The "conflict fatigue" among Australians could soon return, the prime minister warns, as he accuses the opposition of sowing fear and division across the community.
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Two years after winning the federal election, Anthony Albanese will take to the Western Sydney Leadership dialogue to reflect on his tenure.
In that time, his government has navigated Australia through the economic shocks and aftershocks emitted by the COVID-19 pandemic, international supply chain issues caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and three federal budgets.
Though he remains optimistic about the nation's future, as voters prepare to return to the polls, he warned Australia could not return to a time when the then-coalition government treated every issue "as just a pretext for picking a phoney fight".
"Australians have worked too hard to be dragged back to the era of conflict fatigue," he is expected to say on Friday.
"We've seen what happens when the only test that politicians apply is their political self-interest - we saw it with Scott Morrison, we're seeing it again with Peter Dutton.
"The stakes right now are too high for the shallow and shambolic approach we see too often from the opposition, the challenges we face are too urgent for a retreat to denial and delay, the progress we have made together is too important to go back to fear and division."
The government has not called a federal election yet, but it will have to hold one by May 2025.
Labor does not hold the same polling popularity now as it did when entering government in 2022.
However, the latest Newspoll published in the Australian found it leads the coalition 52 to 48 per cent on a two-party preferred vote and Mr Albanese still trumps Opposition Leader Peter Dutton as preferred PM 52 to 33.
"Serving as prime minister is the greatest honour of my life," Mr Albanese will say.
"There are still problems we have to solve - still opportunities we must grasp.
"What I want every Australian to know is that the challenges we have faced through the past two years have only strengthened my determination to deliver and my confidence that our country can succeed."
Australian Associated Press
