Ed Husic swapped his work suit for a T-shirt on 4 May to mark what\u2019s known among sci-fi fans as \u201cStar Wars day\u201d.<\/p>\n
Shared with his \u201cfellow nerds\u201d on Instagram, the Labor backbencher\u2019s apparel depicted an X-Wing fighter jet and the words: \u201cREBEL SCUM.\u201d<\/p>\n
The phrase was an insult an officer from the evil Empire muttered at heroes from the Rebel Alliance in Return of the Jedi.<\/p>\n
It has become popular in Star Wars fan culture \u2013 a badge of honour pinned to valiant underdogs who fight the establishment.<\/p>\n
The message implied in Husic\u2019s choice of attire would not have been lost on followers or colleagues.<\/p>\n
The former industry minister has fashioned himself as a rebel inside the Albanese government since he was dumped from cabinet in a factional power play after the 2025 election.<\/p>\n
Husic broke ranks again this week to call for a rethink of the Aukus nuclear-powered submarine deal<\/a>, resurfacing an internal debate that the party leadership hoped had long been resolved.<\/p>\n Ministers publicly brushed off his latest intervention as the opinion of a lone backbencher. The defence industry minister, Pat Conroy \u2013 an Albanese loyalist \u2013 described the criticism as \u201cdisingenuous\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n Senior colleagues are more scathing in private, accusing a \u201cbitter\u201d Husic of undermining the defence minister, Richard Marles<\/a>, as payback for his demotion.<\/p>\n Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email<\/a><\/p>\n But others see virtue \u2013 and bravery \u2013 in his freelancing on issues from Gaza to a gas tax, which they view as an important counter-balance to the \u201cgroupthink\u201d that has developed under Anthony Albanese\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n \u201cSuperficially it looks like [Husic] is all bent out of shape,\u201d a senior Labor source said. \u201cBut at a deeper level what he\u2019s doing is pretty important.<\/p>\n \u201cOn this issue \u2013 he could be prescient. Is he right about Aukus<\/a>? Maybe he is.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018You should have the ability to question\u2019<\/p>\n There were hints of Husic\u2019s rebellious streak in his maiden speech<\/a> to the federal parliament after he became the first Muslim to be elected as an MP in 2010.<\/p>\n \u201cMy fundamental worldview rests \u2013 at its core \u2013 on the notion of balance,\u201d the new member for the western Sydney<\/a> seat of Chifley said.<\/p>\n \u201cI do not just tolerate alternate views; I remain open to them, I learn from and grow from them \u2013 and I value differences in our society and in our debates about the future of our society.\u201d<\/p>\n In the government\u2019s first term, Husic featured in several of the rare public splits in cabinet.<\/p>\n He called for corporate tax breaks<\/a>, infuriating the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, and attacked the \u201cgreed\u201d of gas companies, exposing a rift with the resources minister, Madeleine King.<\/p>\n Husic was also more forthright than his cabinet colleagues in criticising Israel\u2019s war in Gaza, saying Palestinians were being \u201ccollectively punished for Hamas\u2019 barbarism\u201d<\/a> in the first few weeks after the 7 October 2023 attack<\/a>.<\/p>\n The 56-year-old believes his outspokenness is among the reasons he was dumped from the ministry in May 2025.<\/p>\n Albanese decided not to intervene to save Husic after the New South Wales<\/a> right faction was forced to drop one of its own to create another seat for Marles\u2019 Victoria right, which was underrepresented after the election.<\/p>\n Husic labelled Marles a \u201cfactional assassin\u201d after the deputy prime minister also used his numbers to scythe down the then attorney general, Mark Dreyfus<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI fulfilled my role not just as a cabinet minister but as a caucus member,\u201d Husic said in an ABC Insiders interview after his demotion.<\/p>\n \u201cYou should have the ability to speak on the issues that you believe in. You should have the ability to question. It builds a stronger not a weaker party.\u201d<\/p>\n Richard Marles and Pat Conroy at HMAS Kuttabul naval base in Sydney. Photograph: Mick Tsikas\/AP<\/p>\n After ministers lined up to rebuke him this week, Husic again alluded to an internal Labor culture that suppressed contrary views, saying the scolding was designed to \u201cstop people from doing exactly what I\u2019ve done\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019s good for the party long term, and it\u2019s certainly not in the best traditions of the party,\u201d he told ABC television.<\/p>\n \u2018It was good for him to speak up\u2019<\/p>\n Marles\u2019 power grab triggered an outpouring of sympathy for Husic, who had voluntarily stepped down from the ministry in 2019 to make way for Kristina Keneally<\/a>.<\/p>\n Several Labor MPs who spoke to Guardian Australia this week still believe he was treated poorly. The resentment toward Marles lingers.<\/p>\n But some argue that the well of goodwill has diminished over a 12-month period in which Husic has repeatedly split from the government\u2019s position, disrupting the caucus unity that has defined Albanese\u2019s prime ministership.<\/p>\n One MP said the pattern of Husic of speaking out in closed-door caucus meetings then re-airing those views in public \u2013 as he did this week on Aukus \u2013 was \u201cannoying\u201d but also a \u201cpredictable part of the cycle\u201d, diluting its significance.<\/p>\n