I’m probably not alone in finding it surprising that Federal Labor still had around 30 to 32 per cent primary support in recent polls – an all-time low. But how low can they go?

To borrow the latest trending courtroom term which fits all the recent political own-goals and stuff-ups, it’s an ‘omnishambles’ from the top down.

Yes, Prime Minister Albanese, I blame you, along with Immigration Minister Andrew Giles, Home Affairs Minister Claire O’Neil, Attorney General Mark Dreyfus, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong, Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen, Education Minister Jason Clare, and the rest of your hapless acolytes.

Mr Albanese, you brought this into the spotlight when you appeared to reduce a young woman, the event organiser, to tears at the recent domestic violence rally in Canberra over confusion about whether or not you had been asked to speak. She stood beside you weeping and repeating ‘that’s a lie’ but you turned a tin ear and continued speaking against hecklers in the crowd who really didn’t want to hear your platitudes. The ‘80s hit What About Me might still be high on your Spotify playlist, but really, it’s not all about you.

I’m reminded of a quote by legendary Tory British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher:

‘Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.’

Even your normally supportive national broadcaster, the ABC, seemed to find your performance seriously wanting. Prominent presenter Annabel Crabb wrote:

The world is full of imponderables at the moment. And for Australian women, you can add a new one to the list: How long is it going to take for us to get a Prime Minister whose response to reasonable female anger isn’t to trip spectacularly over his own tackle?

The footage of Anthony Albanese attempting to cope with the febrile environment outside Parliament House at Sunday’s domestic violence rally is nearly unwatchable…

Many of us despair at how badly you and your ministers run things. Take the ever-increasing cost of living crisis and housing debacles largely due to your unachievable and costly green energy policies and an immigration Ponzi scheme to shore up an economy slipping towards recession. You say you will cut the high levels which, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, saw migrant arrivals last year increase by 73 per cent to 737,000 from 427,000 the previous year. But a new monthly record of 105,460 was established in February.

No doubt the growing number of frustrated potential home buyers and rent seekers who can’t afford the limited supply available, along with the homeless living under bridges, sleeping in cars or camped in tents on riverbanks, will be anxiously awaiting any change in their circumstances. My advice – don’t hold your breath.

Then there’s our worsening personal security – particularly for the elderly, women, and girls (especially those in outback Indigenous communities), and our Jewish residents who are subjected daily to protests and antisemitic hate speech on university campuses and in vile social media posts. We have even seen young children encouraged to call for an ‘antifada’ (violent uprising) and chant, ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!’ while the authorities, including university chancellors and vice chancellors, turn a blind eye,because it’s ‘free speech’.

Our highly paid e-Safety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, appears to ignore the racist rants by Islamic hate preachers, but has banned the video of an alleged terrorist knife attack by a teenager on a Christian Bishop in Sydney because it’s ‘too violent’. Even the victim, Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, believes the video should be available to anyone who wishes to see it, and the head of X (formerly Twitter) Elon Musk has resisted moves to ban it internationally, despite a tirade of complaints from Australian ministers.

Again, they have found an unusual ally in the ABC’s usually left-wing Media Watch, where presenter Paul Barry appears to agree with Musk, the Bishop, and even right-wing commentator Andrew Bolt (shock horror!)

More recently, we had the horrific attack and robbery of an elderly woman, Ninette Simons, allegedly by one of the 154 former detainees released into the community following a High Court ruling last year. Among those released were 37 sex offenders and 72 violent offenders (including an assassin) according to reports.

For days after the attack, Ministers Giles and O’Neil ducked for cover, prompting a quip from Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie, ‘It’s easier to find the ex-detainees than the responsible ministers…’

As if all the above isn’t enough to turn a large percentage of the public off, we also now have the spectacle of how you splash taxpayer funds by the industrial skip load to support virtue signalling business start-ups.

These include $1 billion for the Quantum Computer facility in Brisbane and the $1 billion for the solar panel manufacturing business in the NSW Hunter Valley that billionaire shareholders apparently couldn’t risk with their own funds to launch. Add to this the green hydrogen pipe dreams in Gladstone, Townsville, and elsewhere…

You name it, if it’s claimed to help get us to ‘Net Zero’ you and Chris ‘Blackout’ Bowen will back anything …  except reliable and safe modern nuclear power. This still remains on the banned list despite growing public support here, and its proliferation in many other overseas states and nations that recognise ‘renewables’ don’t align with reality and reliability.

But it’s okay to purchase three nuclear submarines under the Aukus deal, which will be berthed and serviced in Australian ports. Go figure.

Finally, to plagiarise Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s famous poem, How do I Love Thee, to sum up your government’s performance, just change one crucial word:

How do I loathe thee? Let me count the ways.

I loathe thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of being and ideal grace.

I loathe thee to the level of every day’s

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light…

John Mikkelsen is a former editor of three Queensland regional newspapers, columnist, freelance writer and author of the Amazon Books Memoir, Don’t Call Me Nev.