Three years ago, just before the 2022 Federal Election, I made some reflections on the lack of political engagement on the part of the Australian populace, compared to their counterparts in the 1950s:
With the 2025 election now all but over, with just a few seats left to count and confirm the winner, it is time for some sober reflection.
Having changed my two party preferred choice for the first time in my life, albeit with great reluctance and sadness (although not with regret), I was able to watch the election night coverage on my iMac with something approaching objectivity, if not actual schadenfreude. I sipped some decent (albeit not too fine) red wine over the course of five hours as I enjoyed the ABC coverage of the election.
As was clear before the night was over, the Coalition has suffered its greatest defeat since its creation in 1944, losing just about every seat in Melbourne and Sydney.
I was a little surprised, as indeed would have been most other politically interested citizens. The Coalition campaign was pathetic, but I did not (perhaps because I did not really follow the campaign that closely) expect it to result in such a landmark defeat.
I do see some serious concerns for the health of our democracy from this election result. A weak opposition is unable to hold the government to account, and is less able to present a viable alternative government going forward. This is one of the lessons we have not learned from the Victorian situation where there is a visually unchallenged Labor technocratic government.
Of concern to the Liberals is that little has occurred to reverse the existentialist threat that is posed to it by the Teal independents, who continue to win and hold seats which used to be safe Liberal seats. This is an existentialist threat because not only do most of the Liberal Party’s supporters live in the upper middle class blue ribbon suburbs (offering both manpower and donations to the Party), but those are the seats in which the most promising future leaders and front benchers should be found.
If you cannot seat potential future prime ministers, then you cannot plan to elect future governments.
Having said all that, the election really should serve as a wake up call to the Liberal Party. The conduct of many past and present members of the parliamentary party and front bench whilst they were last in government, both as ministers and in their internal machinations, make them look despicable rather than as a trustworthy alternative government.
For example, Michael Sukkar, who lost his seat at the election, was widely accused of branch stacking against factional rivals inside the Victorian Division of the Liberal Party. This looks angelic compared to Stuart Robert, whose litany of sins, both in pursing conflicts of interest and public administration failures like Robodebt, should see him consigned to one of the inner circles of Hell (metaphorically of course).
It is sad that both of the leading contenders for the leadership, Angus Taylor and Sussan Ley, are both less than of the highest degree of probity. Ley, for example, had to step down from the front bench when she was a minister due to using a taxpayer funded trip to go house hunting for an investment property in Queensland. Ley’s conduct is trivial, just as she is a risible lightweight. Taylor’s apparent conflicts of interest between his family’s properties and his own ministerial responsibilities suggest a more serious lack of suitability for high office.
Dutton, however, whilst inept and tone deaf, was a decent man. This was shown in his extremely gracious concession speech on Saturday night. But he needs to bear the brunt of the blame for the defeat, particularly through the public announcements which caused me to turn my vote against him and his party for the first time in my life.
Hopefully the Liberals wake up and shake themselves up and sort themselves out. But I am not optimistic.
Lost For Words! 