One thing for which the current parliament has been notable - on both sides of the aisle - is its stability. Sunday’s cabinet reshuffle demonstrates one of Anthony Albanese’s key political strengths: keeping both his cabinet and his caucus together. (The defection of Senator Fatima Payman is a rare exception that proves the rule.)

The retirement of Linda Burney and Brendan O’Connor, and the demotion of two other poorly-performing ministers (Clare O’Neil and Andrew Giles) will strengthen the government. The important decision to return responsibility for ASIO to the Attorney-General’s portfolio - thereby reversing a serious mistake by the Turnbull government - will give greater cohesion to national security.

None of these changes signify political instability. The government may have been mediocre, but it remains unified.

Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton will fight the election as a contest of ideas. Credit: Stephen Kiprillis

Like Albanese, Peter Dutton, too, has commanded a united political ship. The leadership of both is secure. The daily political news is about the contest between government and opposition, not endless stories of skulduggery and intrigue.

The fact that both major parties are enjoying a period of unity is often overlooked because, like the dog that didn’t bark in the Sherlock Holmes story, it’s the significance of what doesn’t happen that often goes unnoticed. In the current parliament, that’s been the absence of political instability.

Such a degree of internal harmony is unusual. The last Liberal government was........

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