We have now entered the beginning of the end for the Albanese government; certainly the worst ‘gummint’ in Australia’s history as well as easily the stupidest. A third term is now increasingly unlikely, and the nails that have been driven into Labor’s coffin have been primarily self-inflicted. Future commentators will look at the 2026 budget with its litany of broken promises as the moment the worm turned, but of course the rot had already set in long before. At the time of its unlikely and unearned landslide victory last May, many a commentator correctly pointed out that the greatest, and possibly only, danger threatening the Albanese team was ‘hubris’.

But what was never clearly articulated was how that hubris – which obviously can mean overbearing pride, presumption or just straight out arrogance – would actually manifest itself. A bronze statue of Albo down by the lake, perhaps? Ministers partying with pop stars ‘til 4 in the morning? An ABC doco about the life, times and romance of Anthony and Jodie Albanese?

Not quite, but almost. The first dangerous glimmer of hubris came from, naturally, the most pompous and self-aggrandising minister of the lot, the Dickensian Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen. This took the form of him piously accepting the ridiculous position of Grand Poobah of Climate Change and President of Stopping the Oceans from Rising and Ice Caps from Melting, or whatever it is his new job is called. This position and title were eagerly sought and aggressively pursued with vast wads of taxpayer money at the bars and conference rooms of the Cop climate change conference in the Amazon forest last year, to which Australia sent a vast contingent. The job that Mr Bowen came home with was, as seems frequently to be the case in his illustrious career, a consolation prize. The idea had been for Australia to win the hosting rights to this year’s Cop conference, but Turkey nabbed it instead, and Mr Bowen walked away with nothing to show for our expenditure other than the official and comical title of President of Negotiations for the Conference of the Parties; basically the MC at this year’s gig. Any normal politician would be so embarrassed to be associated with this nonsense that they would leave the job untouched in the bottom drawer and hope nobody would remember it, but true to form Mr Bowen has embraced the job with relish and excitement, spending even more taxpayer money to set up an ‘office of the presidency’ within his own department.

As opposition energy spokesman Dan Tehan has pointed out, ‘What this shows is that Chris Bowen’s ego is completely and utterly out of control.’ Indeed. Let every Australian struggling with higher energy bills, let every small business struggling to keep the lights on and let every farmer struggling to keep predatory renewables carpetbaggers off their private property never forget the hubris Mr Bowen has displayed, all at their expense.

Next cab off the rank was of course the Sports and Communications Minister Anika Wells. ‘Rank’ being the operative word. This minister has an uncanny knack of spending her government expenses in ways that leaves the average taxpayer holding their nose with disgust. Apart from lavish trips, dinners in far-flung exotic locations and family excursions there has been the now infamous official ministerial meeting at a birthday party, all of which, we are informed, fall safely within government guidelines. Be that as it may, this minister’s behaviour, and that of many others, sit squarely within what could be called the ‘brazen hubris’ guidelines.

Such examples of hubris fit the classic definition of a personal human failing, such as arrogance or greed. But it is the hubris of ideology that has finally brought the positive image this government has enjoyed crashing to the ground.

And that is of course the classic arrogance of the ‘true-believing’ socialist, the same hubris that destroyed Gough Whitlam, Paul Keating, Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard. This is the hubris of believing that your political ideology is so superior that it goes above and beyond politics and gives you a special license of moral purity. ‘The recession we had to have.’ ‘Climate change is the great moral challenge.’ The unwavering belief that you have the moral authority to impose your left-wing ideology upon the entire nation simply because you wish to, not because you were granted permission to do so at the ballot box.

And in the case of Jim Chalmers and Anthony Albanese, the absolute self-belief that you can tell multiple lies then merely ‘change your position’ and the electorate will happily nod along.

This budget has been received with all the enthusiasm of a three-day-old sushi roll sitting in a sunny suburban shop window in the middle of summer.

Young and old, Australians increasingly are discovering their wealth and potential prosperity are being stolen by these left-wing ideologues to fund insane socialist and climate boondoggles. On top of which, the great opportunities that this nation once provided to build your own wealth have now been decimated.

This government no longer has any credibility. It has sacrificed its reputation and its longevity on the electoral bonfire of its own ideological vanities.

All the opposition have to do now is present a viable and appealing alternative.