Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is pledging to strengthen Australia with a second-term agenda that eases division, outlining his vision for “progressive patriotism” that can unite the country at a time of global instability. Source: The Age.
In an interview for Nine’s Politics podcast, Mr Albanese introduced the idea of “progressive patriotism” as a new catchcry for his plans to build on Labor reforms in housing, Medicare and childcare to help grow the economy.
Labor sought to project stability by spending heavily on social programs when US President Donald Trump was antagonising allies and roiling global markets with shock tariffs, driving former Liberal leader Peter Dutton to defeat.
With his new message, Mr Albanese embraces the language of patriotism and signals that he aims to snatch the concept from conservatives and claim the political centre.
“We had progressive patriotism,” Mr Albanese said of the Labor campaign message.
“We spoke about doing things the Australian way, not looking towards any other method or ideology from overseas.
“At a time where there’s conflict in the world, where people are often divided on the basis of race or religion, here in Australia, we can be a microcosm for the world.
“That says that we’re enriched by our diversity, that we have respect for people of different faith, that we try to bring people together, that we don’t bring turmoil overseas and play out that conflict here, either, and that’s really important.
“This is a project, if you like, that’s not just about strengthening Australia, but also being a symbol for the globe in how humanity can move forward.”
Labor begins its second term with a record mandate, having won 93 seats to the Coalition’s 42 at the latest count, and it expects to govern at a time of falling interest rates and lower inflation than during its first term.
Mr Albanese denied the scale of the Labor victory would make ministers lazy, saying: “We’re focused. People are hungry to make a difference.” He named the national broadband network, Medicare, housing, employment services and childcare as priority areas to build on the foundations of the last term.
“We are a centre-left government, but we very much are concerned about social justice,” he said.
FULL STORY
After three years, Albanese has a new slogan. Here’s what ‘progressive patriotism’ means (By David Crowe and Paul Sakkal, The Age)
