Census debacle shows Labor has made Dutton a de facto member of cabinet

When opposition leader, Anthony Albanese liked to respond to media demands for Labor policy by pointing out that Labor had, in fact, lost the previous election and therefore had to revamp its policies, so he wouldn’t be committing to anything at that point.

It was a nice line, but since becoming prime minister, his government has often given the impression it still thinks it lost the last election. Certainly, it is so concerned about what Peter Dutton might say about its policies that it may as well have the opposition leader sit in cabinet.