Greens leader David Shoebridge has declared Anthony Albanese is “a very long way” from the person Australians thought they were voting for, as the Greens ramp up the fight with Labor.
Mr Shoebridge delivered a blunt assessment of both Mr Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Sunday, saying the government was failing to improve people’s lives.
The Greens leader told News24.com.au that Mr Albanese was increasingly focused on political messaging rather than substance.
“It does seem like a very long way from the Anthony Albanese people thought they would get,” Mr Shoebridge said.
“It doesn’t seem to have substance. And it seems very centralising. But fundamentally, it doesn’t seem to be helping Australians.”
The Greens leader said the PM was sending a “lot of messaging” without delivering meaningful improvements to households.
Mr Shoebridge was more sympathetic towards Treasurer Jim Chalmers, saying he appeared to face difficulties getting his agenda through the Labor caucus.
“Well, you know, I think Jim has a hard job. Whatever he tries to negotiate through his caucus seems to be pretty hard for him,” he said.
“What I would say to anyone in the Labor leadership team, (is if) you come forward with something that’s going to materially help Australians… We’ll work with you.
“I just haven’t seen a lot of that coming from that team.”
The comments deepen the political fight between the new Greens leader and the Albanese government just days after Mr Shoebridge took over the top job.
Mr Shoebridge has signalled a more confrontational approach towards Labor since replacing Larissa Waters who stepped down due to health issues.
Instead, Mr Shoebridge has set his sights on replacing Labor as the dominant political force on the left.
“We’re not here to make the Labor Party any better. The Greens are here to replace them,” Mr Shoebridge said after winning the leadership.
“We’re here to beat down One Nation, and we’re here to replace Labor and return hope and faith to politics,” he said.
Mr Shoebridge has argued the rise of Pauline Hanson’s party was a consequence of voters’ frustration with the major parties.
He has sought to pitch the Greens as a left-wing alternative capable of tapping into the same dissatisfaction that has fuelled support for One Nation.
But Mr Albanese has pushed back against the strategy, questioning why the new Greens leader was directing his fire at Labor while One Nation was gaining support.
“It was somewhat concerning that at a time when we see a rise of a far right-wing party, Senator Shoebridge took the opportunity to actually criticise Labor,” he said.
“It sounded a lot like some of the people who didn’t win their seats at the House of Representatives election last year.”
Mr Albanese congratulated Mr Shoebridge and his new deputy Steph Hodgins-May and said he hoped to engage constructively.
“The Greens political party, you know, I’m a Labor loyalist. We are a party of government, not a party of protest, and that’s the difference,” he said.