Political Career
Albanese was research officer to the Minister for Local Government and Administrative Services, Tom Uren, (1985–89), Assistant General Secretary of the New South Wales branch of the Australian Labor Party (1989–95), and senior policy adviser to the Premier of New South Wales, Bob Carr (1995–96).
Following his entry in to parliament in 1996, Albanese was promoted to the Opposition Shadow Ministry in 1998. He was Shadow Minister for Environment and Heritage in 2004–05. In June 2005 he became Shadow Minister for Environment and Heritage, Shadow Minister for Water, and Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House. In December 2006 he was appointed Shadow Minister for Water and Infrastructure.
In the 2007 Federal election in which Labor came to power, Albanese was re-elected to the seat of Grayndler with a 3.72% swing toward the Labor Party. As part of the Rudd Ministry, it was announced that Albanese would become the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. The new Ministry was sworn in at Government House on 3 December.
During October 2009 The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Albanese, a long-standing fan and former board member of South Sydney Rabbitohs, had opposed an attempt to appoint the former Liberal Prime Minister John Howard to a senior position in the NRL. Albanese admitted he had phoned the NRL chief executive, David Gallop, as well as other league officials, to advise them against the idea. He then implored officials at Souths to help stop the suggestion from gaining momentum.
Albanese is from the left Labor faction.
In January 2012, Albanese plagiarised several lines from the 1995 film The American President in a speech at the National Press Club.
In the midst of the February 2012 leadership spill between Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd who resigned from his cabinet post on 22 February 2012 and Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Albanese offered his resignation as Leader of the House to Julia Gillard, after announcing he would vote for Kevin Rudd in the caucus leadership ballot. Minutes after he announced his offer, the Prime Minister refused his resignation at a press conference.
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