View from The Hill: everyone is on the lookout for Albanese-Chalmers tension

The underlying tension between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers is such that people read between every line for the smallest snub.

So when Albanese implied, speaking to the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) on Tuesday, that the government’s partial retreat over the Australian Taxation Office’s ban on small businesses paying tax by credit card was all his doing, observers jumped on it.

Albanese was responding to ACCI chief executive Andrew McKellar, who praised the prime minister for listening and acting quickly on the problem.

Albanese responded, “Andrew did text me last Thursday morning and by Friday morning we had an announcement”.

He made no mention of Chalmers’ part in the turnaround, which has delayed the ban until the middle of next year.

Inevitably, on Wednesday the treasurer was asked, were you rolled by the prime minister? Chalmers denied this, and spelled out in detail the timetable behind the switch.

He said he and Albanese had discussed the issue on Wednesday last week.

“He had a view, and I agree with it, that we needed to step in to provide this longer-term transition period. […] We had the same view,” Chalmers told reporters.

He said there’d been discussions with business on Thursday, then on Friday he and Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino took the proposed change to ministers.

Most likely Albanese’s dinner remark was a combination of wanting to flatter ACCI, plus some shorthanded hubris.

In substance, it didn’t amount to a put-down of Chalmers.

He didn’t realise at the time that he’d said anything provocative.

But the perception was bad for a government in which the prime minister and especially the treasurer are under great pressure over very difficult economic circumstances and the lingering bitter aftertaste of their controversial budget.

It was easy pickings for the opposition.