Promise and Performance

This is the first comprehensive review of the Albanese Labor Government. It seeks to provide a critical but balanced assessment of the Albanese Government's first term. The academic and expert contributors to this edited volume have been asked not just to review what happened but to assess whether the Albanese Government has made its mark on Australian government and if so in what ways. Was it 'reformist' in the Hawke-Keating style, or was it 'reformist' in the more traditional Labor mode like some regard the Whitlam Government? Is there a leading reform that has made life better for Australians in a measurable way? Was its successes or failures of its own making or the result of trends outside its immediate control? Contents Promise and Performance: An Introduction - Scott Prasser 1 The Albanese Government's Election Performances - Malcolm Mackerras 2 How Albanese and Chalmers have Created a New Narrative of Australian Politics - Greg Melleuish 3 Labor's Federal Election Performance in Queensland - John Mickel 4 The Dutton-led Opposition in Labor's First Term - Peter van Onselen 5 The Public Service under Albanese - Paddy Gourley 6 Creating a New Standards Regime and a Safer Workplace for Parliament - Maria Maley 7 The Albanese Government's Public Inquiries: Targeting Political Opponents? - Scott Prasser 8 The Australian Economy over the Albanese Government's First Term - Gene Tunny 9 Fiscal Policy under the Albanese Government, 2022-2025 - Saul Eslake 10 Perverse Productivity Policies: Rhetoric vs Reality - Gary Banks 11 The Albanese Government's Industrial Relations Program - Richard Calver 12 Energy and Environment Policy - Aynsley Kellow 13 Aviation Policy: A Reluctance to Reform? - Peter Forsyth 14 Labor's Higher Education Agenda: A La-La-Land Wish List- Salvatore Babones 15 The Voice Debacle - Gary Johns 16 The Drift of Australian Foreign Policy - Michael Easson 17 Defence Policy - David Lee 18 The Albanese Government Record on Government Services and Digital Transformation - Mike Kelly 19 Religious Freedom: Always the Bridesmaid, Never the Bride - Mark Spencer 20 Anyone for Footy? A Policy in Search of a Goal: The Albanese Government's PNG NRL Initiative - Andrea Wallace 21 Lessons for the Future - Scott Prasser