Anthony Albanese and Jodie Haydon's holiday surprise: PM kicks off five days of summer off with a celebrity twist - at a gig no-one would expect of trendy leader

Music-lover Anthony Albanese's holiday got off to a rocking start as he posed with singing icon Marcia Hines at a Foo Fighters concert.

Mr Albanese and partner Jodie Haydon posed for a selfie with Hines at the Foo Fighters Sydney concert on Saturday night as the Prime Minister prepared to take a five day break - from Sunday until Friday.

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles is acting in the top job.  

During Parliament's last sitting week, Mr Albanese spruiked his government's achievements in a year that otherwise threatens to be defined by failure of the Voice referendum, the cost of living crisis, rate rise pressures and the freed detainees debacle. 

'We have, since we came into office, seen the creation of at least 624,000 new jobs,' Mr Albanese said.

 'That is more jobs created than in any new government in Australia's history, and we're only halfway through.

'We have the first budget surplus in 15 years, turning a $78 billion deficit under (the Coalition) into a $22 billion surplus.'

Mr Albanese also listed the Housing Australia Future Fund, implementing a national anti-corruption commission, stepping up climate change measures, and cheaper medicine and child care as notable Labor accomplishments. 

He also wrote in the editorial pages of The Australian on Monday that he was 'really proud of what we've been able to achieve this year through the co-operation we've built at national cabinet'. 

'Our government has made boosting housing supply, affordability and construction a priority right through 2023 and in August, national cabinet came together to agree on the biggest set of housing reforms in a generation,' he wrote. 

'Whether it's health, housing, the environment, TAFE and skills or the National Disability Insurance Scheme, our government knows that working for Australia means working with the states and territories.' 

He also said 'getting wages moving and boosting job security have been key priorities for our government through 2023'. 

However, as the nation goes into its political hiatus over summer Mr Albaneses critics have shown little inclination to provide him with any respite.

In the same pages as Mr Albanese's piece political commentator Peter van Onselen shredded what he called an 'incompetent' government's 'obfuscation' over the High Court's ruling that freed around 150 detainees, some with serious criminal records.  

'As a government it wasn't prepared for a possible adverse High Court decision,' van Onselen wrote.

'It should have been, and that's why these ministers should be sacked by the Prime Minister. Attempts to misdirect answers can't get around this simple truth.' 

Sky News pundit and former chief of staff for Liberal Prime Minister Peta Credlin was even in a more unforgiving mood late last month with six released detainees already facing charges over their brief period of freedom. 

'This government right up to the Prime Minister himself has looked completely inept, incompetent and frankly from a bunch of third-rate amateurs,' she said.

Credlin accused the government of lurching from 'one stuff-up to the next' and off hiding from the media as the arrests amounted. 

'Perhaps worst of all is the sheer gutlessness of the prime minister,' she said.

'The fact that the Prime Minister hid in his office and away from the media as news broke of these arrests says everything

'The bloke's a pretender. Albanese is not up to the job and is out of his depth and Australians now know it.'

After a sustained honeymoon period where Mr Albanese and Labor maintained a healthy lead over the Coalition and its leader Peter Dutton, polling over the second latter part of the year has delivered some brutal shocks for Labor.

The most recent Newspoll shows support for the Albanese government plunging by four points in just three weeks.  

This left Labor's primary at 31 per cent. For the first time that number dipped under the 32.6 per cent they received to take office.

On a two-party preferred basis Labor and Coalition were neck-and-neck with a 50-50 split.

A YouGov poll last week showed Labor's primary vote had fallen even further to 29 per cent, which is a historic low for the party.

However, on a two-party preferred basis Labor would still edge out the Coalition 51 to 49 per cent. 

While Labor's polling did not immediately slump after the resounding defeat handed to Mr Albanese's signature Voice proposal in October it could be seen as the turning point in terms of his government's fortunes.

However, the issue that might be most biting his government is the cost-of-living crisis.

A survey of four focus groups from marginal seats in Queensland and South Australia returned some worrying character assessment of Mr Albanese. 

He was dismssed as a 'follower, not a leader', 'bland' and a 'beta male' by participants in the polling conducted by Victorian-based company RedBridge..

'He hasn't really addressed cost-of-living and I get there's global factors at play but I don't think he's done much concrete action on it,' one participant was reported as saying.

'I just don't see a lot of action on cost-of-living pressures. He's missing in action and now he's running off overseas again,' another commented, echoing a perception of frequent travel that has led to the unflattering nickname of 'Airbus Albo' .

Adding to the pressure on many households has been the relentless rise of interest rates .

Despite delivering a reprieve in December the Reserve Bank's November increase was the 13th time since May 2022 rates have been hiked to reach a current 12-year high of 4.35 per cent.

Ominously Reserve Bank Governor Michelle Bullock flagged that there still could be more pain to come for mortgage holders,

'Inflation in Australia has passed its peak but is still too high and is proving more persistent than expected a few months ago,' she said in November. 

'The latest reading on CPI inflation indicates that while goods price inflation has eased further, the prices of many services are continuing to rise briskly.'

Australia's acute housing shortage has also forced the Albanese government to admit the immigration floodgates have been opened too wide.

In the last 12 months more than 500,000 new migrants flooded into Australia, which is the biggest yearly intake in the country's history.

Addressing the issue Mr Albanese admitted the immigration system was 'badly broken' but said his government were 'determined to fix it'.