Editorial: Budget, rates, sex talk. Albo should be toast. But. . .

It is enough to make you scratch your head in wonder at how they do it.

Quite simply, Labor has nailed the art of survival. They play politics harder and better than the rest.

Consider for a moment what Federal Parliament’s Budget season dished up.

The headline act was the broken promises Budget of capital gains tax and negative gearing changes.

It was a document so flawed and delivered with such a lack of forethought and consultation with those likely to be hit by changes that it was accompanied by a series of backflips and more related legislative changes to come.

Nevertheless Prime Minister Anthony Albanese headed for the winter parliamentary recess seemingly jubilant about Labor having stuck together in the face of the backlash and having “won” the Budget debates.

This is even though the longer term ramifications of the tax changes remain to be seen amid early indications the housing market was stalling and prices were on the way down — which means roughly six million households face seeing their biggest asset losing value.

Then last week Deloitte Access Economics warned Australia was expected to suffer from the weakest economic growth since the 1991 recession as unemployment soared to COVID-era levels.

And Mr Albanese scored a major own goal by taking part in a super cringeworthy podcast in which, among other moments of pub talk, he took part in a quiz about which celebrity he would have sex with and talking about his sex life with his wife.

In response Mr Albanese issued a bland statement that “I apologise unequivocally for the comments.” No mention of which comments he was sorry for and who he was apologising to.

And that was it. Nothing more.

All the while lingering in the background are fears that the Reserve Bank of Australia is still ready to pull the trigger on another cash rate increase — which would mean another interest rate rise for home loan borrowers.

Last week RBA chief economist Sarah Hunter all but confirmed another rate rise was on the cards, and ominously flagged that taming inflation would mean higher unemployment.

And then on Tuesday, just as drivers might have been getting used to paying less than they had been shelling out at the bowser during the height of the oil crisis, they awoke to the news that war in the Middle East had kicked up another gear.

And not only that, but United States President Donald Trump had declared that Washington would reimpose a blockade on Iranian vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, while allowing ships sailing under other national flags to pass — but the US would charge a fee equal to 20 per cent of cargo values in return for providing security through the strategically important waterway.

Oil prices immediately jumped and sparked fears increased prices would add to inflationary pressures driving interest rates.

Inside Mr Albanese’s HQ they must be thinking the game plan has worked. They might soon be able to get back to blaming everything on matters “outside our control”.

Hang tight. Admit nothing. Deny. Deflect. Yep, it feels like they have got away with it. Again.

Responsibility for the editorial comment is taken by Editor-in-Chief Christopher Dore