‘Wait and see’: Albo’s big election threat

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has demanded stubborn crossbench senators pass Labor’s signature housing reform policy, leaving the door open for a double dissolution.

Labor’s shared equity Help to Buy scheme is up for a second round of debate once the Senate resumes at 12pm Tuesday, however it continues to lack support from the Coalition or the Greens, meaning Labor has no pathway to pass the Bill.

Speaking to reporters ahead of parliament on Tuesday, Mr Albanese demanded the stalled Bill be passed “today”, with the government facing a similar challenge on its suite of environmental legislation.

Asked whether the blocked reforms could trigger a double dissolution, and whether that would go in Labor’s favour, Mr Albanese answered: “We’ll wait and see”.

“I’ll tell you a way to avoid a DD (double dissolution), it’s for the Coalition and Greens to vote for legislation that they support,” he said.

A double dissolution would force both houses to go to an early election, and is triggered if the government is unable to pass legislation between the Senate and House of Representatives.

For a double dissolution to occur, it must be held at least six months before July 25, 2025, when the House of Representatives is set to expire.

This means the last possible date the Governor-General could dissolve the Senate would be on January 25.

Mr Albanese previously threatened a double dissolution election over the road blocked Housing Australia Future Fund, which was eventually passed in November after negotiations with the Greens.

Australia has only had seven double dissolutions in the parliament’s history, with the most recent in 2016 under former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.

According to the latest Newspoll survey, Labor is sitting 50/50 against the Coalition on a two-party preferred system, with Mr Albanese leading Opposition Leader Peter Dutton 45 to 37 as preferred prime minister.