In his victory speech on election night, Anthony Albanese emphasised his commitment to “Australian values”, singling out “fairness, aspiration and opportunity for all, the strength to show courage in adversity, and kindness to those in need".

“Australians,” he claimed, “have voted for a future that holds true to these values”, and in the euphoria of Labor’s success he appealed to Australians saying, “Let all of us work together to build our national unity on the enduring foundations of fairness, equality and respect for one another.”

After the divisive politics that Australians have had to suffer through in the last decade, calls by a newly elected prime minister for “national unity” are more than welcome. It’s a relief to see the fair go and equal opportunity for all reaffirmed as core Australian values and we might hope it’s more than a fleeting restoration.

The fact that about two-thirds of Australians did not give Labor their first preference might cause some cynics to question Albanese’s confidence that a vote for Labor equals a vote for the values he selected and this may not augur well for the durability of his preferred form of national unity. So if the sort of unity he wants is to endure, it may well depend on whether the members of the Labor Government demonstrate genuine commitment to the fair go and equality of opportunity for all. Obviously, that can only be demonstrated by Labor if they align their policies with those values.

But this is where things get difficult, because it is an unfortunate fact that several important Labor Party policies, particularly in relation to defence, climate change, higher education, housing, human rights, biodiversity protection and electoral rules, are not fair and do not provide equal opportunity for all.

“Kindness for those in need” does not feature in an unemployment benefit that is well below the poverty line. A “fair go for all”, especially for future generations, does not feature in policies that lock in climate change. “Equality” does not feature in taxation policies that strongly favour high income earners or in persistence with subsidies for polluting corporations or in policies on negative gearing and capital gains that have locked younger and poorer Australians out of the housing market. Nor does “equality” feature in a voting system that allows massive donations by wealthy individuals and corporations. And it’s unreasonable to assume that Australians will be “strong enough to show courage in adversity” when defence policies are predisposed to create life threatening adversity for us all.

Overall there is a wide gulf between Labor Party policies and the values that Albanese claimed as “Australian”. The extent of this mismatch can be seen in a document released recently by Australian Community Futures Planning titled Election 2025: Assessment of Major Party Policies. This report lists the policies of the Labor, Liberal and Greens parties and analyses them to determine the sort of future Australians can reasonably expect if elected governments follow those policies.

Labor policies don’t imply a rosy future where opportunity is equally available to all. The intent is there, but there are far too many contradictions in the party’s policies for Australians to be confident that they’ll all get a fair go. The reality is that the sort of policies selected by the Greens Party are the most likely to ensure everyone will get a fair go. In this comparative assessment Labor, by its own yardstick, is a long way behind. Its policies are quite selective as to who will get a fair go.

It’s also a long way behind in commitment to Australian values other than those Albanese spoke about on election night. Australians have freely responded in surveys over recent decades when they’ve been asked about what they value for themselves, their nation and their future. Comprehensive research on their expressed values has been collated in my most recent book, _The People’s Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy_. So we know what comes first for Australians and it’s not actually fairness and equality of opportunity, although they certainly are right up there.

Australians value their safety and well-being before anything else. Like any population, their capacity to think about a fair go is wholly dependent on whether circumstances have first established some confidence about their physical safety. A fair go is a luxury if you’re not safe. And, at the moment, we are not. As shown in ACFP’s most recent comprehensive report on _The State of Australia 2025_, the physical and mental health of Australians is in steep decline and Australia’s exposure to threats from climate change and war is rising.

That being so, Labor might do itself a favour by revising its policies to align with the pre-eminent value placed by Australians on their own safety and well-being. This would be likely to uncover the need for immediate and holistic review of policies on defence and climate change because policies in those areas are framed more to threaten safety and well-being than to safeguard them.

Labor has a comfort zone in policy development and historically prefers to play to its strength in being the party that we traditionally have recognised as committed to the fair go. If that commitment is really central to Albanese, then he shouldn’t have too much trouble making his party adjust those policies that are plainly unfair. These should be pretty political easy wins.

We might expect, however, that Labor will struggle to adjust the policies posing the greatest threat to our safety – those on defence and climate change. These are two areas where Labor’s policies have significantly increased the anxiety of Australians. As long as that anxiety is permitted to grow, Australians are unlikely to continue to judge Labor as the party of the fair go. It would be useful for Labor to recognise that failure to adjust those policies that pose a fundamental threat to our safety and well-being will negate all their efforts in improving fairness and reducing inequality.

Based on its current policies, it’s not apparent that Labor would have an appetite for policy adjustments in defence and climate change. If, however, Albanese truly admires his nominated Australian value of “strength to show courage in adversity”, he might choose to lead his party to demonstrate that same courage. That would be the ultimate demonstration of commitment to Australians and their values.

The People’s Constitution summarises the values Australians have expressed for themselves, their nation and their future in about 500 words. Find out more about this rendition of Australian values here.