Australian Federal Election 2025

[IFocus]

A thing that I was surprised at

James McGrath on the ABC election coverage struggled to accept the swing to Labor which I can understand but he also said he was a Ronald Regan disciple and that the Liberal party had to get the middle ground on board with those values , smaller government, tax cuts and freedom etc.

Regan was president 36 years ago, ended in 89.

The world has totally changed WTF would you be thinking todays answers come from then?

The Liberal party and Nats are still stuck in the past i.e. boomer values, from there are lessons to be learnt but today and tomorrow are totally different social acceptance being gay an example.

 

[Smurf1976]

The Liberal party and Nats are still stuck in the past i.e. boomer values, from there are lessons to be learnt but today and tomorrow are totally different social acceptance being gay an example.

Isn't the acceptance of homosexuality fundamentally an acceptance of personal liberty though?

The argument back in the 1990's was absolutely a "small government" one. That government has absolutely no place interfering in the lives of consenting adults so long as nobody who did not consent, or is unable to consent, is involved.

Overall that seems like a libertarian argument, it's not in any way an argument for big government.

More generally, off that subject, I think the Liberal party, and to a lesser but still considerable extent Labor, have chosen to deliberately misinterpret what the concept of small government is intended to be about. Both have chosen to take it as being about outsourcing government work and selling physical assets, physically downscaling the role of government, rather than it's intended meaning being about removing unwarranted control over society. It was intended to cut the influence of politicians, it wasn't intended to be about replacing public servants with contractors and consultants at triple the cost.

 

[farmerge]

After the hammering the Greens have had, they will pull their heads in, it not as though they had a positive swing to re enforce their stance on issues.

@sptrawler The only Green I want to see is the green on my Watchlist which may be the invite to sell and to maka dar monee.

 

[SirRumpole]

Just watch the show, plan your exit, this morning, my better half mentioned thus morning (after relative left back to France on Friday)
"And now we can start preparing Panama ..."
So ALP victory can be a good thing for the frog:
Increase real estate value of an off grid blackout and famine proof self sufficient house
Crash the AUD in mid term
And give the wife the nod to piss off O/S asap.
As most voters and quite a few here do vote for a few $ during the FY and could not care less about their country or children future, why, as a migrant, should i be the one sacrificed for vertue and this country
Enjoy the show

A man a plan a canal Panama.

 

[StockyGuy]

A man a plan a canal Panama.

Madam, I'm Adam!

 

[qldfrog]

A man a plan a canal Panama.

This is excellent and never hear it before, nor the one from @StockyGuy ..the hidden advantage of a migrant: discovering anew some cultural basis.
Now let's do the same with the Spanish culture for my latter years..

 

[qldfrog]

One VERY sad point for democracy is that it seems Senator Rennick and fellow Bob Katter are very much at risk of disappearing, so with no real independent of value, who is going to raise the flag, let alone stop the bipartisan rorts?
My summary of the election: the WEF has won

 

[SirRumpole]

This is excellent and never hear it before, nor the one from @StockyGuy ..the hidden advantage of a migrant: discovering anew some cultural basis.
Now let's do the same with the Spanish culture for my latter years..

Alli trota la tortilla

La moral, claro, mal

 

[Knobby22]

One of the contenders to be Liberal leader, Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor, has been blasted by Liberal senator Hollie Hughes, who claims his lack of policy work was to blame for the party's election rout.

"I have concerns about his capability. I feel we have zero economic policy to sell," Senator Hughes said on Radio National.

"I don't know what he's been doing for three years. There was no tax policy, there was no economic narrative."

Outgoing Liberals blast Angus Taylor, party's lack of women

One of the contenders to be Liberal leader, Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor, has been blasted by Liberal senator Hollie Hughes, who claims his lack of policy work was to blame for the party's election rout.

www.abc.net.au

 

[PZ.]

Angry Arrogant Angus couldn't organise an egg fart in an elevator.

 

[SirRumpole]

One of the contenders to be Liberal leader, Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor, has been blasted by Liberal senator Hollie Hughes, who claims his lack of policy work was to blame for the party's election rout.

"I have concerns about his capability. I feel we have zero economic policy to sell," Senator Hughes said on Radio National.

"I don't know what he's been doing for three years. There was no tax policy, there was no economic narrative."

Outgoing Liberals blast Angus Taylor, party's lack of women

One of the contenders to be Liberal leader, Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor, has been blasted by Liberal senator Hollie Hughes, who claims his lack of policy work was to blame for the party's election rout.

www.abc.net.au

Chalmers ran rings around Taylor, who had no idea at all.

 

[sptrawler]

One VERY sad point for democracy is that it seems Senator Rennick and fellow Bob Katter are very much at risk of disappearing, so with no real independent of value, who is going to raise the flag, let alone stop the bipartisan rorts?
My summary of the election: the WEF has won

A very interesting thing is the primary vote has changed since 2022, but not by a huge amount, on the latest figures.

In 2022 election Labor won with a primary vote of 32.58% with 4.7m votes, the libs lost with a primary vote of 35.7% and 5.2m votes.

in 2025 ATM Labor have a primary vote of 34.8% with 4.5m votes , the libs have a primary vote of 32% and 4.2m votes.

So IMO, it will be interesting to see the final primary vote and numbers, at the moment on a primary vote basis, the Libs are bleeding primary votes which IMO is down to Dutton.

Preferences obviously have played a big part, but Dutton and the Libs have lost a lot of primary votes to Labor or others.

 

[farmerge]

One of the contenders to be Liberal leader, Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor, has been blasted by Liberal senator Hollie Hughes, who claims his lack of policy work was to blame for the party's election rout.

"I have concerns about his capability. I feel we have zero economic policy to sell," Senator Hughes said on Radio National.

"I don't know what he's been doing for three years. There was no tax policy, there was no economic narrative."

Outgoing Liberals blast Angus Taylor, party's lack of women

One of the contenders to be Liberal leader, Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor, has been blasted by Liberal senator Hollie Hughes, who claims his lack of policy work was to blame for the party's election rout.

www.abc.net.au

Treasurer Jim Chalmers certainly gave one A Taylor a hefty spray on Saturday night.

 

[sptrawler]

Treasurer Jim Chalmers certainly gave one A Taylor a hefty spray on Saturday night.

IMO Chalmers would give anyone a spray, he's as smooth as Morrison, thankfully Albo stands between us and Chalmers.

Poor old Angus is well out of his depth IMO.

 

[JohnDe]

If Albanese can put up reasonable legislation – say on the necessary expansion of gas production and in the market – then the Coalition would be honour-bound to stop Greens shenanigans and support Labor. John Howard built Coalition credibility from opposition by agreeing to many of the reforms of the Hawke-Keating years, and whoever is the new Liberal leader would be well advised to do the same, no matter how much it helps Albanese.​

​

This is where the real test is for Albanese’s exercise of his new-found power: will he be prepared to divert from a status quo on Labor policy – particularly in areas where the policy-free Labor election campaign clearly needs to change for the good of the nation.​

​

Albanese has a mandate to govern but that must include adjusting for changing circumstances – as he has noted himself when altering previous positions.​

Election 2025: Anthony Albanese in rare position of power after Labor’s crushing win

Albanese’s acute sense for raw politics has turned a narrow, precarious and potentially unstable two-seat victory in 2022 into an unassailable “two-term” standing of 85 seats in an Albavanche in 2025.

Saturday night’s result was beyond prediction, unseen and more than the best Labor expected.

Albanese’s own fist-pumping, emotional and teary victory speech betrayed his own surprise, relief and vindication at such an early clear victory which included the loss of Peter Dutton’s seat of Dickson.

In his speech Albanese declared: “Australians have chosen to face global challenges the Australian way: looking after each other while building for the future. And to serve these values, meet these challenges, these opportunities, and build that better and stronger future, Australians have chosen a majority Labor government.”

A majority government is the key and the size of that majority ensures Albanese can exercise an authority he did not have before over personnel, politics and policy to take him beyond being someone who won because the opposite number was disliked.

Albanese has always maintained he would win a majority and campaigned to demonise and unseat the Opposition Leader after successfully using the unpopularity of Scott Morrison to scrape to a win in 2022.

But the scale of win – which includes inflicting the worst result on the Coalition in history – transcends the cunning tactics of winning and puts Albanese into an unparalleled position as Labor leader at a time of dire global circumstances not far removed from those that faced the great Labor leaders of John Curtin and Ben Chifley during World War II.

The authority Albanese now has means all thought of him having to “choose to retire” in the event of a minority government or even a return with a slim majority is gone – Albanese had vowed to serve a full term if he won and that is now unchallenged.

Given the expected majority, Albanese has almost guaranteed himself three terms and already a place in the Labor pantheon.

The subtle positioning of potential leadership contenders can end – Albanese is just 60, been re-elected in an avalanche, has been personally vindicated, has a burning conviction to deliver on his social visions and will have a whole new legion of MPs who owe their political lives and allegiances to him.

While Labor prime ministers have factional constraints on the selection of their front bench, a leader in Albanese’s position, like others before him, can wield a will in that process and retains the right to apportion the ministerial posts.

If Albanese wants to bring in new talent or promote younger ministers he can. Former Kevin Rudd adviser and now entrenched MP for Parramatta Andrew Charlton is one backbencher who is likely to be promoted, as is existing minister Clare O’Neil.

Older, longer serving ministers or those who have risked Albanese’s ire — such as former leadership foe Tanya Plibersek — can be further demoted if the PM wishes.

During the campaign, and on election night, Albanese acknowledged the contributions of his team and the rich and volunteer-ready “mighty” unions but, as Bob Hawke found, an entrenched popular leader without threat in the parliamentary party can assert his own will.

While Albanese exalted stability in his first term and refused to get rid of ministers who deserved to go — costing him and the government support — he is now in a position for a fresh start from a position of strength.

Ironically, the desolation of the Coalition means Albanese has another arrow in his quiver of authority and policy implementation. The new Senate is likely to be less complicated than the last and Labor may be in a position to get legislation through with just the support of the Greens or the Coalition.

If Albanese can put up reasonable legislation – say on the necessary expansion of gas production and in the market – then the Coalition would be honour-bound to stop Greens shenanigans and support Labor. John Howard built Coalition credibility from opposition by agreeing to many of the reforms of the Hawke-Keating years, and whoever is the new Liberal leader would be well advised to do the same, no matter how much it helps Albanese.

This is where the real test is for Albanese’s exercise of his new-found power: will he be prepared to divert from a status quo on Labor policy – particularly in areas where the policy-free Labor election campaign clearly needs to change for the good of the nation.

Albanese has a mandate to govern but that must include adjusting for changing circumstances – as he has noted himself when altering previous positions.

For instance, during the campaign Albanese told The Australian that, of course, he would be prepared to lift defence spending if it was necessary, and if he could ensure the money was spent on the right assets.

Given the Coalition had a policy of higher spending the new, more powerful Labor government could only expect enthusiastic support from the dwindled Coalition.

But the real test will be on energy. Albanese’s last week in Western Australia contained a real commitment to gas as part of the energy mix – where the rest of the world, including Labour in Britain, is reassessing and repositioning.

These are just a couple of examples of where Albanese needs to demonstrate he can use his almost unparalleled position to shift direction in the national interest, which may upset some ministers committed to ideological outcomes that no longer fit.

On an historical note, to give some idea of the sweeping nature of Albanese’s victory, he overtook the length of service of Gough Whitlam in the last days of the campaign; will overtake Julia Gillard in three weeks; and if he serves the next three years will overtake Curtin, Paul Keating, Chifley and Andrew Fisher, leaving only Bob Hawke with eight years and 267 days.

When this was raised in the interview with The Australian, Albanese’s only reaction two weeks from polling day was “wow”. Wow indeed. Now he needs to take a lead from Hawke and Keating in shaping Labor policy and implementation to the nation’s needs.

 

[sptrawler]

When the fanfare and the dust settles, Canberra still has a problem.

Australian federal election in four charts: Labor’s lower-house lead and the Senate state of play

Albanese’s party is on track for at least 85 seats and the final tally could well be more. Plus: the major party vote continues to shrink

www.theguardian.com

The major party vote decline continues​

Despite Labor’s big win, Australia’s two-party system has continued its long-term decline, with the combined major party primary vote dropping again compared with 2022:

If these primary vote splits hold once the remaining votes are counted, then we will have crossed a significant, albeit symbolic threshold – at least one-third of Australians will have voted for someone other than a Labor or Coalition candidate for the first time.

 

[wayneL]

When the fanfare and the dust settles, Canberra still has a problem.

Australian federal election in four charts: Labor’s lower-house lead and the Senate state of play

Albanese’s party is on track for at least 85 seats and the final tally could well be more. Plus: the major party vote continues to shrink

www.theguardian.com

The major party vote decline continues​

Despite Labor’s big win, Australia’s two-party system has continued its long-term decline, with the combined major party primary vote dropping again compared with 2022:

View attachment 198866

If these primary vote splits hold once the remaining votes are counted, then we will have crossed a significant, albeit symbolic threshold – at least one-third of Australians will have voted for someone other than a Labor or Coalition candidate for the first time.

Therefore we have a problem in that more than a third of voters don't have adequate representation.

In other contrasting news, from the cretinous leader of the Greens:

"We stand ready in the Senate to make this the most progressive parliament that Australia has seen."

Which means they intend to enforce outsized influence, ie more influence than is due to them.

The system is broken.

 

[SirRumpole]

"We stand ready in the Senate to make this the most progressive parliament that Australia has seen."

Which means they intend to enforce outsized influence, ie more influence than is due to them.

Maybe the TEALs should have stood for the Senate not the House, at least they may have thrown the Greens out.

 

[Knobby22]

Maybe the TEALs should have stood for the Senate not the House, at least they may have thrown the Greens out.

They would have to form a party. Very dangerous for the Libs,

There was an excellent article from Liberal stalwart George Brandis about how Menzies set up the party to be a winning machine by taking the Liberal and Conservative ground leaving Labor to the Left and mostly in opposition and he uses examples over history. The Libs have lost their Liberal wing and are giving Labor an easy time.
Need to get back on track soon or some other party will start and they will be out of business, like Menzies got rid of the previous right wing Australia party.

On Saturday night, the Liberal Party looked like a train wreck

The Liberal Party knows how to win elections. It just needs to do the work.

www.theage.com.au

 

[wayneL]

Maybe the TEALs should have stood for the Senate not the House, at least they may have thrown the Greens out.

Teals.... Greens...

Same same