Albo’s big new gig
ANTHONY Albanese faces an action-packed start to life as Australia’s new Prime Minister, with the Labor leader jetting straight to Japan as unions push him to lobby for a wage rise for Australia’s lowest paid workers.
The new Labor government also faces immediate pressure from the Victorian government to unlock $4bn that was tied to the East West Link and boost funding for Victorian hospitals.
Labor’s submission to the Fair Work Commission to lift the minimum wage – a key campaign commitment – will be one of Mr Albanese’s first acts after he is sworn in as the nation’s 31st prime minister on Monday.
He will fly to Tokyo for Tuesday’s Quad summit with US President Joe Biden, Japan’s Fumio Kishida and India’s Narendra Modi, leaving deputy Richard Marles temporarily in charge.
Penny Wong, Jim Chalmers and Katy Gallagher will also be sworn in as ministers on Monday, as Mr Albanese mulls a cabinet reshuffle after frontbenchers Kristina Keneally and Terri Butler were turfed out.
Senior Labor figures remained confident on Sunday night the party could secure the 76 seats required to form a majority government, with hopes rising they could prevail in close races in Bennelong, Deakin, Lyons and Macnamara.
Peter Dutton is in the box seat to become the next Liberal leader after Josh Frydenberg acknowledged he was unlikely to survive the teal wave that swept Melbourne and Sydney.
Mr Albanese’s agenda for his first 100 days in power also includes:
HOLDING an employment summit with unions and business chiefs to plot reforms to the enterprise bargaining system, lift productivity and ensure pay rises for workers; BRINGING together state and territory leaders for a national cabinet meeting in Canberra; and,
PREPARING an economic update to be delivered next month ahead of a full budget in October that will start paying for Labor’s promises on childcare, climate change and skills.
Mr Albanese argued during the campaign Australians on the minimum wage “absolutely” deserved a 5.1 per cent pay rise to keep pace with inflation, the equivalent of an extra $1 an hour.
“The people who are the lowest wage workers in this economy cannot afford to go backwards,” he said.
Australian Council of Trade Unions boss Sally McManus said on Sunday: “You can’t pay your bills unless you have pay rises that mean real wage growth.”
Mr Albanese will have to replace Ms Keneally in home affairs and Ms Butler in environment, while his predecessor, Bill Shorten, is understood to be hopeful of remaining in charge of government services and the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Speaking on the ABC, Mr Marles said Labor was “hopeful that we can achieve a majority in our own right”.
The vanquished Scott Morrison choked back tears while addressing his church on Sunday, with the outgoing prime minister thanking his “church family” for their support on what was “a very difficult walk ... over the last four years”.
He later wished Mr Albanese and his government “all the best for what will be further challenging times ahead”.
“It has been an immense privilege to serve as prime minister, especially during a time of great trial for our nation. We are blessed to live in such a great country. The resilience and strength of Australians supported by our policies has ensured that we have been able to prevail as a nation in difficult times,” Mr Morrison said on social media.
Labor national president Wayne Swan said the party’s win was “a victory for decency and Labor values, which we proved are still Australia’s values”.