We’re two weeks on from election night, and new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has rushed off on a diplomatic tour of the Asia-Pacific. While he probably hasn’t had a moment to properly digest what just happened… I have! Now that a majority government is locked in for Labor and the new MPs are about to be sworn in, there are some key takeaways we should all keep in mind over the next three years.
This is the Zee Feed take on what we’ve got now, and where the new Parliament could take us.
If we're seeing the rise of REPRESENTATIVE democracy (you know, the system we supposedly have) I'm all for it #ausvotes
— Crystal Andrews (@crystal_jane) May 21, 2022
Hopefully, A Return to Representative Democracy:
Sometime after 8pm on election night I tweeted that the results trickling in felt like a return to representative democracy. While I can’t remember exactly what prompted it at the time, the final result now makes it feel even truer. For a long time it felt as if Parliament only represented a very narrow (male, white, wealthy) slice of Australia, that acted almost exclusively in their interests.
It’s clear many electorates used this election to demand better representation of who they are. There are heaps of examples – the most obvious and talked about is in Fowler (NSW), where voters chose local independent Dai Le over Labor candidate Kristina Keneally. It is the first time ever that Labor does not hold the seat, all because they sent in a ‘superstar’ candidate with no connection to the area. For Fowler voters, the focus was on being represented by someone who they felt actually understood their challenges and needs. The same story applies to all the successful independents and many seats won by the major parties too. In Hughes (NSW), voters made it clear that while they did not want the unhinged Craig Kelly as their MP, ultimately the Liberal Party still represents their values best.
The result is that we now have the most diverse Parliament ever. Across both Houses, it’s getting closer to matching the multicultural population of Australia with around 10% BIPOC representation, and around 40% female representation. And although it’s hard to quantify, there seems to be a greater diversity in the professional and lived experience of our government too. While law is still the most common background among politicians, it feels really damn good to see people like Stephen Bates (Brisbane, Greens) – who was working in retail before the campaign – and activist David Pocock elected. Yes, Pocock also used to play rugby (understatement) but it’s genuinely reassuring to know at least one member of government has chained themselves to a coal digger.
You’re probably sick of hearing about it, but the fact that Monique Ryan was able to take Josh Frydenberg’s seat is hugely important because it sends a message to the other career, party politicians: it doesn’t matter how high-ranking or powerful you are in your party, if the electorate believes you are not representing them, they’ll boot you.
Great list but an addition, if we may? Would be great to see the Youth vote acknowledged and credited for how it drove a lot of the other factors that ultimately influenced the outcome! #ausvotes #youthquake https://t.co/iAyyJ60GjP
— ZEE FEED (@zee_feed) May 24, 2022
A Youthquake:
Lots of focus has understandably been put on the women’s vote, but young people deserve a lot more credit than they have received for the election result. Let’s claim some of it here!
Youth participation and engagement was fundamental to delivering some of those crucial independent wins. I spoke to young women who volunteered for the first time ever, for Allegra Spender (Wentworth, NSW) and Sophie Scamps (Mackellar, NSW). They weren’t the stereotypical young politics types. Monique Ryan had a significant youth team working on the Kooyong campaign, including running the hilarious Youth4Mon TikTok account.
The Greens’ most successful election ever saw them win the seats of Brisbane, Ryan and Griffith (all in QLD) for the first time. These three seats have the highest proportion of youth voters in the country. Young people not only went out to vote for change themselves, but convinced others to as well.
If my first point holds, and the new Parliament does listen more closely to its electorate, we might finally see the issues young people care about given more airtime and addressed with meaningful policy.
Australian values appear to have shifted a little, thanks to the years that young people have spent officially and unofficially campaigning on issues of climate and social injustice. We have been influencing our families, friends, peers, and random people on the Internet that we’ve never met. Young people, including those too young to vote, have dragged the climate crisis to the attention of the general public.
It has been years in the making, which has now resulted in…
So turns out political parties and media ignoring climate change doesn’t result in voters ignoring climate change. Which is nice. #ausvotes
— Ketan Joshi (@KetanJ0) May 21, 2022
A Climate Action Mandate (That Will Be Lowkey Ignored):
Even though the major parties and mainstream media tried hard to ignore climate policy throughout this campaign, the people have spoken. We had our Climate Election. There is now a ‘climate majority’ in the Senate (Labor, the Greens and Pocock), and significant pressure in the House of Reps from a 16-person crossbench (four greens, 12 independents).
It makes things interesting, but I’m not convinced we will see the decisive climate policies we actually need to ensure the survival of the planet. The government has shifted from being “dinosaurs who won’t look up” to “dinosaurs who are talking about the spot in the sky they just noticed that keeps getting bigger.”
The ALP will retain a one-seat majority in the lower house (with their Speaker given a tie-breaking vote). They remained aligned with the Coalition on arguably the most important policy: continuing to expand fossil fuels in this country. Neither major party has clearly committed to accelerating the closure of fossil fuel plants by 2040. Some of the climate independents also shy away from explicitly asking for this, in favour of softer language around ‘science’.
Well, science says we need to stop pulling shit out of the ground and burning it. The 47th Parliament will not end that practice.
We can expect to see lots more talk about climate, though. There will be some positive news, and small steps forward. This has election proved that the electorate expects the government to do more, and we’ll need to keep reminding them of that every damn day.
New Labor government’s minimum wage submission just published and they put this in bold for emphasis: “the Government recommends that the Fair Work Commission ensures that the real wages of Australia’s low-paid workers do not go backwards.”
— Ben Schneiders (@benschneiders) June 3, 2022
A Focus on The Ways We Work:
Instead, the priority of the Albanese government looks like it will be addressing the changing nature of work in Australia. It’s already doing this in very obvious ways, including by formally asking the Fair Work Commission to increase the minimum wage, and making the gig economy and feminised industries a focus of their jobs policies.
Then there are the Ministry appointments. These symbolic decisions about who would take on leadership roles and shape the direction of the Labor government makes me feel like the party gets it. Consider: Tony Burke will oversee both the Arts and Employment & Workplace Relations portfolio. The arts is the one of the most insecure industries to work in and is vital for Australia’s economy. Connecting the two departments under one Minister is a sign that the government’s plans to revamp ‘work’ extends beyond the typical industrialised workplaces.
Plus, women now make up 45% of the Cabinet, bringing an important perspective back to the top table. A lot has been written about that, we don’t need to add to it here.
Former Victoria Liberal Deputy State Director Tony Barry on tonight’s results so far: “You can’t create conservatives if they have nothing to conserve” 👀#ausvotes
— ZEE FEED (@zee_feed) May 21, 2022
An Angry Liberal Opposition (Which Could Make Them Stronger):
In retrospect, it’s clear why the Liberal party was rejected so brutally by voters. The most insightful comment on election night came from Former Victoria Liberal Deputy State Director Tony Barry on the ABC: “You can’t create conservatives if they have nothing to conserve.”
We now live in a country where everyone except the very limited elite has to work much harder for less… what’s the appeal for even wealthy kids to join the young Liberals? The cost of living is kicking everyone in the teeth, and although low income households feel it the most, the shrinking middle class is still feeling the pinch. The Liberal Party will have to reimagine what it stands for to win back voters in 2025.
Opposition is a very powerful place for them to do that. Being perceived as the underdog is galvanizing – especially with the woozy global and economic climate we’re in. The Liberals will be able to be very critical of the social and economic plans that are proposed, without necessarily needing to offer their own solutions – exactly the benefit Labor has been enjoying for the last nine years. They will take the opportunity to start signalling to the voters they lost by advocating (or pretending to advocate) for core Liberal priorities: incentives for small business, property owners, letting the free market assign value to goods and services, and obsessively talking about government spending.
Do not be surprised to see many of the ‘socially progressive, economically conservative’ folks who just voted against the Liberal party slowly return to the club over the next three years and start repeating those criticisms.
Oh, and if you’re wondering – no they absolutely will not split from the National Party.
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