PETER VAN ONSELEN: Inside story on how Labor insiders are getting frustrated with the ‘Three Amigos’ who REALLY run Australia – and the BIG names Albo won’t let into his inner circle

A Labor MP I have known for many years, who has seen it all, reflected on the growing frustration within the Labor party: the concern that Team Albo is becoming an increasingly closed organisation, run by an inner sanctum that drives others outwards.

The MP said the only opinions Albo considers important among his parliamentary colleagues are those of Senators Penny Wong and Katy Gallagher.

The disgruntled MP dubbed the trio “the Three Amigos,” a reference to the 1986 comedy starring Chevy Chase, Martin Short and Steve Martin.

It is a modern version of the so-called ‘Gang of Four’ that Kevin Rudd formed as his kitchen cabinet during his first term. The grouping consisted of Rudd, Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Treasurer Wayne Swan and Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner.

Albo’s kitchen cabinet – the three amigos – is even narrower. Finance Minister Jim Chalmers is not part of it, nor is Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles. “It’s a friendship and faction club,” says the MP.

They point out that, unlike other cabinets which are inevitably formed to minimise the sometimes cumbersome approach of traditional cabinet management, Albo’s triumvirate consists exclusively of members of the left-wing faction and has been friends for years.

Wong and Albo are particularly close. Albanese convinced her not to retire after the 2019 election defeat, and Wong was the only Labor MP at Albo’s home on election night when the results came in.

He asked her to introduce him to the stage as they arrived to claim the win. The pair pumped their fists in the air as they held hands on stage.

Gallagher’s ability to avoid joining the two and becoming a case of three is a crowd has everything to do with her key role as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Even more than the Chancellor of the Exchequer – who does most of the work that concerns the public in selling the government’s economic agenda – the Chancellor of the Exchequer is the gatekeeper for government spending.

Albo’s alliance with Gallagher means that it will be easier to keep Chalmers out of the inner sanctum, especially considering how close Chalmers and Gallagher are.

There aren’t many Labor MPs Chalmers would want to support, but Gallagher is one of them. When she became embroiled in the whole ‘means girls’ treatment of the late Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching, Chalmers was one of Gallagher’s staunchest defenders.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (pictured) is failing to deliver on his promise to lead a cabinet-style government, listening only to his inner sanctum

Of all the ministers close to Albo, it is Penny Wong who is closest to the PM. Above, the pair celebrate Labor’s 2022 election win

Marles is not given a chance to be seen as a member of the inner sanctum, despite being deputy prime minister, because as foreign minister Wong covers the international portfolio spectrum. Marles is Labor’s defence minister. What’s more, he is in the wrong faction: the Victorian right.

It’s a small inner circle, but together Albo, Wong and Gallagher cover all areas: Albo is a former House Leader and is therefore perfectly placed to negotiate directly with Tony Burke over the running of the House of Commons.

Wong controls the cabinet’s powerful security committee, while Gallagher covers the spending review committee. Together, Wong and Gallagher report to the prime minister on the Senate negotiations.

“So much for Cabinet government,” says the disgruntled Labour MP, pointing to the fact that too much of what goes to Cabinet is treated as “tick and flick”. Dissenting voices in the chamber are actively discouraged.

This is despite the fact that Albanese regularly claims that he uses a traditional cabinet model, similar to Bob Hawke’s approach.

Government MPs often become increasingly frustrated when they feel left out of decision-making processes, especially when the government of the day is underperforming, which is currently the case for Labor.

Recent polls show that Team Albo is on track, despite it still being a first-term government.

But the real concern brewing among some Labour MPs is the sense that the inner circles of this government are out of touch with the voters in the seats that matter.

Penny Wong (pictured) is a trusted ally of Albo, one of his three amigos, according to a Labour MP

Chancellor of the Exchequer Katy Gallagher (pictured) has the Prime Minister’s ear more than her senior colleague, Chancellor of the Exchequer Jim Chalmers

That is, marginal seat voters from the outer metropolis. The Three Amigos are removed from such voters.

Albo represents an inner city constituency and now lives at The Lodge in Canberra.

Wong is a Senator from Adelaide. Gallagher is also a Senator and represents the ACT.

They are all left-wing people who have long defined themselves by the social goals they pursue.

The triumvirate is about as far removed from the issues affecting the working class in the outer-city areas as the parties within the Labour Party.

“Yet they make all the decisions,” complains the PvdA member of parliament.