Albanese defends mother as polls sink to four-year low

Anthony Albanese has delivered an impassioned defence of his late mother after Pauline Hanson questioned why she spent decades in public housing — comments that have reignited a sharp debate about what is fair game in Australian politics.

The One Nation leader made the remarks on a podcast earlier this year, arguing that social housing should be a time-limited hand-up rather than a permanent home. She pointed to the prime minister's own admission that his mother lived in the same housing commission property for 65 years as an example of the system being misused.

Albanese, who has long spoken publicly about his working-class upbringing, hit back with considerable force. "I'm proud to be a housie and I'm proud of the community in which I grew up," he said. He described his mother as someone who cleaned offices overnight after his birth, then cared for him through the day while suffering from severe rheumatoid arthritis that left her unable to hold cutlery and forced her to descend the stairs on her hands. "My mother was way out of Pauline Hanson's league," he said.

The response drew broad sympathy across the political aisle. Opposition leader Andrew Hastie stood beside the prime minister on the family question, and former prime minister Scott Morrison publicly called on Hanson to apologise. The convention that family members not in public life should remain off limits has long been treated as settled ground in Australian politics.

However, 4BC political editor Michael Pye noted the situation carries an uncomfortable nuance. Barnaby Joyce, now sitting with One Nation, pointed out that Albanese himself repeatedly invoked his mother's story throughout the 2022 election campaign, making her circumstances a central part of his political identity. "You could argue that the prime minister himself thrust her into the public light," Pye said, while stressing there was no suggestion from anyone that Albanese's mother was anything but a decent person.

The family dispute landed at a particularly difficult moment for the prime minister. New polling shows his personal approval rating has fallen to its lowest point since Labor took office in May 2022, with cost-of-living pressures continuing to erode voter confidence. More than half of Australians now say they do not trust the government — a figure Labor strategists will find deeply troubling heading into the next electoral cycle.

The coalition has lifted to 24 per cent in the same survey, its strongest result in some time after spending extended periods polling in the high teens. One Nation also edged up a point to 27 per cent, reflecting the broader fragmentation of support away from the major parties.

Voters and radio callers alike expressed frustration that political leaders were trading personal barbs while household budgets remain under pressure. "What are you doing to fix this mess?" was a sentiment repeated across talkback lines — a reminder that the political class's internal feuds rarely land well with an electorate focused on mortgages, groceries and energy bills.