For much of its history, Australian politics has been dominated by the two main parties: the centre-right Liberals and centre-left Labor. But this election threw all the balls in the air, throwing more than a few at smaller parties and independents tired of the two-party system.
Here’s what we learned.
The election results showed a strong shift towards independents committed to climate issues.
The candidates – many newcomers to politics – were targeting emissions cuts of up to 60% – more than double the pledged by the ruling Conservative coalition (26-28%) and also more than Labor (43%). Known as the blue-green candidates, they targeted traditionally blue liberal seats with more green policies.
“Millions of Australians have put climate first. Now it’s time for a radical reset of how our great nation is responding to the climate challenge,” Amanda McKenzie, CEO of the Climate Council’s research group, said of Saturday’s election results.
Australia has long been known as the ‘lucky country’, in part due to its wealth in coal and gas, and minerals such as iron ore, which have fueled generations of economic growth.
But it now sits on the brink of a climate crisis, and the fires, floods and droughts that have already ravaged the country are only expected to become more extreme as the earth warms.
The ruling Conservative government had been labeled a “climate holdout” by the United Nations Secretary-General after it outlined a plan to reach net-zero by 2050 by creating massive new gas projects. Incumbent Scott Morrison had said he would support a transition from coal to renewable energy but had no plans to halt new coal projects.
Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese pledged to end the “climate wars,” a reference to the power struggles that have thwarted efforts to push for stronger climate action over the past decade and even cost some prime ministers their jobs to have.
Labor has pledged to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, in part by strengthening the mechanism it uses to push companies to cut.
But research institute Climate Analytics says Labor plans are not ambitious enough to keep global temperature rise within 1.5 degrees Celsius, as stipulated in the Paris Agreement.
Labor policy is more consistent with a rise of 2 degrees Celsius, the institute said, marginally better than the coalition’s plan.
To accelerate the transition to renewable energy, Labor plans to modernize Australia’s energy grid and introduce solar banks and community batteries. But despite its net-zero commitment, Labor says it will approve new coal projects if they are environmentally and economically viable.
Women are seen and heard
Morrison’s popularity with women plummeted after several scandals involving his ministers.
Morrison himself was accused of a lack of empathy when he responded to an allegation of sexual assault at Parliament House by claiming that his wife, Jenny Morrison, had made the allegation clear to him.
“She said to me, ‘You have to think about it first as a father. What would you want if it were our girls?’ Jenny has a way of clearing things up. She always has,” he said.
Thousands of women later marched across the country demanding stricter measures to ensure women’s safety – which turned into calls for greater gender equality.
The blue-green independents were mostly older women who in other circumstances might have joined the Liberal Party.
Albanese read the room and promised to improve gender equality. He was even backed by his former boss, Australia’s first and only woman Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who famously slammed her Liberal rival by saying, “I’m not going to take any lectures on sexism and misogyny from this man,” Gillard said the day before of voting to the media that she was “very confident” that an Albanian government would be a “government for women”.
Indigenous voices are amplified
Among the first words Albanese uttered as he took to the stage to claim the win on Saturday was a pledge to enshrine the voice of indigenous people in Parliament.
“I will begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet. I pay my respects to their elders in the past, present and emerging times. And on behalf of the Australian Labor Party, I fully commit to the Uluru Declaration of the Heart. ” he said.
Indigenous groups across Australia are calling for the constitution to be amended so they are formally consulted on laws and policies affecting their communities. That would require a national referendum, which needs political support before asking the Australian people a yes-no question. The Albanese Labor government gives this support. The last time Australians voted in a referendum on Indigenous Peoples’ rights was in 1967, when 90% of the country backed a move to include Indigenous peoples in the census.
Australia prioritizes Asia and the US
One of the first tasks for Albanese will be to travel to Tokyo to meet his counterparts from the United States, Japan and India at the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) summit.
Sitting next to him will be Australian Foreign Secretary Penny Wong, a veteran Asian Labor politician who has long been a respected voice in the Senate.
The new Labor government promises to build stronger ties with Asia. Albanese said one of his first ports of call after Japan will be Indonesia, which he says will “grow into an economy that matters in the world.”
“We live in a region where in the future we will have China, India and Indonesia as giants. We need to strengthen this economic partnership, and one way to do that is to strengthen people-to-people ties as well,” Albanese said.
“Indonesia is an important nation, for our economy, also for these social ties… We really need to strengthen the relationship with Indonesia and so that would be an absolute priority for me.”
Analysts say Australia’s new prime minister faces a difficult challenge when it comes to China – especially after a bitter campaign that has put Chinese President Xi Jinping and his intentions in the spotlight. Australia’s relations with China have deteriorated under the coalition’s reign — which began at the same time as Xi’s rule. Relations deteriorated further in 2020 when the Australian government – then led by Morrison – called for an investigation into the origins of Covid-19. China responded with sanctions on Australian exports including beef, barley, wine and crawfish.
China’s response hardened public attitudes in Australia, urging Canberra to lead the charge against China’s coercive measures.
The coalition has indicated that Labor will be soft on China, but on paper Labor’s position on China appears little different from that of the Conservatives. Labor says it is committed to the AUKUS security pact, the deal Morrison struck with the United States and the United Kingdom to the detriment of Australia’s ties with France. It has also expressed strong support for the quad.
Money can’t buy votes
One of the big losers in this election was Clive Palmer, the mining tycoon who has reportedly spent almost $100 million promoting his United Australia Party because he had next to no influence.
The man Palmer touted as “the next prime minister,” Craig Kelly, a Liberal Party defector who has been chastised for spreading Covid-19 misinformation and conspiracy theories, lost his seat after receiving just 8% of the primary vote had.
Dubbed “Australia’s Trump,” Palmer campaigned on the issue of freedom and against Covid-19 vaccine mandates and lockdowns.
This isn’t the first time Palmer has tried to win an election with big money. In 2019 he put millions into the election campaign in the federal election, but did not get a single seat.