Peter Dutton lets Christmas take a back seat to bad news in Yuletide address as Anthony Albanese expresses ‘gratitude’

When George V decided to broadcast a Christmas message to his British subjects in 1932 he started a tradition that leaders across the world continue to embrace. Some more successfully than others.

The recipe for the Christmas message is fairly simple - one part reflection on challenges from the past year, one part acknowledgment of current events and one part hopeful throw forward (with a dash of unity).

Short and sweet with personal touches (pets, children, casual clothes) optional, both the prime minister and the opposition leader in Australia pre-record a message and release it to the media under embargo.

Albanese in 2019 used his first Christmas message as opposition leader to introduce himself.

"Hi, I'm Anthony Albanese, leader of the Australian Labor Party. And I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Christmas is a time where you get to spend time with your family, with your friends, and really celebrate who we are as a nation," he said, before acknowledging the bushfires that were blazing across much of the east coast.

That same year, Jenny Morrison joined her husband to deliver the prime minister's Christmas address, which was also focused on natural disasters (but didn't mention the prime minister leaving for a Hawaiian holiday).

In 2022, in his first message as opposition leader, Peter Dutton lets Christmas take a back seat to the pandemic, cost of living, data hacks, floods and the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

He doesn't get to Christmas until the eighth paragraph of an 11-paragraph address.

"While we saw off the worst of the pandemic, cost of living pressures continue to hurt families and small businesses across the nation," Dutton says.

"Millions of our fellow citizens had their personal data compromised in the hacks on Optus and Medibank.

"Many Australians have experienced the darkest of days with floods damaging or destroying their properties and tragically, of course, a number of families lost loved ones. Communities will continue to require our assistance and government assistance in the coming months and years ahead."

After thanking emergency service workers, police and first responders - as well as the defence force - it's back to bad news.

"This year we received the terrible news, the loss of Queen Elizabeth II. She embodied the very best virtues and values," he says. But then some Christmas cheer.

"During Christmas, I hope all Australians have time to rest and to celebrate with family and friends," Dutton says.

"In the Christian spirit, please reach out to those that you know who may be without loved ones so that they don't have a lonely Christmas.

"Whilst it's been a difficult year, it's the Australian way that we show gratitude for what we have. Christmas is a time for Australians to again express thanks for how lucky we are to live in the best country in the world."

Albanese opens his 2022 message by declaring Christmas "such a special time of year". (Dutton opened with it having been "a difficult year for Australians" - losing an election can alter your worldview.)

Albanese stays positive, speaking of Christmas as a "time of giving" and for many, a time central to their faith, before getting to the thank yous.

"Of course, not everyone gets to take it easy today. If you're rostered on somewhere, I want to say thank you for your service to others," he says.

"If you're working because you've volunteered your time to make Christmas better for your fellow Australians - whether you're serving lunch to those in need or you're keeping our beaches safe - I want to express my gratitude and my admiration.

"The same goes to all our emergency service workers, and of course all Australian defence force personnel, whether they're serving here, or far from home overseas. Thank you to every single one of you."

Both Albanese and Dutton finish with the traditional message of goodwill and hope. But really, neither hold a candle to the most infamous of political Christmas messages - Barnaby Joyce's unofficial offering in 2019.

"I just don't want the government any more in my life, I am sick of the government being in my life," the former deputy prime minister said in a video posted on Christmas Eve just 18 months before he would once again become deputy PM.

Merry Christmas, Australia.