyond the targets and mechanisms it took the 2022 election.

That’s assuming, however, that Labor’s close links to fossil-fuel giants such as Woodside, and the influence of climate-denialist unions such as the AWU and the mining division of the CFMEU, don’t continue to prevent meaningful climate action.

In any event, it must explain to voters in the lead-up to the next election whether it will retain the same unambitious abatement targets, or recognise the unfolding horror around the world and significantly strengthen them. The challenge of more urgent action has to be faced in the next 18 months no matter what the weather.

Governing can never be the mere methodical implementation of a pre-agreed agenda. Governments have to respond to unforeseen events and sudden crises, and perhaps even see them as opportunities. Global heating is neither sudden nor unforeseen, but Albanese’s counsel of patience looks dramatically at odds with the emergency we’ve created.

Should Albanese start “throwing the toys out of the cot”? Let us know by writing to letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.