Albo’s mob is hopeless, Dutton’s crew are a shambles, the mining boom’s shuddering to a halt and inflation is biting hard. I’m not going to sugarcoat it – Australia is in a terrible place, writes PETER VAN ONSELEN

I’m just going to say it straight and without any sugar coating: Australia is in a terrible predicament right now.

The Labor government – in a relatively short space of time – has proven itself to be completely hopeless.

Anthony Albanese is an unworthy Prime Minister, and I say that as someone who had high hopes for the job he might do.

We are in this situation during brutal economic times when good governance is essential to minimize the pain.

But Labor doesn’t take advice from outside its deep inner circle which is blinded by a combination of ignorance and ideological guard rails.

The result is that is stands for little and pleases few, as it tries to spin its way out of trouble rather than govern effectively.

I’ll go through all the depressing reasons why this government is so very bad shortly, but if that was the only problem Australia faced we wouldn’t have too much to worry about.

That’s because there is a federal election just around the corner. A chance to kick this hopeless government out.

The problem is that I’m not sure the Coalition is ready for a return to government so soon after the defeat of the Morrison administration.

If Labor was an even slightly good government you wouldn’t stop to consider changing teams at the next election.

That is because of the track record of Morrison’s do-nothing (often offensive) Coalition team that was in charge from 2013-2022. Plus the lack of depth in the now Opposition.

The bad news for Australia doesn’t stop there. It gets worse. Because the polls tell us the major parties are running neck and neck, and because there are so many third parties already in the House of Representatives, there is a good chance the crossbench will control the balance of power and decide which major party forms government after the next election.

Dictating terms to the major party in power after that.

This might ordinarily be a comfort, given the woeful state of the major parties right now. But it’s absolutely not.

That’s because the most likely crossbench collective to dictate terms after the next election is the Greens, who have some crazy policies on their legislative agenda.

Perhaps voters won’t care about all of Labor’s problems, nor be concerned about the Greens, and shift back to the Coalition after just one term despite the failures of the Morrison government.

If that happens it would be the first time and one-term government lost since 1931, so such an outcome remains unlikely.

That means the more realistic scenario is Labor being returned to power, with either a slender majority of its own, or as a minority government beholden to the Greens.

The thought doesn’t bear thinking about.

Which brings us back to why this government has been so bad so soon after winning office. Here we go…

Albanese is a weak leader. His cabinet is under performing. His best ministers – such as Ed Husic and Madeleine King – are sidelined from the big decision-making moments.

The kitchen cabinet of Albo, Penny Wong and Katy Gallagher are all in the factional left and don’t get mainstream Australia at all.

The Treasurer Jim Chalmers is out of his depth, big time. The government is even at war with the Reserve Bank, grinding the gears of the economy in a different direction to the wants of the central bank.

Labor’s policy approach to the Voice, Gaza refugees and union empowerment is doing untold damage to the fabric of Australia.

Its refusal to embrace tax reform to modernize the economy is stifling productivity and neglecting the need for improved distribution lines. State governments are by and large floundering.

Spending (at state and federal levels) is spiraling out of control at the same time that the mining boom appears to be slowing.

Labor doesn’t listen to business concerns and just isn’t consulting when making poor public policy decisions affecting everyday workers and businesses.

The default position of this Labor government is spin over substance.

Albanese isn’t a details person, never has been. He only held one portfolio before becoming prime minister, meaning that his ministerial understanding about governance is very narrow.

The Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer and Finance Minister don’t hold a single economic qualification between them. Right at a time when economic management is front and center.

Then we have the failures with immigration. The issue saw two under performing ministers (Andrew Giles and Clare O’Neil) sacked from their portfolios only to be shifted into roles that need better management.

Giles now runs skills and training, O’Neil is in charge of housing. What to do about housing is a key political issue, yet the PM has given the job to one of his worst performing ministers, and she’s already making mistakes.

Whether you are a retiree burnt by changes to superannuation not flagged at the election, a mainstream voter dismissed as a racist for opposing the Voice, or a younger Australian struggling to buy a home, this government is your worst nightmare.

If higher education is your thing, Labor is risking the entire sector with changes that will stifle foreign students who help pay the bills. That might be OK if it was finding other ways to fund universities, but it isn’t.

If you are a small business owner Labor is worsening compliance costs. New workplace laws are sapping investment in this country and increasing the chances of unemployment rising as the economy slows.

Yet if you are on the ideological left this Labor government has also failed you, as it tries to walk both sides of the fence, ultimately pleasing nobody.

What a mess.