Voters have a significant job to do on election day in positioning Australia for the future. Then begins a different kind of work: pushing for the best possible outcomes from the next government.
So eat that democracy sausage. Chat with your local community at polling booths. Marvel at the preferential voting system Australia has that positions us as one of the strongest democracies globally. Enjoy the moment of finally playing a part in the 2025 federal election, and seeing a rather uninspiring election campaign come to a close.
Indeed, this campaign will be remembered for being mostly a “safe” campaign from the major parties, presenting minor adjustments to support the “cost of living” in different ways.
There have been few big, bold ideas on creating a fairer and more sustainable future, other than the Coalition’s nuclear energy policy, which is so bold they barely want to mention it at all.
There have been few new policy promises or even conversations regarding some of the critical issues affecting women and girls in Australia, especially on violence against women.
And yet, the result will have a significant impact on the future for all of us, especially in terms of Australia’s role in climate action, our rejection of Trumpian tactics and politics, our commitment to supporting women and girls worldwide, as well as how we address growing domestic inequality.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has delivered a far superior campaign to Opposition leader Peter Dutton: in terms of his energy, willingness to engage with the media and conviction in the ideas he’s sharing.
Dutton’s campaign has been disastrous. His approach should be a warning regarding the type of prime minister he would be.
Dutton’s been unwilling to discuss his signature policies, notably on nuclear. He has visited at least 15 petrol stations during the campaign to promote the Coalition’s policy on reducing fuel costs. He has not visited one of the seven proposed nuclear sites. He has resorted to fear-mongering, declaring that Victorians don’t feel safe “going to the shops.” He has backtracked on various policy ideas, including his plans to end remote work for public servants. Unfortunately for Dutton, his early messaging, which attacked those who work from home (and at one point suggested that women with caring responsibilities could take on “job sharing”), has stuck with Australians despite his attempts to pull back on it.
And, unfortunately, again for Dutton, his penchant for adopting Trumpian tactics in the campaign hasn’t sat well with Australians, who have been witnessing the utter chaos emerging from the White House, including sweeping cuts to government agencies, tariffs, and foreign affairs.
Dutton’s latest Trumpian-lite efforts have included attacking the media in Australia, branding the ABC, The Guardian and “others” as “hate media” and joking on commercial radio that listeners should avoid the ABC.
If this is what a hopeful prime minister says about certain parts of the media during an election campaign, what would he do as an actual prime minister?
Elsewhere, the Coalition’s last-minute preference deal also has a lot to say about the type of government it plans on being. After disendorsing Pauline Hanson as a Liberal candidate 30 years ago and placing her last on how-to-vote cards in 1998, the Coalition has now put her party, One Nation, in second place on its cards across 55 seats and recommended that voters position One Nation above the ALP across 139 seats. The Coalition also has One Nation at the top of its Senate preferences in Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia.
The Coalition, led by Peter Dutton, does not deserve the opportunity to form government in Australia.
Labor, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, is more deserving of a second term but must be held to account on its plans for the future. If polling predictions turn true, that’s what will happen as of the 4th May, potentially even as a majority government.
If Labor governs in a minority, we may well see more ambitious plans for the future ahead as it seeks to negotiate with the crossbench. What such a crossbench looks like is yet to be determined, but as we’ve seen in Albanese’s first term of government, it can prove somewhat effective in pushing for more.
So the first job is to keep Dutton and the Coalition out.
But then begins the next tranche of work: daily, persistent work that includes demanding more from a second-term Albanese government. Pushing for further and more meaningful action on climate change, on violence against women, on addressing growing inequality and also on the areas that Labor is proving to be much stronger on than the opposition, including early childhood education, closing the gender pay gap, and better supporting the care workforce.
And as Dutton moves from Liberal party leader and someone else steps in, we must stay vigilant in shutting down any further culture wars that emerge as the best the opposition can do. Let’s hope for strong leadership for the Liberal party in the future: one that refrains from basic, populist rhetoric to instead engage in real policy debate. And one that’s no longer afraid of the media, because it’s confident in what it has to offer and say. A strong Opposition focused on policy over personality, culture or climate wars will lead to better outcomes for all of us.
A warning, we can expect some newcomers in the House or Reps and the Senate requiring extra vigilance in terms of what they will be coming to parliament to say on women’s healthcare including reproductive rights, on trans rights, on Indigenous affairs and some of the cultural institutions and standards of respect we’ve come to cherish.
With preferences from the Coalition, One Nation could gain significantly more power following this election. The right-wing party is polling “more strongly” than in previous elections, and could pick up more than the two Senate spots it already has.
We won’t get a perfect government following this election. But we can get a start on pushing it to do so much more.
Of course, it’s not over as I write this 24 hours out from the polls opening on election day. A Dutton Government is still a possibility. So not matter what happens on Saturday, there’s huge work ahead in holding the next Australian government to account.