It was a morale boost for the coalition in an area where it had traditionally performed strongly.
The direct confrontation between Burke and Dutton will now be crucial for the government, as Dutton is making steady progress against the government with his combative approach.
the The latest solution for political monitoringAn opinion poll released two weeks ago shows voters have lifted the coalition to another high in core support after months of steady gains by Dutton and his team.
The Coalition’s primary vote share increased from 36 to 38 per cent between June and July, while Labor’s core support remained steady at just 28 per cent – its lowest level since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese took power at the last election.
People are worried about the economic downturn and cost of living pressures. Speculation about the possibility of another interest rate hike is not helping the government.
So Burke’s job is not just to neutralize the government’s difficult immigration and home affairs issue — but to turn it into an area where the government can demonstrate its strength.
Albanese’s decision to put Claire O’Neill into housing is an acknowledgement that the government must do better in this critical area – as well as being a second chance for O’Neill.
O’Neill, who took over home affairs and cybersecurity at a time when cybersecurity was a constant headache in the form of Medibank, Optus, CrowdStrike and other outages that affected and angered millions of Australians, now has to prove she can answer voters’ concerns about housing affordability.
This is a very hot issue. Never before in Australian history have people been more concerned about a whole range of housing issues, including rising house prices and mortgage rates, rising rents, a shortage of public housing and a general shortage of housing stock.
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The Greens have exploited this issue with glee. Active Speaker Max Chandler Mather He is working hard to establish himself in the minds of the public — especially younger voters — as the man who can solve this thorny problem.
Now O’Neill must prove that she has the government’s answers to people’s questions. The government does have a plan – the $10 billion Housing Australia Fund, designed to boost investment in social and affordable housing. Does anyone know about it? No. It doesn’t go far enough to address the twin concerns of middle-class Australians – their struggle to pay their mortgages and their worry that their children may never be able to afford to break into the housing market.
Albanese has held two senior positions in government, and whether they can turn those positions into a force for good will go a long way toward determining whether Labor remains in power a year from now.
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