# As the Coalition veers right, should Albo hold the centre?

An episode of [7am](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1461999702), 9 Oct 2026, 16 min.

Audio: https://p.podderapp.com/2544644999/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/62723a1f-3e96-4fc4-882c-b25e0181da4d/1c1bdef4-4a6d-4993-b51f-b4de004cada2/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=70f29d90-2a63-48aa-bf8f-b25e0181da70

The Coalition is under pressure from One Nation, and its response is becoming increasingly clear. Angus Taylor is pushing a much harder line on immigration, borrowing language that echoes populist movements overseas. At the same time, One Nation is escalating its own rhetoric as it tries to capitalise on the anger and discontent spreading across the electorate. It’s part of a broader fracturing in Australian politics, as the major parties try to confront a more volatile electorate – and as the government faces renewed pressure over interest rates, inflation and the cost of living. Today, press gallery journalist Karen Middleton, on a political system being pulled towards its edges, and whether Anthony Albanese can still make the centre hold. If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Press gallery journalist Karen Middleton Photo: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:01] Speaker 1: I'm Daniel James, and you're listening to 7am. The Coalition
[0:09] Speaker 1: is under pressure from One Nation, and its response is
[0:12] Speaker 1: becoming increasingly clear. Angus Taylor is pushing a much harder
[0:16] Speaker 1: line in immigration, borrowing language that has echoes of populist
[0:19] Speaker 1: movements overseas.
[0:21] Speaker 2: That their policy, that their government is built on massive
[0:25] Speaker 2: population growth, mass migration, tells us everything we need to
[0:29] Speaker 2: know about this Labor government.
[0:31] Speaker 1: At the same time, One Nation is escalating its own
[0:33] Speaker 1: rhetoric as it tries to capitalise on the anger and
[0:36] Speaker 1: discontent spreading across the electorate. It's part of a broader
[0:40] Speaker 1: fracture in Australian politics as the major parties try to
[0:43] Speaker 1: confront a more volatile electorate and as the government faces
[0:46] Speaker 1: renewed pressure over interest rates, inflation and cost of living. Today,
[0:52] Speaker 1: Press Gallery journalist Karen Middleton on a political system being
[0:56] Speaker 1: pulled towards its edges and whether Anthony Albanese can still
[0:59] Speaker 1: make the centre hold. It's Saturday, October 10. Karen, I
[1:14] Speaker 1: think we all expected the Coalition to come out pretty
[1:17] Speaker 1: hard on migration given the existential threat they're facing from
[1:21] Speaker 1: One Nation. But as has been pointed out by a
[1:24] Speaker 1: friend of the show, Raph Epstein, the language from Angus
[1:27] Speaker 1: Taylor was almost far right.
[1:30] Speaker 2: We've also seen under Labor a shift away from skilled
[1:33] Speaker 2: migration to mass migration. We will reverse that.
[1:37] Speaker 1: Mass migration is a term used by the AFD in Germany.
[1:41] Speaker 2: We all want to see. People want their country back.
[1:43] Speaker 2: I want my country back.
[1:44] Speaker 3: We all want our country back.
[1:46] Speaker 1: I want our country back is a phrase used by
[1:48] Speaker 1: Nigel Farage. We expected a pretty extreme policy. Did we
[1:52] Speaker 1: expect the extreme rhetoric to go with it?
[1:55] Speaker 3: Look, I'm not surprised, Daniel, because they are pitching at
[1:59] Speaker 3: a part of their former constituency that has left Germany
[2:03] Speaker 3: the Liberals and Nationals and gone to One Nation or
[2:06] Speaker 3: is saying that they're going to. So they need to
[2:08] Speaker 3: catch their attention. I'm not excusing the language. I'm trying
[2:11] Speaker 3: to explain it. But that is why they are using
[2:13] Speaker 3: these kinds of phrases, because those kinds of phrases will
[2:16] Speaker 3: catch people's social media feeds. The algorithms will pick them
[2:19] Speaker 3: up and connect to some of those, you know, parties
[2:24] Speaker 3: and figures overseas and what they've been saying. So they're
[2:26] Speaker 3: trying to get in front of people's eyeballs with that
[2:30] Speaker 3: kind of language. And they're making this... values argument. So
[2:35] Speaker 3: their argument about migration is about numbers. And now we've
[2:38] Speaker 3: got all the major parties out with their policies. We've
[2:41] Speaker 3: got the Labor government, we've got the coalition, and we've
[2:44] Speaker 3: got the one nation policies. And it's variations on a
[2:47] Speaker 3: theme of trying to get the number, the net overseas
[2:50] Speaker 3: migration number, which is people into the country minus people
[2:53] Speaker 3: leaving the country down. So it's about the numbers, but
[2:57] Speaker 3: with the coalition, it's also about values, patriotism and the
[3:01] Speaker 3: kinds of migrants we want. And so they are quite
[3:04] Speaker 3: deliberately sort of using that, well, you might call dog
[3:07] Speaker 3: whistle language to attract those people.
[3:10] Speaker 1: Yeah, it was pretty clear that they feel like they
[3:12] Speaker 1: need to at least one up or at least match
[3:14] Speaker 1: One Nation when it comes to this issue. Is that
[3:17] Speaker 1: a smart strategy though, especially as the policy that they've
[3:20] Speaker 1: announced is so far uncosted? Are they ever going to
[3:23] Speaker 1: beat Pauline Hanson when it comes to being tough on immigration?
[3:26] Speaker 3: Well, I think the problem the coalition has got is
[3:29] Speaker 3: that its support and, you know, that this is the
[3:32] Speaker 3: Liberal and National parties, their support has fallen so far,
[3:35] Speaker 3: and particularly the Liberal parties, that they're resorting to kind
[3:38] Speaker 3: of narrowly focused, desperate pitches, really, to get people back. Now, normally,
[3:43] Speaker 3: if you're a party of government, you're being, you're conscious
[3:45] Speaker 3: that you've got to speak to the whole country. And
[3:47] Speaker 3: that's a huge challenge always for major political parties, because
[3:51] Speaker 3: they have broad constituencies. So they tend to focus on
[3:55] Speaker 3: issues that can cross those constituencies. And for the coalition
[3:58] Speaker 3: and the Liberals in particular, economic management has been their
[4:01] Speaker 3: big thing. It's been the thing that has always served
[4:04] Speaker 3: them well. But it hasn't served them as well in
[4:07] Speaker 3: recent years. So now they're having to try and kind
[4:10] Speaker 3: of pull sections of their old constituency back. And that
[4:14] Speaker 3: is what's driving this kind of messaging. And because the
[4:18] Speaker 3: messaging that One Nation is using that seems to be
[4:21] Speaker 3: so resonant with sections of the community is about this
[4:25] Speaker 3: this stuff, take the country back, the Liberals are going
[4:28] Speaker 3: for that.
[4:29] Speaker 1: If we turn to the LNP's existential threat in the
[4:32] Speaker 1: form of One Nation, which had its Victorian launch over
[4:35] Speaker 1: the weekend. I shouldn't be on bail.
[4:38] Speaker 2: No more mass migration.
[4:41] Speaker 1: Again, it featured pretty racist AI-generated video, which included an
[4:45] Speaker 1: Arabic-looking man with a bomb strapped to him.
[4:50] Speaker 4: I shouldn't have been allowed into the country.
[4:52] Speaker 1: The video and its contents has gone largely unreported. Is
[4:56] Speaker 1: that a sign, Karen, that we as an electorate, we
[4:59] Speaker 1: as a media class are becoming desensitised to One Nation's
[5:02] Speaker 1: overt racism? There seems to have been little or no
[5:05] Speaker 1: response from the other parties as well when it comes
[5:07] Speaker 1: to that video.
[5:08] Speaker 3: They are getting... more, and I use this word advisedly,
[5:12] Speaker 3: sophisticated political advice than they used to, and they are
[5:18] Speaker 3: playing in the big sandpit now, and they are deliberately
[5:23] Speaker 3: sending out messages that are provocative that will, again, push
[5:26] Speaker 3: buttons on social media. The thing about that video, aside
[5:29] Speaker 3: from what you've pointed out about the stereotypes, was it
[5:32] Speaker 3: was having these AI-generated characters who represented a particular stereotype
[5:37] Speaker 3: and pushing a message saying the stereotype should change. Now,
[5:40] Speaker 3: that is some sophisticated kind of political psychology in there.
[5:44] Speaker 3: You see a picture of an Indigenous man in remote Australia,
[5:46] Speaker 3: and he's saying, we shouldn't get handouts. We, you know,
[5:50] Speaker 3: people shouldn't be getting handouts. So it's reinforcing this stereotypical
[5:54] Speaker 3: prejudice that some people have. And I think that is
[5:57] Speaker 3: a worry, and it hasn't had a lot of attention,
[6:00] Speaker 3: you're right.
[6:01] Speaker 2: We are.
[6:03] Speaker 3: going to see a lot more AI-generated material in our
[6:06] Speaker 3: political discourse unless something is done to stop it. And
[6:10] Speaker 3: it won't just be One Nation. We're already aware of
[6:14] Speaker 3: misinformation and disinformation campaigns. There's been concerns in other countries
[6:18] Speaker 3: and here about the role of foreign actors pushing information
[6:22] Speaker 3: into our democracy. So I think this is something that
[6:25] Speaker 3: governments around the world and ours included have to be
[6:28] Speaker 3: alert to, to try and work out a way to
[6:31] Speaker 3: prevent that kind of material catching hold. And it's very difficult.
[6:36] Speaker 3: All the debate we've had about social media and trying
[6:39] Speaker 3: to put that genie back in the bottle for young
[6:41] Speaker 3: people in particular. is all relevant in this case. It's
[6:45] Speaker 3: really going to hit us when we've got AI-generated campaign material,
[6:50] Speaker 3: some of which might be true or half true or
[6:53] Speaker 3: completely made up, false, based on false ideas. So that
[6:58] Speaker 3: is what is, I think, really alarming about this example.
[7:01] Speaker 3: And you're right, it is pushing all kinds of very
[7:04] Speaker 3: base stereotypes about particular people in the community. And I'm
[7:08] Speaker 3: not sure how unifying that is.
[7:12] Speaker 1: Coming up, is Anthony Albanese the only leader left standing
[7:16] Speaker 1: in the centre? Karen, Anthony Albanese has been away at
[7:28] Speaker 1: this pre-cop climate gathering after a pretty bruising week for
[7:32] Speaker 1: the government last week. How much do you think Labor
[7:35] Speaker 1: will take in terms of political costs with the interest
[7:38] Speaker 1: rate rise and inflation continuing to rise?
[7:41] Speaker 3: Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has dashed hopes of any new
[7:44] Speaker 3: cost of living relief, warning his government is about to
[7:47] Speaker 3: be hit with.
[7:48] Speaker 4: The job I take responsibility for is to continue to
[7:50] Speaker 4: manage the budget in a very responsible way, only provide
[7:54] Speaker 4: that cost of living relief in a responsible... an affordable way.
[7:58] Speaker 1: They're four years in now. Are people beginning to look
[8:01] Speaker 1: at the government and start to ask some very serious
[8:03] Speaker 1: questions now that there are some serious alternatives?
[8:06] Speaker 3: I think they're in a difficult... place now in the
[8:10] Speaker 3: political timeline, as you say, four years in. So we've
[8:13] Speaker 3: had one whole term, we're almost halfway through a second term.
[8:16] Speaker 3: That is always a difficult time for a government. We've
[8:20] Speaker 3: had a couple of notable exceptions in Bob Hawke's government
[8:23] Speaker 3: or the Labor government under Hawke and Keating, and then
[8:26] Speaker 3: John Howard's government of being re-elected multiple times. But voters
[8:31] Speaker 3: do start to look through different eyes at a government
[8:34] Speaker 3: when it's been there for a while, especially if things
[8:36] Speaker 3: are not going well economically. So there is pressure on
[8:39] Speaker 3: the government, no question. And the confluence of the rise
[8:42] Speaker 3: in interest rates and the rise in inflation, which to
[8:45] Speaker 3: be fair, was not as big as people were forecasting.
[8:47] Speaker 3: So the inflation rise was better than forecast. But the
[8:52] Speaker 3: overall picture is we're still under pressure.
[8:54] Speaker 4: There is very, very substantial and intensifying pressure, not just
[8:58] Speaker 4: down on our budget, but on budgets right around the world.
[9:01] Speaker 1: Jim Chalmers playing down the possibility of further help to
[9:06] Speaker 1: meet cost of living pressures and talking up a tightening
[9:10] Speaker 1: of the budget.
[9:11] Speaker 3: They are relying, I think, on two things. One, that
[9:14] Speaker 3: the arc of the political term is long and if
[9:18] Speaker 3: they can cause an improvement in the lead up to
[9:22] Speaker 3: the election. So if things feel like they're improving in
[9:25] Speaker 3: terms of interest rates and the economic pressures we're under,
[9:28] Speaker 3: then people might take a different view and not be
[9:31] Speaker 3: as critical of the government. And the second thing they're
[9:34] Speaker 3: relying on is they're pointing to the coalition and One
[9:37] Speaker 3: Nation and saying, are those people really good enough to
[9:41] Speaker 3: run the country? Are they better than us? They're relying
[9:43] Speaker 3: on the, it will be worse under them argument. Now,
[9:47] Speaker 3: they've got to be careful with that because if people
[9:48] Speaker 3: are so frustrated that they reach a decision, particularly in
[9:51] Speaker 3: relation to One Nation, that what the hell, it couldn't
[9:54] Speaker 3: be worse, when it probably could be worse but people
[9:57] Speaker 3: might feel that way, you know, then that argument falls. away.
[10:00] Speaker 3: So I think they're in a dangerous spot. I don't
[10:03] Speaker 3: think you should be relying on how bad the other
[10:05] Speaker 3: guys seem to be to make yourselves look good. I
[10:08] Speaker 3: think they've got to get their act together at this
[10:10] Speaker 3: point because it's not looking tidy or good at the moment.
[10:15] Speaker 1: And a lot of commentary last week suggested that the
[10:17] Speaker 1: economic data, interest rate rises, inflation, was a turning point
[10:22] Speaker 1: for the government in terms of the way the public
[10:24] Speaker 1: sees them. Do you think there's merit in that argument,
[10:27] Speaker 1: or do you think that this is just part of
[10:29] Speaker 1: the woes of a government that's four years into governing?
[10:33] Speaker 3: Maybe a little bit from column A and a little
[10:35] Speaker 3: bit from column B. It's hard to know, of course,
[10:37] Speaker 3: if it's a turning point. We're seeing a sequence of
[10:40] Speaker 3: things happening. that are putting the government under pressure, some
[10:43] Speaker 3: messy politics around a number of decisions, some more economic
[10:47] Speaker 3: news that is difficult. And that is all putting the
[10:50] Speaker 3: government under pressure. And once it starts to create an impression,
[10:53] Speaker 3: if it does, that the government doesn't have a grip
[10:57] Speaker 3: on everything as well as it should, then I think
[11:00] Speaker 3: that does become a problem. Now, it's not clear to
[11:02] Speaker 3: me yet whether that's a conclusion that people are reaching. And,
[11:06] Speaker 3: you know, to the point about what the government is
[11:08] Speaker 3: relying on and whether it's going to get re-elected, the
[11:10] Speaker 3: other aspect of what it's relying on is that it
[11:12] Speaker 3: has 94 seats. It has a big majority in the
[11:15] Speaker 3: House of Representatives. And it is hard to turn a
[11:17] Speaker 3: majority like that over in a single election. Having said that,
[11:20] Speaker 3: we've seen those kinds of things happen at the state
[11:24] Speaker 3: level in particular before, a sudden swing back. So I
[11:27] Speaker 3: think all political parties now have to be alert to
[11:30] Speaker 3: the possibility that people can change their views quite dramatically mid-term.
[11:34] Speaker 3: And that point about the arc and trying to get
[11:37] Speaker 3: the timing right so things are improving before an election,
[11:39] Speaker 3: you know, that also relies on the hope that people
[11:42] Speaker 3: will wait that long before they make up their minds.
[11:45] Speaker 3: And if if you can't start reassuring people now that
[11:49] Speaker 3: they will get better, then people get a fixed idea
[11:53] Speaker 3: about you that is negative and it might be too
[11:55] Speaker 3: late by early next year or midway through next year
[11:59] Speaker 3: or even second half of next year to turn that around.
[12:02] Speaker 1: Finally, if we just pull back a little bit, do
[12:04] Speaker 1: you think that Albanese's best play is to keep going
[12:07] Speaker 1: for the so-called sensible centre? Because No one else seems
[12:11] Speaker 1: to be right now. The coalition is going right. Hanser
[12:13] Speaker 1: is further right than that. The Greens, with their leadership,
[12:16] Speaker 1: is likely to go further left under Shoebridge. Does that
[12:20] Speaker 1: leave the centre open, or is it risky for Albo
[12:22] Speaker 1: to keep plodding along in that sensible centre space? Does
[12:26] Speaker 1: he need to be seen as being more bold, or
[12:29] Speaker 1: is he on the right path in terms of where
[12:33] Speaker 1: he sees the future of his government's political fortunes?
[12:37] Speaker 3: I think it's important to remember here that being the
[12:40] Speaker 3: Prime Minister and being the government is not the same
[12:43] Speaker 3: as being the opposition leader or the opposition or the
[12:46] Speaker 3: leader of a minor party on the fringes of either end.
[12:50] Speaker 3: It's a different job. Now, there are advantages to being
[12:55] Speaker 3: in government that you can wield in the political contest
[12:58] Speaker 3: and advantages to being the Prime Minister, but there are
[13:00] Speaker 3: also disadvantages that And those are that the people leading
[13:04] Speaker 3: those other parties can kind of say all kinds of
[13:07] Speaker 3: things and they're not being held accountable in the moment
[13:10] Speaker 3: for implementing them and bringing them to fruition. And so
[13:15] Speaker 3: to be fair to Anthony Albanese, it's a hard job
[13:18] Speaker 3: to do that. And you've got to manage the realities
[13:22] Speaker 3: of an economy, of national security, of global circumstances, some
[13:26] Speaker 3: of which are well beyond your control. of a technology
[13:30] Speaker 3: that's rolling over us like a juggernaut that's going to
[13:32] Speaker 3: change everything we do in the form of artificial intelligence.
[13:35] Speaker 3: All of these things are difficult to manage and he's
[13:39] Speaker 3: having to do that all at the same time. And
[13:40] Speaker 3: so he's also got to try and manage the messaging
[13:44] Speaker 3: and match the sniping in terms of reassuring people that
[13:49] Speaker 3: it's coming from the other parties. And to the point
[13:51] Speaker 3: about the centre, I mean, the key job of the
[13:53] Speaker 3: Prime Minister and the government is keeping the country together.
[13:56] Speaker 3: It's a unifying task. Those other parties, you know, they
[14:01] Speaker 3: should care about that too, but they are less interested
[14:04] Speaker 3: in the political sense in unification than the government has
[14:08] Speaker 3: to be. So because that unifying thing is so important,
[14:13] Speaker 3: we judge governments on that. And if they don't do
[14:15] Speaker 3: it well enough, we toss them out. And we've done
[14:18] Speaker 3: that with governments in the past. That's the way democracy works.
[14:21] Speaker 3: So they will be judged on how well they can
[14:23] Speaker 3: keep the country together and improve everyone's quality of life.
[14:28] Speaker 1: Everything is happening all at once, Karen. Thanks for coming
[14:30] Speaker 1: on the show and helping us make sense of it.
[14:32] Speaker 3: Thanks, Dan. It's a difficult period, but no shortage of
[14:35] Speaker 3: things to talk about.
[14:36] Speaker 1: 7am is a daily show from Solstice Media. It's made
[14:53] Speaker 1: by Atticus Bastow, Chris Dengate, Crystal Keller, Renee Auckland, Ruby Jones,
[14:58] Speaker 1: Travis Evans, Yeo Chung, Zoltan Fecho Jr. and me, Daniel James.
[15:04] Speaker 1: Our theme music is by Ned Beckley and Josh Hogan
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[15:22] Speaker 1: Thanks so much for listening to 7am this week. Have
[15:24] Speaker 1: yourself a great weekend.
[15:29] Speaker 3: Thank you.

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