CAMERON MILNER: As Albanese distracts himself with side issues, Chalmers is giving a masterclass in leadership

It’s time Labor uses its numbers to actually be a Labor government.

While Anthony Albanese grins for the cameras, his very talented Treasurer is working hard and relentlessly on a true Labor policy agenda.

They say with great power comes great responsibility, and fortunately for Labor, Jim Chalmers is there.

Parliament on Tuesday sits for the first time since Labor’s decisive win election win.

There’s nothing like the visual of seeing a Parliament where the Government’s numbers stretch around and down the Opposition’s side.

Expect this week’s sittings to be full of theatrics, with the Prime Minister waving to Labor MPs across the other side of the chamber, accompanied with plenty of forced laughter.

But we’re yet to see a big parliamentary agenda to match those big numbers in the chamber.

Labor won big because the Liberals lost big and polling out on Monday which shows the Liberals’ primary vote support has fallen to just 29 per cent shows an electoral mood largely unchanged since May. The Liberals are still in electoral purgatory but voters aren’t impressed with Albanese either, who has a personal approval rating in negative territory.

The Liberals’ strong result in Tasmania has shown their brand isn’t actually the problem. Sussan Ley’s challenge is solve the policy divides at the Federal level early on to be able to put any pressure on Labor.

Frankly, the Liberals need to embrace climate change backlash and argue over the rate of transition.

They need to add free dental to Medicare and dare Labor to agree.

They need to return to being the party of personal responsibility and move legislation to give parents childcare payments directly, rather than the government funding flowing directly to corporate giants with scant regard for the children in their care or the backgrounds of the carers.

And finally, the Liberals need to return to being the party of lower taxes and smaller government expenditure.

Under Albanese, Labor has become the highest spending and highest taxing Government in our history, as well as being the most indebted.

Albanese might have the numbers, but he doesn’t have a mandate. In both 2022 and 2025 he didn’t ask voters for one. Instead, he ran on an “I’m not the other guy” campaign.

It worked to win elections, but not to provide effective government.

Albanese will continue to think governing is about walking along walls, admiring pandas and preparing for his nuptials with Jodie.

Fortunately for Labor, Chalmers is doing the thinking for Labor and will provide a striking contrast to the PM in delivering a Labor economic agenda.

Chalmers has deftly changed up the PM’s announced productivity talk fest to a much more expansive roundtable involving the country’s best and brightest.

The PM tried to use his victory lap at the National Press Club to contain the talented Chalmers, but Jim is much smarter and has worked to deliver a much bigger agenda-setting event that he will control.

Chalmers pushed for more of a Labor agenda in the first term. He risked the PM’s ire by pushing for stage three tax cuts to be given to all, not just the few. Chalmers pushed until Albanese had to make it somehow his own idea.

The two aren’t close. While Albo has regular Sunday dinners with his ego pumpers Katy Gallagher and Penny Wong, he and Chalmers only have the occasional date night at the Lodge before sitting weeks.

Chalmers has pushed for a Labor political agenda, not just the easy life the PM prefers.

Chalmers has taken calculated risks while Albo has always taken the soft option.

Labor is very fortunate to have Chalmers’ intellect, political judgment, desire to deliver and selfless work ethic. As one Labor MP quipped recently: “Chalmers is about being selfless, Albo is just about selfies”.

Albo might be PM in name, but Chalmers is determined to be the Labor leader his party needs — even if for now the top job evades him.

It takes a lot of courage and character, but by leading the ideas debate within Labor, Chalmers is showing the Labor caucus his leadership credentials.

By contrast, Albanese is just dishing up to voters more of the same. Fifty shades of beige with a side serving of silly smiles with celebrities isn’t governing. Albo might be satisfied with mediocre, but Labor should be so much better than that.

He still hasn’t had the stones to pick up the phone to Donald Trump and go and see Australia’s most important ally.

Labor has never been content to be time-servers. Until Albo arrived.

Labor’s famous It’s Time campaign was all about change for the better, not time in office.

Labor always used its time in Parliament to drive reform. Whitlam: Medicare. Hawke and Keating: the Accord. Rudd: The apology to the Stolen Generations. It’s not just having the numbers, it’s about what you do with them once you are there.

Chalmers stands as the one true Labor thinker. He’s risking a breakdown in the relationship with Albanese for the sake of pushing Labor to finally be a Labor Government.