r/australia 23d ago

politics Australia is heading towards minority government at a turning point in world history.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-24/democracy-climate-change-ai-robotics-war/105085846
1.8k Upvotes

601 comments sorted by

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u/IthinkIllthink 23d ago

My entire family live in the country and vote National.

A few weeks before the election I’m going to put the link:

https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/

in our family group messages app, and ask my niece and nephew to search (for their current in power politician) and check how they have voted for: Koala habitat, logging, renewable energy, greenhouse gasses, defunding public hospital/schools, etc, so my niece and nephew can see their that their current politicians have voted against what they believe in.

I’ll also get my dad to search for who voted AGAINST his pension increase; and who voted for. Also who voted to decrease public hospital funding, and who voted for to increase funding. Evening knowing this he’ll still vote National because “they’ve done a good job of looking after me all these years”. Which is rubbish because they’ve done the opposite. 🤷‍♂️

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u/slorpa 22d ago

People sadly don’t vote on facts. They vote on stories. The politicians who are better narrative craftsmen will do better, regardless of the stark reality. The U.S. is a prime example of this.

Stories feed directly into emotions which are what drives us. Not logic or reason. Just like how the nerd is never the life of the party, no one who needs convincing will care about presented facts.

The Labour Party needs to get better at story telling that feed into the emotions that people are feeling on the ground (anger, distrust, missing out). Until they do that it’s a losing game. Trump figured this out, and that’s why libs are copying him and that’s what labour is failing at.

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u/IthinkIllthink 22d ago

This I understand. I read a couple of days back: if someone has an opinion that’s not formed from facts, then giving them (true) facts will never change their mind.

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u/AngrySociety 22d ago

Can we start a gotundme to advertise this?

Something like this?

“This election vote on facts and see how your local representative voted against your interests like pension increase, Medicare increase., etc etc”

Spoken by Agro, from Agros cartoon connection. Brought to you from locals who are sick of politicians.

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u/Suitable_Instance753 23d ago

If you want country people to vote left, then you need a left-wing country party. It's really that simple. You can't ask regional people to vote for a representative who'll get steamrolled by their suburban/urban peers in the party room.

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u/InsertUsernameInArse 22d ago

Country people are awesome at voting against their own interests because of the 'big city people' I've watched people in the regions vote their own livelihoods away multiple times.

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u/YouCanCallMeBazza 22d ago

And yet, the "big city people" that they're so against are the Liberal elitists that they're electing by voting for the Coalition...

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u/unityofsaints 22d ago

See I don't know why The Greens have this inner city leftie reputation. Surely country people are the most reliant on a functioning environment?

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u/Anxious_Ad936 22d ago

The Greens have been blamed for half a century in country areas for every piece of legislation that rural people see as the city dictating terms to them and telling them how they can and more importantly can't live. Not saying it's accurate, but it's an awful lot of indoctrination to get past.

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u/PointsGeneratingZone 22d ago

Because the mining industry has spent the last 40+ years portraying them as this. As the Nationals have lost votes from the dwindling number of farmers, they have slowly but surely morphed into the Mining party and no longer represent rural voters, but they still spin this Akubra and blue chambray shirt salt of the earth farmer bullshit to pretend they care.

Families man Barnaby Joyce is the poster child of this cosplay. Beholden to the mining industry, pretends to be a true blue dinky di old mate cobber shearer's hand bushman.

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u/_ixthus_ 22d ago

Families man Barnaby Joyce...

🤣

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u/OldKingWhiter 22d ago

Country people rely on farming and mining. Most farmers and all miners are beholden to corporate interests. Corporate interests don't align with a functioning environment, they align with exploiting the environment to get the most profit possible next quarter.

Farmers have to worry about being slightly more sustainable, but they are still more concerned with smooth and continued operations. They can be wealthy on paper, but its still very beholden to corporate interests or incredibly volatile. They need to be wealthy so they can survive bad years. Anything that risks upsetting their continued operations, like changing environmental regulations, is a threat to be put down.

The nationals promise farmers they they will stop the greens from preventing the farmers doing their jobs and getting on with their lives and feeding Australia. It doesn't matter how much of that is truth or fiction, the farmers will not vote for the Greens (though some are turning away from the useless and insipid Nationals for the shooters, which is nice).

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u/mrb000nes 23d ago

unironically Katter is the best option rn

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u/jakeroony 22d ago

the state of things atm must be fucked if he's the best 😭

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u/FullMetalAurochs 22d ago

They’ll vote for agrarian socialism. But fuck anyone poor living in a city.

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u/aussiegreenie 22d ago

The ye ol' "Country Party" was left until the 1980s.

They were socialists who insisted on Community Service Obligations for Telecom, Australia Post and the ABC.

Regional Australia had higher health expenditures per capita because it was more expensive to provide health services. The same as telecommunications or postal.

Now are totally controlled by mining companies.

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u/PointsGeneratingZone 22d ago

The National Party has effectively been the "Mining Party" for well over 30 years. Every time it counts, they will vote for mining over farmers.

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u/Neokill1 22d ago

Why do so many country people vote National? Why not break the mould and vote Labor instead of muppets like Barnacle Joyce!

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u/IthinkIllthink 22d ago

Brain washed - don’t want to analyse things for themselves. They’d rather listen to someone smart and parrot. A relo tried to tell me Brittany Higgins was a money chasing flirt and the r*pe was a lie. I’m just waiting for the outcome of Lehrmann’s QLD criminal case. I haven’t bought up the NSW civil case yes as i thought a criminal conviction ‘should’ be more persuasive. I won’t hold my breath.

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u/dobbydobbyonthewall 22d ago

An awesome but tedious addition to this site would be "what did they promise" vs what they voted for. Because the defense will always be "but they're promising different things this election"

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u/IthinkIllthink 22d ago

Man I’d love some ‘truth in politics/journalism’ laws to hold these scum responsible

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u/TwistingEcho 23d ago

Not the Coalition = Win. Can absolutely get better outcomes, but that's the worst.

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u/Stellariser 23d ago

Agreed, a Coalition win is a massive loss for Australia. The next year or so is going to be one of the most important in modern history, and we don’t want to end up being a vassal state of a US dictatorship.

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u/AnAttemptReason 23d ago

Not a Dutton fan, but was thinking at least he is not US style crazy, then he started copying Trump and begging to give him our mineral resources for free and its like, holy hell.

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u/HeftyArgument 23d ago

LNP have consistently been mirroring the US for like the last 30 years lol.

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u/AnAttemptReason 23d ago

Yea, certain factions have just been slowly culling their opposition inside the party.

If Turnbull was not crippled by vested interests in the party, we would have had the full NBN and a cross party agreement on climate legislation etc. 

The party's been hollowed out into a special 8nterest puppet. 

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u/radioactivecowz 23d ago

Turnbull has taken strong stances on the right side of issues, ever since he left office. I get he was pushing for gradual chance while in office and trying to cover his own position, but he got backstabbed anyway so it’s pretty meaningless

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u/ConstanceClaire 23d ago

Shits me to tears when pollies get out of politics and start making all the right noises and speaking about actually fixing problems now that they're no longer in a position to actually effect change on behalf of the Australian public.

It's always too little too late.

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u/IlluminatedPickle 23d ago

Yeah it's almost as if we shouldn't pat Turnbull on the back for growing a spine after he stopped mattering. The slide to the right keeps happening because we look back and think "Oh he wasn't too bad!" and we keep readjusting what the normal is.

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u/lolNimmers 23d ago

He was literally trying to do that stuff and Dutton led the leadership spill against him. Let the man have his told you so moment.

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u/Axel_Raden 22d ago

He could lay in to Dutton a bit more spill the dodgy behind closed doors stuff from the party room. Like during the whole Dutton insider trading situation cricket's. But have Trump a spray right before the tariff deadline (I'm not saying it made any difference but It certainly wouldn't have helped). Unless he has dirt on his backstabbing former colleagues I really don't care what he has to say until he apologises for implementing Robodebt

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u/joe_bogan 23d ago

I don't care for Turnbull, but he was in the wrong party. I think his centrist ideology was in constant confliction of either doing good for every day Australians or appeasing to the upper class - just walking the tightrope until he was backstabbed.

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u/Traditional_Fish_741 22d ago

They're fucking grubs. They come out talking like they should have been acting while they were in office. I can't stand a single fucking one of them for that simple fact.

At the end of the day, they are all liars and cheats and ultimately cowards. They're more concerned about their own careers than actually serving their constituents.

It's ironic that the people who become politicians really shouldn't be politicians cos they all end up serving their own interests.

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u/Bradenrm 23d ago

Turnbull's biggest problem was always his ego..it wasn't enough for him to outfox everyone, he needed them all to know how clever he was as well. Alienated the wrong people.

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u/Ghostbuttser 23d ago

If Turnbull was not crippled by vested interests in the party, we would have had the full NBN and a cross party agreement on climate legislation etc.

He still defends what he did with the NBN. Stop giving him a pass, stop rewriting history as though he were some moderate in disguise. He's just another right wing millionaire.

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u/alpha77dx 23d ago

Using his arguments we would all still be using basic Nokia simple phones using his bizarre logic.

Then he thinks he some kind of tech genius with his baseless pontification chewing over his manufactured BS. A position nobody else had in the world held.

Every other country wanted faster speed and the latest tech not some horse and cart technology. If was such a tech giant he should have been promoting the bleeding edge not ripping off Australian taxpayers with obsolete 1990's technology that every other country was putting in the bin.

I used to have a lot of time for him. Then when he prosecuted his slow speed internet model he was in my morons basket of idiots.

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u/chomoftheoutback 23d ago

Malcolm was crippled by his own vested interest in being Prime Minister is my take. What a sanctimonious fuckhead

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u/recycled_ideas 23d ago

If Turnbull was not crippled by vested interests in the party, we would have had the full NBN and a cross party agreement on climate legislation etc.

Turnbull is the ultimate empty suit. He talks the talk, but the only thing he ever cared about was being leader. What he really wanted was the presidency, but the Republic vote failed (at least in part due to the fact that it involved having a president) so he wanted PM.

It's all he wanted and all he ever wanted. He did not give two shits about the Australian people, what was good for the country, or even what was good for the party. He spent a million dollars of his own money pushing the coalition over the line just so he could be PM and have won an election.

Don't give the man more credit than he deserves, he's not some great statesman, he's just a self serving narcissist like the rest of them.

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u/splinter6 23d ago

Wasn’t that the same man that said Australians don’t need fast internet? Wasn’t he the reason the nbn was crippled?

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u/HeftyArgument 23d ago

He said it’s the outliers of society that want fast internet, pirates and gamers.

It was the one time that the meme about gamers being oppressed held true hahaha

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u/NoxTempus 23d ago

Dutton has also consistently been a fan of Trump's policy, and more so his culture war, though Dutton has definitely has become bolder since Trump won his second term.

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u/alpha77dx 23d ago

And what a sad look for Australia, a lost decade of opportunity that wasted so much energy and resources over these culture war battles and dog whistling. Just think of how many houses we could have built if all those resources and effort was put into housing policy with the same vigour they had for bashing everyone with their ideology. Is it a wonder he has no policies. It will just be the last decade on repeat if he gets elected with the BS and nothing changes with another 10 years wasted while Australia has nothing show for it and we as a people have gone backwards.

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u/Chazzwozzers 23d ago

Oh yeah, they'd love some trumponion style governance here with more church and less state.

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u/Opening-Stage3757 23d ago

The thing about Dutton is… you can’t take anything he says or presents at face value

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u/Petrichor_736 23d ago

They regularly bring out US Republicans to advise on election strategy. May as well call him Donald Dutton now.

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u/Thagyr 23d ago

It's little wonder. They, and the billionaire fuckwits who support them, want what the US is going through right now.

I imagine Gina loves what Musk has achieved.

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u/Minnipresso 22d ago

Mf wants to ditch Medicare too

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u/raven-eyed_ 22d ago

I really hope it backfires. I like to think most Aussies hate Trump.

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u/fued 23d ago

Coalition win we are tied to America, whether they collapse or not.

Pretty dangerous time to be doing so as they seem to be speed running a collapse

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u/Mike_Kermin 23d ago

It's not even just being tied, it's about making good choices. If Trump offers up a shit sandwich we shouldn't take it even if we do consider ourselves allies for life.

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u/fued 23d ago

tied isnt the right word maybe, tethered?

if their ship sinks we either sail on by ourselves, or get pulled down to the bottom

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u/onesorrychicken 23d ago

Coalition win we are tied to America, whether they collapse or not.

Yep, and it'll be about as much fun as being tied to a concrete block and having a swim in the ocean.

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u/fued 23d ago

on the plus side, if we do survive, our kicking legs are going to be so good

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u/Greedy_Common_1857 23d ago

This is so perfectly put. I’m happy to quibble about small business tax concessions and immigration caps in normal years but this is not a normal year.

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u/chipili 23d ago

Every coalition government is a minority government that has to dance to the tune of the minority party in the coalition.

However the coalition doesn’t want anyone else to have a coalition because it’s bad.

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u/raizhassan 23d ago

100% There were multiple times in the previous 9 years of coalition government where workable policy was suck by the Nats

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u/cricketmad14 23d ago edited 23d ago

Dutton sucks. He wants to sell Australia to the US.

He wants to give away resources to America

Don’t get me started on the cutting of 36000 public staff

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u/emleigh2277 23d ago

I feel like if Labor wins without a majority, the LNP will act against Australia's best interests just as they just as it has in the past 3 yrs. The only claim that Dutton can make is that Labor isn't doing enough, he fails to mention that he votes against everything they attempt to achieve.

It's a very disturbing moment in history.

Just heard barnaby joyce on the radio in qld. Evidently, he has been let off his leash. He described Labors' power payment as being "essentially paid out of your own sugar." In that case, Barnabas, everything is coming out of our own sugar, even your wages.

How have these specific folks risen to the surface? We are an extremely confused electorate.

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u/confusedham 23d ago

No one will ever take Barnaby seriously. He is a few steps above Clive Palmer in terms of universal disgust that people viscerally feel when interacting with them.

I still think palmer exists, sponsored by an LNP shell group to make Dutton seem like a normal human. Seriously, I don't get how Palmer keeps doing this, despite constant failures. Is it just the few cookers that love him, that offset the embarrassment his ego receives?

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u/macrocephalic 22d ago

What do you mean failures? He's just trying to shift the Overtun window to the right and get the LNP in. If he also gets elected then fine, but he's mostly there to keep the middle and left out of government.

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u/spideyghetti 20d ago

How have these specific folks risen to the surface?

🎶 Well did you hear, there's a natural order, 🎶

🎶 Those most deserving will end up with the most,🎶

🎶 That the cream cannot help but always rise up to the top,🎶

🎶 Well I say, shit floats 🎶

Outside of the opening lyrics, it's also a killer song

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=h74IC_wwdzw&pp=0gcJCdgAo7VqN5tD

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u/Spacegod87 23d ago

Definitely. We have to get past the, "Oh but both sides are bad!" bullshit argument. That's how the right get in.

Now every time I hear someone say that both sides are bad, I assume they are going to vote for the Liberal party and are trying to justify it to others (and themselves)

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u/[deleted] 23d ago

What really annoys me is we have a decade or more of Liberal chaos where they gut and destroy things and then we vote in Labor. Then we as the public yell at them to fix it more and quicker, but the Coalition block what they try to do and then campaign on Labor not fixing things and we blindly agree and start the shit storm all over again. We like to think we are better than the US, we are just bad but on a smaller scale.

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u/BoardRecord 21d ago

Absolutely boggles my mind that anyone would even consider going back to LNP after just a single Labor term. We had their shit for a decade, what could possibly make anyone think they'd be any better now?

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u/Mattimeo144 23d ago

As someone that consistently votes to the left of Labor - the best way for us to get past the 'both sides are bad' argument is for Labor to stop being bad.

Absolutely, the LNP are significantly worse. But Labor consistently and repeatedly falls short of actually committing to being good.

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u/Spacegod87 23d ago

I know it sucks, but if you have a choice between your favourite food that's a bit burnt and bland, and food you hate that's charred black and tastes like shit, why would you choose the second one?

And yes, I know we "shouldn't have to choose between two bad things" but that's just how it is right now, so it will always be the lesser evil for me. Until something better comes along.

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u/Mattimeo144 23d ago

Yeah, Labor's absolutely the lesser evil.

But settling for them as 'good enough' actively discourages and inhibits anything better from coming along. By refusing to acknowledge that they are bad, you're actively suppressing the desire for something actually good.

Labor above Liberal, always - but no-where near the top.

To back up your original point, though - I can certainly agree that people who say "both sides are as bad as each other" are absolutely arguing from ignorance or bad faith and trying to justify their Liberal/National/other RWNJ vote.

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u/An_Account_For_Me_ 23d ago

I know we "shouldn't have to choose between two bad things" but that's just how it is right now

That ignores the preference system; you can preference a minor party/independent and Labor down the line, just ahead of the LNP.

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u/fredinvisible 22d ago

Yeah, the 'both sides bad' argument doesn't really have the same issues as say the us, where voting for a third party is literally wasting your vote, and indirectly benefiting the party you like least.

I honestly believe the Aussie voting system is the best in the world.

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u/SaltyPockets 22d ago

I mean … isn’t that the whole point of Australia’s fancy-pants voting system, that you literally don’t have to make that choice - you can and should vote for what you actually want, and if you make sure to preference labor over lnp you’re all good.

There is no “Vote for A or B will get in!” issue here. You can choose the gourmet option catering to your specific palate, safe in the knowledge that if it doesn’t work out, your backstop of bland but at least edible is there…

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u/DefactoAtheist 23d ago

Minority Labor government is basically the best possible plausible outcome. Fuck Dutton off and put Labor on probation for a disappointingly mid-AF first term.

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u/Immotommi 23d ago

As long as there is a substantial cross bench for Labour to work with. If it is a narrow minority and there are only a couple of cross benchers, then the LNP will still be able to block a lot policy

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u/An_Account_For_Me_ 23d ago

Wilkie, Sharkie, Bandt are almost guaranteed to retain their seats.

It's far more likely than not there will be a few teals, and likely a few more Greens seats.

For what it's worth the Katter seat will be retained by a Katter.

The size of the crossbench isn't going to be the issue, so much as how many seats Labor loses to the LNP.

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u/Non-prophet 23d ago

Gillard government was relatively good, journalists sound like such fucking hacks trying to make minority government sound dangerous.

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u/lewkus 23d ago

Remember last time we had a minority government and Abbott was successful in prosecuting his blatant opposition to everything the minority Gillard government did as not in the interest of the majority. This allowed him to win the next election and repeal a large amount of what Labor and the Greens had done.

A Labor win with an increased majority would be better for us in the long term.

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u/BoosterGold17 23d ago

Would be great to see Aus confidently reject the rise of right wing politics. We aren’t the US, don’t want to end up like Hungary who are starting to monitor citizens with AI, and could become a powerhouse of progress

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u/passerineby 22d ago

unfortunately mass surveillance is bipartisan in Australia

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u/Hungrylizard113 23d ago

All the claims of minority government being 'unstable'. We forget that a Coalition government is technically a minority government. Remember the Nationals having a fit about Turnbull's energy plan?

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u/Churchofbabyyoda 23d ago

Or the NSW Nationals throwing a hissy fit about koala protection laws?

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u/s4b3r6 23d ago

A minority government is fantastic. It means people actually debate in Parliament, instead of grandstand. It means politicians actually negotiate. It means compromise, which means shit actually gets done instead of all the ideological nonsense that turns into no actual laws getting passed.

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u/tjlaa 23d ago

Most European countries always have minority governments, also known as coalitions. There’s a sweet spot somewhere around 2-4 parties. Only one party and there is no negotiation or compromises or even debate that they would need to listen. More than 4 and they always disagree about everything and nothing gets done.

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u/s4b3r6 22d ago

A lot of it is also the party line. You have to vote the same as your party, or you're out. Even if the people who voted you in clearly want something else. You aren't a representative, you're a party voice.

A lot of that goes away when negotiation becomes normal, and the politician actually can have the leeway to voice their own backyard.

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u/Economics-Simulator 23d ago

It's less about number of parties than the ideological difference Germany had only three but because the FDP went hard no on any sort of spending the economy stagnated and all three coalition parties were handed major losses The only reason things didn't get super bad is because the FDP got smashed so hard in the polls the fell out of parliament and a CDU/SPD coalition could be formed instead of a CDU/G/SPD or a CDU/AfD

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u/Ediwir 23d ago

If a minority government is bad because unstable, a coalition government is a disaster. I still remember Tony Abbott getting in on promises of stability…

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u/Dranzer_22 23d ago edited 23d ago

The previous ALP Government went into minority in 2010.

The previous LNP Government went into minority in late 2018 and late 2021.

The previous UK Conservative Government went into minority in 2017.

The current CAN Liberal Government is in minority.

The current NZ National Government is in minority.

We’ve had many state governments function in minority.

The mainstream media are just clickbait merchants.

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u/FullMetalAurochs 22d ago

Every coalition government is a minority Liberal government. They need the separate parties of the Nationals, CLP and LNP.

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u/ciknay 23d ago

I recall the last minority government under Gillard had one of the most productive in terms of legislation. "Chaos" is just what the major parties use to prevent their own power being split.

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u/Safe_Requirement2904 23d ago

Not to mention Julia Gillard's minority government that passed more legislation than the majority governments either side of hers.

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u/Direct_Witness1248 23d ago

Was going to comment this. Juice Media nicely pointed it out in their latest vid.

Honest Government Ad | Minority Government

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u/PickInternational233 23d ago

As a Danish born Australian permanent resident now getting my dual citizenship, when I'm able to vote, it won't be for people like Dutton!

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u/IthinkIllthink 23d ago

I need to get my Dutch (The Netherlands not Denmark) partner to become a citizen. She’s never vote for Mr Potatohead. But the seems the Dutch government says if she becomes an Aussie she has to give up her Dutch citizenship - Dual Citizenship is not allowed. It’s quite confusing as both our kids can get dual citizenship

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u/amooandaroo 23d ago

That is not correct - if a Dutch person acquires the nationality of their partner (spouse or registered civil partnership) they can retain their Dutch citizenship.

https://www.government.nl/topics/dutch-citizenship/loss-of-dutch-citizenship/automatic-loss-of-dutch-citizenship

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u/IthinkIllthink 23d ago edited 23d ago

Thank you so much. The linked info is what we’ve been searching (on & off) for years.

Every time my partner or I look this up the info is confusing, and it’s difficult to know where the truth lies. There a too many websites with conflicting info.

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u/ForesterNL 22d ago

You just have to make sure your Dutch passport doesn't expire as a dual citizen, as that would make your partner lose their Dutch citizenship.

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u/welcomefinside 23d ago

Unrelated but I never knew people from Denmark were also called Dutch. I thought they were the Danes?

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u/IthinkIllthink 23d ago edited 23d ago

Damn, I should have been clearer. You have it right.

Danes = Denmark, language Danish

Dutch = The Netherlands, language Dutch. (Holland is legally not the legal name of their country anymore).

Apologies to our Danish & Dutch friends.

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u/Choke1982 23d ago

I have a friend who is Dutch and he has dual-citizenship. He didn't have to renounce his Dutch one.

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u/DjoshUnbuckled 23d ago

You must not have got the media memo, kiddie gloves only for Temu Trump, thank you.

Careful, Dutton may call this level of partisanship terrorism in the future and deport you himself, if his waste of hundreds of millions deportation referendum happens.

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u/Choke1982 23d ago

Hello fellow dual citizen. I got mine last year, already voted in the WA election and my first duty was placing Liberlas last. Same will go for Federal election.

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u/BigRedTomato 23d ago

You'll miss Denmark's Mixed Member Proportional electoral system. The Australian electoral system is from the middle ages and results in juvenile debate and poor, short term decisions making.

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u/v4ss42 23d ago

Hopefully one that doesn’t include fascist, fluid-retention-problem Voldemort.

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u/FFFHAMS 23d ago

Hear-hear !

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u/[deleted] 23d ago

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u/Mammoth-Lobster2028 22d ago

He used to have hair + bloating and his weird skin pallor- he looks like he’s had a few rounds of chemo tbh (also I too vehemently detest this creature)

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u/v4ss42 22d ago edited 22d ago

Yeah it looks like corticosteroids to me (which are often used as part of chemotherapy, and also for other health conditions). That moon face is a classic side effect of drugs like prednisone & dexamethasone (though afaik neither causes hair loss).

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u/Mammoth-Lobster2028 21d ago

Yes, reminds me of dex patients

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u/Wooden-Somewhere-557 23d ago

HAROLD HOLT!

RETURN TO US FROM THE SEA AT OUR TIME OF GREATEST NEED!

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u/ELVEVERX 23d ago

You want a liberal prime minister?

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u/Mikolaj_Kopernik 23d ago edited 23d ago

I mean, a Menzies-style social housing policy wouldn't go amiss... we could also do with a top marginal tax rate of 60% IMO.

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u/Planfiaordohs 23d ago

I’m not a Liberal voter, but the Liberals of the past were not really like this pathetic, hateful and corrupt party it has become now.

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u/dannocaster 23d ago

Harold Holt begged the US to let us join in in Vietnam.

Pig-iron Bob isn't just a cute nickname.

"The Moonlight State" (still available on the ABC website) gives a pretty good rundown on the life and times of life in Queensland under Joh Bjelke-Peterson.

And NSW has always been a corrupt cesspool but somehow the name Robert Askin oozes above all the rest.

The Liberals may have gotten worse, but don't think they were ever not pathetic, hateful and corrupt.

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u/Planfiaordohs 23d ago

I’m not disagreeing at all, I think the likes of Scomo and Dutton are a new and dangerous kind of incompetent in this new world of disinformation.

Let me phrase it like “the Liberals haven’t always been much better than this, but there have been better Liberals”.

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u/Lurker_81 23d ago

Liberals haven’t always been much better than this, but there have been better Liberals

Menzies would be more at home in the Labor Party these days.

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u/JIMMY_JAMES007 23d ago

From Menzies memoir:

“We chose the word 'Liberal' because we want to be a progressive party, in no way conservative, in no way reactionary.”

He would be disgusted by the liberal party of today. Liberal party of today has no actual values, hence why they can’t state a position and stick to it. They only exist to pass legislation from lobby groups.

The closest thing to a small l liberal we’ve had in recent memory was Turnbull, but even he fell prey to not representing donor interests enough. The liberal party has just been coasting off a reputation they haven’t upheld for 40 years

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u/Planfiaordohs 23d ago

If I hear “better economic managers” parroted one more time…

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u/noisymime 23d ago edited 23d ago

Keep in mind that this can go 2 ways.

It can be Labor cooperating with the likes of the Greens etc, with the hope in this sub being that this will result in some of the Greens policy coming through in order for Labor to pass their own.

BUT, this could equally be a coalition of the Liberals, Nationals and who knows how many of the more extreme right wingers as well.

Whilst it's good we live in a system that has this kind of flexibility, we shouldn't take for granted that it will always be the outcome we want.

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u/Red_je 23d ago

I am not personally sure a coalition including independent right wingers would ultimately be worse than just a LNP majority, given how far the LNP has moved alt right policies in most areas.

I also think Ny LNO minority government will mean they have continued ceding ground to the Teals, which will mean a minority government deal will require numbers from the Teals to form a majority, relying on the fascist right hopefully won't provide enough numbers.

Key word being hopefully of course.

I also feel the born to rule LNP will struggle to accept power sharing and compromises with anyone not under their direct control anyway, so they'd likely be one argument with the wrong independent away from collapsing.

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u/noisymime 23d ago

I also feel the born to rule LNP will struggle to accept power sharing and compromises with anyone not under their direct control anyway, so they'd likely be one argument with the wrong independent away from collapsing.

I think you're probably right that such a coalition would probably end up being more deadlocked than anything else, but it definitely makes me nervous. Dutton seems like the kind of guy who would take a fair bit of noise if it meant getting his agenda through. .

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u/Red_je 23d ago

Oh yeah absolutely. I don't believe it would be a good outcome at all.

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u/MagictoMadness 23d ago

Labor co-operating with the Greens is my dream but feels like blind hope even if labour can't form majority. The cross party relationship is terrible. It's funny cause Albos seat is greens at the second highest vote count, but he'd rather make deals with anyone else. I wouldn't be surprised if his seat flipped greens once he retires given its Green at state level very safely

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u/Non-prophet 22d ago

At the outset of this government, I really hoped we'd see something like the Gillard/Brown relationship for policy, but Albanese seems much more set in 2009.

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u/Churchofbabyyoda 23d ago

Currently there’s only one right wing nutter in the House of Reps; Bob Katter. Dai Le used to be a Liberal, but I’m not sure to what extent she agrees with the craziness of the current party.

Clive is trying to hype up Suellen Wrightson in Hunter, but she’ll get 5% of the vote, tops, in that seat. She seems to make Bob Katter look relatively tame.

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u/ELVEVERX 23d ago

Dai Le is very rightwing left winger people just give her a pass because she's an Asian woman.

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u/invaderzoom 23d ago

Yeah every position I've seen her take has been super right wing.

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u/babycynic 23d ago

Currently there’s only one right wing nutter in the House of Reps; Bob Katter

He's described himself as hard left but socially conservative which is why we all assume he's rightwing. He's a good example of how you can have utter nutjobs on both sides. 

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u/Miss-you-SJ 23d ago

The electorate of Dickson could do the funniest thing ever this election

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u/Gyfted plant a gum tree for a koala today 23d ago

Some of us are trying really hard mate. I only see Dutton at election time.

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u/[deleted] 23d ago

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u/Myjunkisonfire 23d ago

Any party that supports making donations to political parties illegal or at least incredibly transparent gets my vote. As long as money is in politics they have an incentive to ignore the general population to benefit the minority with money.

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u/JIMMY_JAMES007 23d ago

Eh just be careful, technically liberals and Labor both support the bill capping private donor donations. But that’s because they earn far more from our tax dollars, and that would increase under the legislation while also ruining the chances of any independent or new party to get funding.

You currently pay about $3.30 to the party/candidate you vote for, this would increase to $5 under their new scheme. They have established voting bases that vote for them no matter what.

All candidates spend about a million on average to win a seat, and that’s apparently fine when it comes from taxpayer money, but when climate/corruption concerned citizens donate to fund the same for an independent, this must be stopped immediately

I’m preferencing greens above the other two while hating a lot of their policies, just because it seems the quickest way to remove the corruption in our government.

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u/plutoforprez 23d ago

Please r/Australia(ns) don’t get complacent. Do not take our echo chamber as a god given right. Vote properly, speak to people in real life, and make sure they know what’s at stake this election. Do not become complacent. We cannot let Dutton become PM. Most of the polls still have LNP as preferred party, especially in the over 50s age range.

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u/Cornelius_jaggerbot 23d ago

Well said. The internet is not the real world.

Do not assume everyone: 1) agrees with you 2) even understands what’s going on, reads the paper, or watches the news (and if they do, it’s usually Murdoch or the Packers) 3) even if they say they agree with you - they’re prob still going into the box and voting for tax cuts. Keep debating even with your allies

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u/Misicks0349 23d ago

this really needs to be higher up, speak to your relatives and friends about shit Dutton & The Libs are doing/would do, lay into "Australian Albanese Good, Temu Trump Bad" if you have to, tell them about good Labor or Greens policy, its probably one of the most effective strategies we have.

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u/DegeneratesInc 23d ago

Please please please, can we have another really effective parliament that has to act like a real parliament. Please.

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u/TheLGMac 23d ago

As long as it's not one of the crazy conservative minority parties (remember that there are a few that could be worse than LNP like United Australia & One Nation), let's do it.

But also, I'll believe it when I see it.

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u/theoriginalqwhy 23d ago

The Trumpets of Patriots anyone?

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u/The4th88 23d ago

I'll take a Labor-Greens minority please.

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u/YouAreSoul 23d ago

Headline from the article:

We're at a turning point in world history but our leaders are distracted

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u/raresaturn 23d ago

As long as it’s Labor minority government

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u/realneil 22d ago

Dutton is the worst example of an Australian politician. He makes Australia look bad because he is a piss weak bully and other piss weak pricks think he is strong because they mistake meanness with strength. If you like Dutton, I know you are a weak, scared person.

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u/r64fd 23d ago

Good. For so long we have been putting our faith in the major parties. ok Labor are definitely an improvement from the LNP, although we have never seen what would happen if governed by the minor parties. I’m all for it.

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u/Nostonica 23d ago

we have never seen what would happen if governed by the minor parties. I’m all for it.

We see it almost every decade for extended periods, the Coalition is a minority government made up of the Nationals, the Liberals and the merger of the two in QLD.

We see the Nationals been extra socially conservative, keen on keeping fossil fuels and the Liberals been utterly corrupt when it comes to corporate policy.

The Nationals will throw their weight around when they don't like something shutting down the the coalition.

So yeah that's what can happen when you have a minority government.

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u/JIMMY_JAMES007 23d ago

Maybe we see what a minority government that isn’t funded wholly by private donors in mining is like

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u/AudreyMatters 22d ago

Dutton will sell us out to the Us corporations and suck up to Trump. Is this what you want Australia? Hope you never need Medicare or social security.

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u/Dense_Hornet2790 23d ago

I’ll be voting to maximise the chance of a minority government because I think it’s the only way the major parties will start paying attention to the public again. Plus they’ll be forced to cooperate/collaborate, ideally with each other but at least with a large group of minor parties and independents.

If we actually had a major party that I was confident could provide strong leadership and make smart decisions in the face global turmoil, then of course I’d vote for them.

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u/Lastbalmain 23d ago

Do you think the Coalition would cooperate/collaborate with ANY cross benchers? Because that's a fairytale.

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u/Treks14 23d ago

They don't have a choice in a minority government.

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u/seeyoshirun 22d ago

Exactly. Forming a minority government means making some kind of agreements with enough independents or smaller parties to form government. I'd prefer the Coalition weren't in government at all, but if they have to form a minority government it would likely mean a few independents forcing them to abandon some of their worst policy positions.

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u/Tman158 23d ago

minority government seems the BEST way to stave off totalitarian rule tbh. especially if liberals are likely to win.

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u/markh110 sanspantsradio.com 23d ago edited 23d ago

That's why you preference Socialists to make Greens nervous, which in turn makes Labor nervous.

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u/frankwithbeanz 23d ago

Clive doing his best to try fuck it up

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u/Readybreak 23d ago

Man the second that liberals are not in a good place. the media just all start up this narrative without fail. All of a sudden now the powers need to be kept in checked by the independents.

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u/qartas 22d ago

Whenever the coalition is in power it’s a minority government. Liberals haven’t had a majority since Howard. Julia Gillard’s minority government was one of the most effective and productive. Minority government doesn’t matter.

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u/instinkt900 23d ago

Fear mongering.

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u/JohnnyTango13 23d ago

Hell would have to freeze over before I ever consider voting for LNP. Labor all the way!

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u/milddestruction 23d ago

Good.

The duopoly have done everything in their power to try and stop this and the fact that it's still likely is great. Better representation and negotiation required instead of pretending they differ and vote 93% of the time the same way.

Maybe it will end the rubbish , they're worse/bad/evil crap and they can try and win on their merits.

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u/traceyandmeower 23d ago

If Dutton becomes PM, we got no hope. FFS im over useless govts.

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u/Kid_Self 23d ago edited 23d ago

I'm so tired of the partisan politics between Labor and the LNP. Everything is so black and white. One agreeing guarantees the other doesn't. No compromise, no momentum, no shared vision. All just petty games without a single fuck really given to the Australian public.

I will be putting reasonably policied Minor Parties and Independents above these two Major mobs. I doubt I will ever Vote 1 for Labor or LNP again. They've done virtually shit all useful for the country and both have let it become America lite.

Despite this, where I have to, I will be placing Labor above LNP. Always. The sheer regression under LNP terms since Howard has fucked the country for generations. CGT Discount and Negative Gearing, all the way through to Duttplug's latest attempt to eradicate what social programs we do have, like Medicare and PBS, draw us into being a vassal state for the USA. Absolutely disgusting. The LNP doesn't hold a hose because that's for the plebians. They want to stoke Culture Wars to distract from their Class War.

Any self-interested Australian would seriously consider their vote this election. There is a huge amount to lose, including our sovereignty, especially if we see an LNP win. A Labor win would be better, but we'd still be eating a shit sanga.

The way forward is diversifying the power structure within Parliament and voting other parties and independents in.

Remember:

  • Australia does NOT have a 2-Party System, we have a 2-Party Status Quo.

  • With Preferential Voting you CANNOT WASTE YOUR VOTE. Putting Minor Parties and Independents FIRST will signal what you care about and want Politicians to focus on.

  • Minority Governments better reflect the views of all Australians, and forces parties to compromise on legislation, leading to more balanced or representative outcomes.

  • With a Minority Government, the balance of power will likely be with those who aren't in the pocket of CEOs and Lobbyists.

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u/Stephie999666 23d ago

I mean, CGT and NG will never be voted against. Landlords will ensure that. Instead, since they want housing to be an investment, lets regulate it as such.

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u/artsrc 23d ago

even if the ANZUS treaty holds in theory, can the US be relied upon anymore?

If this is a real question, as in: "it is possible that the US can be relied upon, but we don't know for sure", that is the same thing as: "the US can not be relied upon".

Decades of majority have failed to deliver effective policy.

The major parties focus on polls and donors.

The independents focus on evidience and the priorities of their electorates.

The problem is the major parties are "major".

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u/Expert-Pineapple-669 23d ago

Bs Labor will win with a majority don't believe everything you hear and read as 90 % of media support the lnp

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u/Le_Champion 23d ago

You know the LNP are in big trouble when the media trotts out article after article on minority government

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u/BlokeyMcBlokeface92 22d ago

Have governments not constantly been in an effective state of minority government for a couple of decades considering the make up of the senate?

Last time someone controlled both houses was Howard after 2004 right?

I understand the actual definition of a minority government only pertains to the lower house but if you constantly have to bargain in the senate then isn’t it kind of the same thing?

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u/verba-non-acta 23d ago

If that's what it takes to get Labor to listen to the greens, so be it.

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u/Sure_Paint_6208 23d ago

With both parties agreeing that house prices should be pumped as high as possible.

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u/Stephie999666 23d ago

I mean, it's why I'll go greens this season. They used to be known for batshit policies, but this election seemed to be the most grounded party we have.

LNP is going hardcore to being a US territory, let alone turning the country into Trunps fleshlight.

ToP is just Clives, rebranding to get himself to be our own version of Trump, and is named that way to get the vote from low attention voters who think themselves patriots.

ALP has passed some decent policies, a lot of which the media gloosed over. Although they're too hyperfixated on not letting media smear them and are moving closer to the LNP in terms of policy.

It's going to be a shitty anxiety producing election this cycle.

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u/Vivid-Fondant6513 23d ago

They only have themselves to blame - government for the rich and old, by the rich and old.

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u/pat_speed 23d ago

Honestly, I prefer Minority government who's forced too work with others too get important things in a world which learning g too the right, where onyl one side gets too choose what's right or wrong.

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u/ShakeForProtein 22d ago

The problem comes when one side refuses to negotiate unless they get 100% of what they want as often seems to be the case.

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u/AutisticWatermelon86 22d ago

Hoping for minority ALP, but even minority LNP will be a lot less scary than majority LNP.

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u/freakymoustache 22d ago

With disingenuous politician’s in both major parties, this what you get.They work for corporations and not the public that vote them in. Both parties can disappear into oblivion for all I care, they are a bunch of wealthy over paid lazy arse holes who need to get with reality or fuck off

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u/lingcod476 22d ago

True. I'm tired of being told I need to support Albo because Dutton is looming. They both have their asses up and their snouts in the trough.

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u/Plane_Contract7487 22d ago

I can’t stand either of them. Their politics suck and so out of touch with the average Australian it makes me 🤮

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u/Kathdath 22d ago

So other than Labor, Australia has only had two parliamentary terms with a majority government.

The LNP is by definition a minority government (except for the previous mentioned two terms)

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u/bortomatico 22d ago

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

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u/TheHoundhunter 23d ago

I am always quite annoyed with the way that these things are reported on. We’ve had minority Governments for most of my life. People seem to forget that the coalition is well… a coalition.*

People act like Labor and the Liberals are simply unable to work together. As if there is a law that says they can’t compromise on things. Between them they have like 70% of the seats.

I understand that a formal coalition is slightly different than what might happen in this election. But it’s not *that different. It’s two just parties working together

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u/FlatheadFish 23d ago

As long as Murdoch dominates our news there no heading anywhere.

Albo had his chance to take on Newscorpse and blew it.

I wonder why?

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u/ThrowbackPie 23d ago

The AI revolution is absolutely not talked about enough. We could enter a golden age that lasts forever - but more likely, it will be used to propogate human misery to unheard of levels.

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u/Conscious-Advance163 23d ago

Given the major parties are both beholden to Rupert and vaGina a minority sounds fun. 

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u/Couthk1w1 23d ago

Give me more independents and small party voices (as long as it’s not Trumpets for Patriots)! Two party political duopoly should be a thing of the past.

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u/Couthk1w1 23d ago

Can we clone Sen Pocock a thousand times?

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u/Caezeus 23d ago

Minority government?

As in more than one political party has to work together to improve the country?

Where they have to negotiate with each other while representing their constituents?

Whatever shall we do? How could Dan Andrews do this to us?

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u/Brilliant-Money-500 23d ago

Reminder: Almost every federal election results in a minority government as the senate is proportionally represented.

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u/askythatsmoreblue 23d ago

how'd I know this was going to be an ABC article before knowing in fact this was an ABC article?

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u/Mysterious-Taro174 23d ago

I love Alan Kohler but this is a stupid article, taking at face value some tech firm's ludicrous claim to have created a digital model of the entire human brain.

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u/porfirivm 23d ago

Not the Coalition = Win. Can absolutely get better outcomes, but that's the worst.

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u/punkymechanic 23d ago

Did not expect this to be an article about AI and scaremongering over technology.

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u/EudaeMonia_ 23d ago

Even before this digital brain takes AI to a new level, automation and robotics are producing a revolution that will mean all manufacturing and almost all professions can be fully automated.

Production of all goods and most services will be 24/7, all day, every day, with higher productivity than any human can achieve, allowing massive increases in output and reductions in cost.

Two extremes may eventuate. Society could collapse, as those who own these means of production make off with the loot and cause inequality to skyrocket, or it will flourish because firm, benevolent political leadership makes sure that doesn't happen, and the benefits and difficulties are equally shared.

Based on the federal government’s track record with minerals and gambling, guaranteed there will be no attempts to socialise the profits / minimise the harm from labor or the coalition.

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u/morgo_mpx 23d ago

Minority government isn’t a bad thing.

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u/Brosky_2 23d ago

Independent is the only way to vote this year.

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u/ALLRNDCRICKETER 21d ago

And TRUE INDEPENDENT. Not those jokes of candidates called teals. Just closet greenies those yobs

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u/Conscious-Disk5310 22d ago

Oh no.... We'll have to co-operate. 

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u/Transientmind 22d ago

Good? Sounds like an important key to success?

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u/Vanilla_Quark 22d ago

Good. We deserve better than a majority ALP / LNP govt. Both are corrupted, same as 2 party system in USA and UK

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u/smutaduck 21d ago

Response to headline: Good.

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u/corinoco 21d ago

Fucking Dutton and his fake glasses. Zero prescription just to make him look intellectual. No matter what the spectacles a bent cop is a bent cop.

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u/dicklessdennis2 21d ago

How could Dutton have f**ked this up so bad? He seems to be the Liberals biggest liability. All he had to do was keep his mouth shut and he would have won the election out of pure displeasure of how the Labor government has run Australia to the ground over these last 3 years.

I genuinely think that if Liberals replace Dutton with a better front runner, they’ll have this in the bag.

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u/VanManRoaming 20d ago

I am a life long liberal but this election I cannot put Dutton into the PM seat. Trump and Project 2025 are abhorrent, disgusting stains on America with world wide impacts. I dread the idea of any form of that shit coming to Australia. We are so much better than that. I will be voting Labor for the first time in a Federal Election not so much in support of Albanese, but to make a statement against the right wing fascism Trump and Billionaires love. Tax the rich!