For a man who said Anthony Albanese wasted the nation’s time, Angus Taylor was very keen to borrow some of it.
Same hour, similar stage, but this time just the ABC – not the commercial networks. A relief for fans of Millionaire Hot Seat and Home & Away that there was no delay at 7pm.
The ABC’s long-standing rule – prime minister gets the mic, opposition gets a “comparable” reply – has hosted its share of heavyweights: John Howard and Simon Crean on Iraq, Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott on carbon tax, Paul Keating and John Hewson on native title and even Albanese himself replying to Scott Morrison in the early, anxious days of COVID.
History, in other words. But this felt slightly more like a sequel for which nobody asked.
There was a touch of Holy Thursday hubris about it. Australians, fretting about a fuel crisis and on the cusp of Easter, got not reflection, not respite, but a second instalment. Albanese went first. Taylor couldn’t let it sit.
To be fair, his line on radio earlier in the day landed best: the prime minister’s address “could have been a social media post”.
He kept swinging in his three-minute address: “The only thing the government has fuelled is confusion.” “It must stop being led and start leading.” “Australians were expecting answers and details. They received neither.”
Good attack lines from opposition – tight, repeatable, designed to travel.
Then came the centrepiece, an old sermon delivered with the fervour of a new convert: “We must dig and we must drill. We need more Australian oil for Australians.”
The problem is less what Taylor said than when he said it. A right of reply invites comparison, and comparison is often unforgiving. If Albanese’s speech lacked detail, this was meant to supply it. Instead, it mostly supplied contrast – urgency instead of reassurance, impatience instead of calm.
There was also the usual opposition juggling act. Taylor warned against “heavy-handed mandates” and a looming patchwork of state rules, while demanding stronger national leadership and more transparency.
This was an audition as much as an argument. A chance to look prime ministerial, to speak directly to camera, to occupy the space rather than just critique it. On that front, the mission was accomplished: he looked comfortable, sounded confident, and left no doubt that he wants the job.
But here’s the catch with trying to match the prime minister’s job: you inherit the same expectations. It’s not enough to say the first speech lacked substance; the reply has to provide it.
Australians tuning in for answers got a sharper and more coherent tone, but not necessarily a clearer picture of what happens in the coming weeks if the tanks run empty.
Six years ago, Albanese stood in the same position, offered bipartisan support, then criticised Morrison’s spin over substance and said “there are no room for delays”. On Thursday night, Taylor offered a similar sense of urgency.
In the end, the ABC did its job. It provided the platform, honoured the precedent, and gave the opposition equal billing. What it couldn’t do was make the second speech feel essential.
And that’s the lingering impression. Two speeches, two leaders, one audience quietly wondering if either could have waited until after the long weekend.
In Canberra, the contest is always for the last word. Out in the suburbs, it’s for something more practical: when does this get fixed?
On that measure, the scoreboard reads the same after both addresses. Plenty said, not much settled, and Australians still waiting for something more useful than duelling prime-time egos.
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