Anthony Albanese and Jodie Haydon’s holiday surprise: PM kicks off five days of summer off with a celebrity twist – at a gig no-one would expect of trendy leader

Music lover Anthony Albanese’s holiday got off to a great start when he posed with singer Marcia Hines at a Foo Fighters concert.

Mr Albanese and his partner Jody Haydon posed for a selfie with Hynes at a Foo Fighters concert in Sydney on Saturday night as the Prime Minister prepared to take a five-day break from Sunday to Friday.

The top post is held by Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles.

During Parliament’s final week of sitting, Mr Albanese praised his government’s achievements in a year that otherwise threatens to be defined by the failure of the Vote referendum, a cost-of-living crisis, pressure from rate hikes and the prisoner release fiasco.

“Since we came to power we have seen the creation of at least 624,000 new jobs,” Mr Albanese said.

“This is more jobs than under any new government in Australian history, and we are only halfway there.

“We have our first budget surplus in 15 years, turning a $78 billion deficit under (the Coalition) into a $22 billion surplus.”

Mr Albanese also cited Australia’s Housing Future Fund, the creation of a national anti-corruption commission, stronger climate action and cheaper medicines and childcare as notable achievements of the Labor Party.

He also wrote in The Australian’s editorial pages on Monday that he was “really proud of what we’ve been able to achieve this year through the collaboration we’ve built in national cabinet.”

“Our government has made increasing housing supply, affordability and construction a priority until 2023, and in August the national cabinet came together to agree the biggest set of housing reforms in a generation,” he wrote.

“Whether it’s health, housing, the environment, TAFE and skills or the National Disability Insurance Scheme, our government knows that working for Australia means working with the states and territories.”

He also said that “raising wages and improving job security are key priorities for our government until 2023.”

However, as the country entered a political break this summer, Mr Albanese’s critics have shown little desire to give him any respite.

On the same pages as Mr Albanese’s article, political commentator Pieter van Onselen blasted what he called an “incompetent” government “obfuscation” of a High Court decision that freed about 150 detainees, some of whom had serious criminal records.

“As a government, it was not prepared for the possibility of an adverse decision from the High Court,” van Onselen wrote.

“This is the way it should have been and that is why the Prime Minister should sack these ministers. Attempts to give incorrect answers cannot avoid this simple truth.”

The Sky News pundit and former chief of staff to Liberal Prime Minister Peta Credlin was in an even more cutthroat mood late last month, with six released detainees already facing charges for their short period of freedom.

“This government, right down to the prime minister himself, has looked completely incompetent, incompetent and, quite frankly, made up of a bunch of third-rate amateurs,” she said.

Credlin accused the government of lurching from “one case to another” and hiding from the media as the number of arrests increased.

“Perhaps the worst thing is the sheer callousness of the prime minister,” she said.

“The fact that the Prime Minister hid in his office, away from the media, when news of these arrests broke says it all.

– This guy is an impostor. “Albanese is underperforming and out of his depth and the Australians know it now.”

After a long honeymoon in which Albanese and Labor maintained a healthy lead over the Coalition and its leader Peter Dutton, the polls in the second half of the year presented a brutal upheaval for Labor.

The latest news poll shows support for Albana’s government has fallen by four points in just three weeks.

The result of the Labor Party primaries was 31 percent. This is the first time that number has dropped below the 32.6 percent they received when they took office.

On the principle of two-party preference, Labor and the Coalition were neck-and-neck with a 50-50 split.

A YouGov poll last week showed Labor’s primary vote had fallen further to 29 percent, a historic low for the party.

However, based on two-party preference, Labor would still lead the coalition 51 percent to 49 percent.

Although Labor’s poll numbers did not immediately fall following Albanese’s resounding defeat at the Vox in October, it could be seen as a turning point in terms of his government’s fortunes.

However, the issue that perhaps worries his government most is the cost of living crisis.

A survey of four focus groups from marginalized places in Queensland and South Australia revealed some troubling assessments of Mr Albanese’s character.

Participants in a survey conducted by Victorian company RedBridge called him a “follower, not a leader”, “tasteless” and a “beta male”.

“He didn’t really address the cost of living issue, and I understand there are global factors at play here, but I don’t think he took any concrete action on that,” one attendee reportedly said.

“I just don’t see much action to reduce the cost of living. He went missing and is now running abroad again,” commented another, echoing the sentiment about frequent travel that led to the unflattering nickname “Airbus Albo.”

Adding to the pressure on many households has been the relentless rise in interest rates.

Despite the reprieve granted in December, the Reserve Bank’s November hike marked the 13th time since May 2022 that rates have been raised to the current 12-year high of 4.35 percent.

Reserve Bank Governor Michelle Bullock ominously noted that more pain was yet to come for mortgage holders.

“Inflation in Australia has peaked but is still too high and is proving more resilient than expected a few months ago,” she said in November.

“The latest consumer price index inflation data shows that while product price inflation has slowed further, prices for many services continue to rise rapidly.”

Australia’s severe housing shortage has also forced the Albana government to admit the immigration floodgates are open too wide.

More than 500,000 new migrants have poured into Australia over the past 12 months, the largest annual influx in the country’s history.

Addressing the issue, Mr Albanese acknowledged the immigration system was “seriously broken” but said his government was “determined to fix it”.