As the Albanese Labor government announces modest employment services reforms, it faces growing disillusionment and risks losing ground to Peter Dutton’s Trump-inspired exploitation of economic and cultural frustrations.

On December 6, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Murray Watt announced a new complaints service to hold employment service providers accountable.

This initiative aims to address longstanding grievances by allowing unemployed workers to lodge complaints without being sent back to the very providers they’re challenging.

A dedicated team of investigators will review complaints, and public reporting will add transparency to an industry plagued by power imbalances and poor outcomes.

It’s a small but notable step in a policy area where “sh-thouse” has long been the aspirational standard. At its best, this change might restore employment services to the deeply flawed state they occupied a few years ago – bad, but no longer actively cruel.

While Watt’s exasperation with his department’s dysfunction is clear, the initiative stops short of the bold reform needed to transform the system.

Still, the announcement raises an intriguing question: could there still be a glimmer of common decency left in Australian politics?

The long road back from dysfunction

The Albanese government inherited an employment services sector riddled with inefficiency and punitive practices, cultivated over years of Coalition neglect and mismanagement.

Despite early promises of transformation, Labor’s approach has thus far been marked by timidity. T

he complaints mechanism is a welcome correction, but it’s a modest one. It addresses symptoms rather than causes, aiming to bring accountability to a system that often feels designed to punish rather than support those it purports to serve.

For unemployed workers navigating this labyrinth of indignity, the new service might offer a lifeline. It could also incentivise providers to improve their performance, at least on the surface. But even with these changes, the core structure of employment services remains deeply flawed.

A truly transformative approach would involve rethinking the entire model—shifting from a focus on compliance and box-ticking to one that genuinely empowers unemployed workers with skills, opportunities, and dignity.

Broader context of government inertia

This initiative comes at a time when the Albanese government faces mounting criticism for its failure to deliver on a progressive agenda.

Housing affordability remains a crisis. Punitive unemployment policies persist. Social welfare systems continue to reflect a transactional, dehumanising approach. In these areas, Labor’s policies often feel indistinguishable from the Coalition’s, undermining its promise of transformational governance.

Watt’s exasperation is understandable, but he is just one minister in a government that seems paralysed by the fear of offending powerful interests.

Australian politics often appears more focused on strategic career moves and appeasing Rupert Murdoch than on addressing the systemic issues facing the country. This preoccupation with “4D chess” leaves voters disillusioned, especially those most affected by policy failures.

Risk of falling into Dutton’s trap

This inertia leaves the Albanese government vulnerable to exploitation by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and the Liberal-National Coalition.

In preparation for the 2025 federal election, Dutton seems to be borrowing heavily from Donald Trump’s playbook—exploiting economic dissatisfaction and stoking cultural anxieties.

Labor’s inability to deliver on its promises provides fertile ground for these tactics.

Dutton could easily ask Australians Trump’s infamous question: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”

For many, the answer might be “no.” Rising cost-of-living, housing unaffordability, and stagnant wages mirror the disillusionment that propelled Trump’s rise in the United States.

Combined with Labor’s missteps – like the ill-conceived proposal to ban social media for under-16s – Dutton has plenty of material to weaponise against the government.

A sliver of hope

The new complaints mechanism, modest as it is, represents a flicker of something rarely seen in Australian politics: responsiveness to those most often ignored. It’s a reminder that even incremental reforms can make a difference.

If Watt’s exasperation with his department spreads to other ministers, it might ignite a broader push for meaningful change.

For now, however, the initiative feels like a bandage on a festering wound. The Albanese government has an opportunity to build on this momentum, but it must act decisively.

Without bold reforms that address systemic issues, Labor risks alienating its base and leaving the field open for a Dutton-led Coalition to exploit economic and cultural frustrations.

Conclusion

Watt’s announcement is a step in the right direction, but it’s just that – a step.

Restoring employment services to “less terrible” is hardly a vision for transformative governance. Yet, it hints at the possibility that some in government are still willing to fight for decency and accountability.

Whether this spark ignites meaningful reform or fizzles out in the broader malaise of Australian politics remains to be seen.

For now, the Albanese government stands at a crossroads: embrace the courage to govern boldly or risk being outflanked by an opposition ready to capitalise on discontent.

David O’Halloran lectures in Work and Labour Market Theory at Monash University. He is also the President of the Tasmanian Council of Churches.

This article first appeared in Pearls and Irritations. Read the original here.