‘Albo’ in box seat to lead rebuild

ANTHONY Albanese has refused to declare a position on the Adani mine as he firmed his position as the likely next Labor leader.

The left-wing MP from inner Sydney yesterday improved his chance of taking over the shattered party after his only declared contender Chris Bowen pulled out of the race.

Queensland MP Jim Chalmers was considering a run and is likely to announce his plans today, saying the party needed to “rebuild, refresh and renew”.

Declaring he was “confident but not complacent” of winning a leadership ballot if there was another contender, Mr Albanese said other Labor MPs were entitled to test their levels of support.

In an apparent swipe at Mr Chalmers, Mr Albanese said he had the advantage that voters “know who I am”.

But he shied away from declaring a position on the Adani mine, despite Labor’s equivocation fuelling a voter backlash in regional Queensland.

“I’m not about to announce policy on the run,” he said when asked about the mine.

His comments came after Annastasia Palaszczuk performed an about-face on delayed approvals for the mine.

NSW Hunter MP Joel Fitzgibbon, who backed Mr Albanese, has also said he wanted Labor to support coal mining more emphatically. “I’ve had a long discussion with Albo about my demands that the Party strengthens its focus on regional Australia,” Mr Fitzgibbon said in a statement.

Dr Chalmers has gathered support among his right faction allies, with Queensland Senator Anthony Chisholm and MPs Milton Dick and Shayne Neumann all urging him to run.

Mr Neumann, who came close to losing his seat of Blair at the election, said “we need a Queenslander in leadership positions”.

I’M NOT ABOUT TO ANNOUNCE POLICY ON THE RUN ANTHONY ALBANESE

But Mr Albanese appears to have the broadest support, with backing from key members of the NSW Right Kristina Keneally, Tony Burke and Mr Fitzgibbon as well as several members of the Left.

One possible outcome is Mr Chalmers could become shadow treasurer or Mr Albanese’s deputy but Mr Albanese also said he wanted Mr Bowen to play a senior role.

Bowing out of the race, Mr Bowen said Mr Albanese had majority support across the ALP. He warned Labor needed to appeal to people of faith who felt the party had excluded them.