Anthony Albanese’s cabinet is in danger of being weighed down by jealousy and favouritism following allegations that two members of his left faction, Penny Wong and Katy Gallagher, together with two bureaucrats, are frustrating ministers by shutting them out of key spending decisions in the approach to the federal budget.

In the first major Labor leak since winning office 22 months ago, four members of the ministry confirmed that Industry, Science and Innovation Minister Ed Husic had complained directly to Albanese about that the behaviour of the powerful expenditure review committee, responsible for overseeing ministers’ submissions for the May budget.

The Herald’s exclusive story by James Massola and Shane Wright, has Wong and Gallagher derisively dubbed “co-deputy prime ministers” and reveals growing disquiet among some in Labor that the quest for a second surplus is overriding other important policy agendas, and comes as Treasury and the Department of Finance seek to re-exert control over spending after the pandemic when government expenditure exploded.

However, Treasurer Jim Chalmers disputed the impact of cabinet tensions and hit back at claims from some ministers that two departmental heads had too much power over funding decisions. “We run a responsible budget and that means running a tight ship on spending, it means whittling down hundreds of good ideas into a smaller set of priorities that can be funded,” he told the ABC.

It is not unusual for ministers to complain about being short-changed in budget negotiations, but our report contained leaked details naming ministers who had spending proposals knocked back including Husic, Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth, Aged Care Minister Anika Wells and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen, surely a sign of the depth of disenchantment within Labor over the concentration of power.

Loading

The collection of tight groups of ministers and advisers around a leader, sometimes called kitchen cabinets, dates back to the 19th century US president Andrew Jackson and his penchant for surrounding himself with acolytes. For some decades, prime ministerial government rather than cabinet government has been the rule in Australia.

Bob Hawke’s much-vaunted consensus style was often a front for massive ego clashes between Paul Keating, Peter Walsh and John Dawkins that locked out lesser cabinet personalities. Nevertheless, cabinet decisions were marketed as collective with a sense of purpose. Hawke’s prime ministerial successor, Keating, followed suit, but John Howard took even tighter control with Peter Costello, Alexander Downer, Nick Minchin and adviser Arthur Sinodinos calling the shots.

Once he won government, Kevin Rudd dispensed with outsiders and his Strategic Priorities Budget Committee, better known as the Gang of Four, comprising the prime minister, his deputy Julia Gillard, treasurer Wayne Swan and finance minister Lindsay Tanner, ran the show, but their limited gene pool led to a quick self-implosion when the other three turned against their leader in 2010.