Morrison’s media man warns Dutton that PM is gaining momentum

Adding to the Coalition’s unease was the poor result in the WA state election and what four senior MPs privately admitted was a poorly executed announcement last week on forcing public servants back to the office. The MPs said some voters had construed it as a push to ban flexible work arrangements popular among mothers, a point Dutton was grilled on as gender pay gap data was released last week.

Carswell said Albanese had set the agenda lately, something the former Liberal staffer thought the prime minister had been “incredibly bad” at, while Dutton had proved adept at steering the conversation.

The weeks before the March 25 budget could be critical, Carswell said. Neither party had made plans because Albanese was about to call an election for April before the cyclone hit. The election is now likely to be on May 3 or May 10.

“There’ll be a void in the next couple of weeks and the void is to the opposition’s advantage because it again thrusts Albanese out there with not much to say,” Carswell said.

“This budget will contain … red ink as far as the eye can see. What type of narrative can you build off such a negative budget? So while I do think the government does have the momentum now, it’s about to hit a brick wall,” he said.