Top Albanese spinner exits after rocky year for Labor

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s top spin doctor has quit a week before Christmas as the government heads into the summer break after a difficult end to the political year.

Liz Fitch, Albanese’s media director and a close confidante of the Labor leader, has left the government after serving in the prime minister’s office since last year’s election.

Liz Fitch during a state dinner at the White House earlier this year.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Staff in Albanese’s office were informed of her departure on Wednesday, according to three sources speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the internal workings of the government.

Fitch rose from being a staffer in then opposition frontbencher Chris Bowen’s office to the head of the prime minister’s media unit.

The relatively young adviser was described as tenacious and highly capable by government sources.

Unlike previous senior prime ministerial secretaries, Fitch is known in Canberra for her reluctance to engage with senior print and television journalists.

This masthead has previously reported Albanese’s long-time press secretary, former journalist Matt Franklin, left the office just a month after the 2023 election. He was reportedly “miffed about his role in the pecking order of a younger press office” led by Fitch.

Fitch and a spokesman for the prime minister were approached for comment.

Labor ends the year with a slide in opinion polls following the referendum on The Voice and criticism from the opposition over its handling of the High Court decision on immigration detention.

The latest Resolve Political Monitor, conducted for this masthead by research company Resolve Strategic, found that core support for Labor was unchanged at 35 per cent over the past month.

While this is higher than the 32.6 per cent primary vote for Labor at the last election, it is down from 42 per cent following the May budget.

More to come.

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