I hate to say it, but, I took little notice of the election.
Being moved to Chris Bowen, the destroyer’s electorate through a redistribution, my vote was going to be worthless. I, at least, tried to get the independent across the line. Failed. The recent citizenship additions to our nation would have happily voted for more of the same - never having seen a remotely conservative government
I was angered that a supposed Conservative Party couldn’t articulate a coherent conservative position with conservative policies. It appeared the entered a race with Labor to circle the drain and give out as much “free” stuff as they could.
I personally never heard anyone explain that cancelling HECS debt simply moved that debt to the taxpayer, and our children. No, it was Magic Pudding time in Australia 2025.
I’ve always believed it was your responsibility to vote, to have some skin in the game. I’ve changed my mind. Put simply, stupid people shouldn’t vote because they have to, they should be able to stay home and put their feet up and watch MAFS or some other trash entertainment.
Stupid people should'nt vote. But stupid people should'nt be alowed to stand for election.
You have to admire the irone. Australia is a purportedly a liberal democracy but voting and preferences are compulsory.
A truely Australian democracy - with compulsion at the core.
A system designed to privelge the majors but clearly not good enough anymore. Maybe the Libs might entertain some electoral reform that returns power to the people now.
Recall elections. Citizen initiated referenda. Term limits. Citizen approval of politician and senior bureaucrats pay increases.
Not a completely surprising result for me - I stopped following the campaign closely a week after the election was called, when it became obvious the Coalition’s primary strategy was to ride an expected wave of dissatisfaction with cost of living pressures, & otherwise present a small target. No heavy hitting on excessive immigration, & the consequential housing & infrastructure pressures, no cut thru’ on unnecessarily high energy bills & renewables fantasies, no convincing alternative to limited defence preparedness when internationally some countries look like they are preparing for war, etc etc. The strategy lacked the urgency needed to overturn voters’ innate unwillingness to turf a 1st term govt. Even so, Labor’s strong result despite a low primary vote was a surprise. It looks like the Coalition abandoned the field, and Labor was gifted the vacuum. The most promising outcome was a reduced representation for the Greens. Focusing on the ME, & association with persistent & violent street demonstrations against Israel, may have cost the Greens a couple of HoR seats. Small mercies. Other things being equal, the Coalition looks set for at least 2 more terms in Opposition, ie to the mid 2030s (!). Only actions to disrupt Australia’s traditional reliance on mineral and energy exports for its relative wealth look likely to cut short the government’s fortuitous landing on firm ground. And that is the Coalition’s main hope: that Labor will be stupid enough to kill the golden goose. If so, let’s hope that the Coalition is better prepared next time to drive home the message that they need to be in charge to preserve Australia’s good fortune. Based on the 2025 campaign, that looks a hard ask.
I miss the old Catallaxy...unfortunately the new versions are nowhere near the standard set by the original site.
Regarding the election, I think it once again proves the truth of the words of the immortal H.L. Mencken:
"No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the [American] public."
Or this one fits perhaps even better, just substitute "Parliament" for "White":
"On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."
Let's be clear though. Pretty much the same as everywhere else in the 'West', the opposition parties are almost as atrocious as the government. But still, there are minor parties and the inability of the voters to vote for 'anyone but the Uniparty' means that the productive among us will continue to be collectively punished.
Tax on unrealised gains? -- Check.
More ruinables and higher electricity prices, with an increasingly unstable grid? -- Check.
Ever-growing public sector, with still more red and green tape? -- Check.
More mass immigration, much of it from incompatible 'cultures'? -- Check.
Housing becoming yet more unaffordable? -- Check.
Voice II and more apartheid policies? -- Check.
Wake me up when when we arrive in Buenos Aires. Or is it called Naarm these days?
I've spent lots of time on polling booth how to vote duty and one thing becomes abundantly apparent - the sheer lack of forethought that goes into voters' actions. Apathy, ignorance and misinformation abound.
Let's add indolence to this list - the majority of voters are there only because its compulsory. Which of course results in in "compulsory voters", who are swayed by the latest "free stuff" that they manage to remember from an ad or what their co-worker told them last week.
Labor have worked the mob out, by appealing to the lowly informed compulsory voter.
1) They release simple soundbite slogans, no matter how incorrect or an outright lie they are. Witness "Save Medicare!"
2) They play the man. Hard. Almost every comment was sprinkled with "Dutton will do this, Dutton will take away that".
3) They turn taxpayers' money into "free stuff", by shovelling money out the door for almost everything imaginable.
Never mind the fact check. Never mind the rigorous cost/benefit analysis. Scrutiny? Don't expect it from a media class brought upon Marxist theory at university, who couldn't budget repair form their elbow and are only interested in the next soundbite for their news item.
Of course, don't expect scrutiny and analysis from compulsory voters. They're not interested in real policy and its effect on their long-term future, only what free stuff the guvnmnt's gunna gimme.
Political parties know all this, which is why its increasingly a race to the bottom. To hand out more freebies to the uninformed voter than the next guy, so that something, anything, will stick in the heads of voters then they head to the ballot box. Which is why, for the first time in history, we saw the Liberal Party promise to spend more money than Labor. Yes, really.
But of course this strategy doesn't work for conservative governments, as the election has showed. And this is a major problem for the Liberal Party. Let me explain this to the 25 year old Liberal Party "strategists".
The Liberal Party are supposed to be the adults in the room. The ones that have to sometimes say no for the better good, to path a course for long term economic gain, regardless of short term pain.
Every other party is there to make compulsory voters choose them. They don't have to balance a budget, or to reject the latest brain fart someone in Labor/Greens/Teals dreamed up.
The Liberal Party is supposedly a bullwark against rank opportunism and populist polity. Yet the combination of compulsory voting and compulsory preferences is actively working against them.
Why isn't it working now? Because in the past, when media was much more concentrated, realistically only the two major parties would get on the 6 o'clock news, so people would only hear one story or the other. Now, with a plethora of "news", all readily available on their phones, people are as likely to be swayed by the latest Tik Tok video as they are by rigorous analysis.
Liberal Party needs people to conduct analysis, so understand why they should say "no" to something, or why we can't afford it, or to debunk the latest lie by Labor. Yet this isn't happening and they're not cutting through.
The other major problem the Liberal Party has is with young voters and women. Young people have been brought up on leftist ideology and are especially susceptible to free giveaways. These people have never lived through a recession or high unemployment. A glance at the voting intentions of those under 30 reveals a shockingly low support for the Coalition. Scarily low.
Then there's women. Sorry, ladies, I can't be complimentary, yet I speak the truth and in general terms. It's no coincidence that the rise of the Teals movement has been driven by and particularly aimed at, women. Statistically they are, in general terms, less interested in the policy and more interested in the person. Hence having a nice woman tell them "we're a gentler, nicer version of the Liberals" ensures a swathe of women and cuckolded men to vote teal and sing kumbaya. Never mind the policy, feel the love. Of those not voting Teal, sadly the lack of rigorous policy analysis, even a modicum of interest in policy and what it means to them, means many will vote for whoever "feels right" for them - generally the female Labor candidate. Again, Labor have worked this out, with a plethora of innocuous, female candidates.
Where does this leave the Liberal Party and where do they go from here? Geez, they've got a mountain to climb. But they can do it. Unfortunately for Australia, but luckily for the Liberals, we're headed for some dim and dark economic times over the next three years. This represents an opportunity, the same opportunity that they squandered at this election.
The opportunity is this: Is it bad enough yet? Is the economy so bad that you have to vote for the adults this time? We offer nothing but blood, toil and sweat (hat tip Mr Churchill). This should be the pitch to voters AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY. They have to ram home the economic mess that the even the compulsory voters might (I stress might) understand. They then have to offer a clearly articulated plan.
In short, they must stand for something. They must differentiate themselves. They must stand for their convictions. Better to die on your feet than live on your knees. Be a party that people actually want to vote for. That actually stands for something. That is true to their core values. That will DO SOMETHING and do it sensibly for the good of the nation. That's what the core constituency demands and what the vast plethora of disinterested and disaffected voters are looking for.
What they must NOT do is go off on tangents, like they did this time. no more nuclear energy debates. no more "we'll match the handouts". Just good, solid policy, that will actually differentiate them from the Labor Party and from the Teals.
Sadly, i can't see it happening. Too many vested interests. Too many professional staffers who know the price of everything yet the value of nothing. Too caught up in focus groups than the wider populace and formulating a long-term strategy. Much like the way governments run this country.
Donald Horne tolled the bell in 1964 - we are a first rate country run by a third rate political class. This has never been so true in 2025.
What they cannot be is Labor-Lite, which what has lost them the last two elections. After all, if you're offering to be a version of your opponent, well, you may as well vote for the real thing.
I don't think they will run out of other people's money. The unions already have four trillion dollars at their fingertips in the industry super funds.
"Political parties know all this, which is why its increasingly a race to the bottom. To hand out more freebies to the uninformed voter than the next guy.."
That's very true, but it's not the case only in the few countries which, like Australia, have compulsory voting. It is instead the in-built fault of 'modern democracies'.
As Alexander Tytler observed more than 200 years ago already:
“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage.”
I recommend Hans-Hermann Hoppe's 'Democracy, the God that Failed', which explains in great detail why this is such a fatal flaw. The e-book can be found for free.
As Mencken said ; Sometimes, in a democracy, the voters will get what they truly deserve...good & hard. The pendulum, unfortunately, for the West {bar the USA} has swung full tilt. Dependency, BIG govt and ultimately bankruptcy, loss of freedom and decline. But, as Huxley said ; The masses will embrace their servitude and their chains. Yes, the Liberals ran an awful campaign but the landscape has well & truly altered, particularly in Australia ; The land of 90% "vaccinations", the 8% decline in disposable income and all the rest of it. We are a country living by dangerous myths. The larrikans, the anti-authoritarians, the can do attitude, the great Australian dream of home ownership---they are well & truly myths now. It will take a descent into the economic abyss that Venezuala & Argentina found themselves before, if at all, any real change will come. We will run out of money and the overcrowded, non productive economy will find a lot more of its citizenry homeless & eating out of garbage bins. I personally am not waiting around for the "revolution" to occur. I am exiting the country soon for greener pastures.
Well, I kived in South East Asia for 10 years in the 90's. On a recent visit, I see things have remained pretty much the same ;
1. Abundant housing. Thousands of beach side appartments to rent for under $100 a week
2, Still an homogeneous society. Thailand for Thais, Indonesia for Indomesians, Vietnam for Vietnamese. White expats with no criminal record and money to spend & invest are welcome.
3. Negligible crime & violence. Safe & orderly. Not even any graffitti.
4. Ridiculous low cost of living. $3 for a pack of ciggies, 80c for a beer, $ 5 for lunch, $20 a month power bills.
I have always been a supporter of the preferential system of voting and compulsory. Since the 2022 election i have changed my mind. In a democracy you should not be forced or coerced in to voting or be forced to vote for someone you despise.
Having said that the Liberals tried to out socialist the socialists. That was never going to work. The only way the Libs have a chance of gaining anything in three years is the economy totally tanks and there is a deep recession.
The election lacked authenticity and failed to uphold core democratic ideals. It was a performance, a hollow simulation of democratic engagement. None of the major parties meaningfully confronted the unsustainable trajectory of bloated government spending or the mounting debt from unchecked largesse. There was no serious challenge to the prevailing orthodoxies surrounding climate policy, DEI agendas, or the long-term implications of ESG frameworks. Energy policy remained on autopilot, with no credible alternatives proposed. In truth, the election was a bad joke that most voters didn’t even notice, devoid of creativity, vision, or the rhetorical substance needed to inspire genuine reform. Ironically, the winning party may well reflect the median level of political engagement and critical thinking in the country. That’s how I see it.
I see and hear nothing new here. Feed them bread and circuses. Free stuff and fun. Barely literate slogans demonising the nasty sad miserly and unfunny liars - so the job is done. 3 more years of unrestrained government in the interests of the governing crew. Happy days!!
If there is a positive outcome, it is the (fingers crossed) erasure of the Greens from the lower house.
The pull to Labor's left might be reduced.
The political irrelevance of the Teals will continue to be talked up notwithstanding them having no power or influence over the government.
Will the Coalition finally accept that the problem is both Personel and Policy, and not Presentation? Time will only tell.
I hate to say it, but, I took little notice of the election.
Being moved to Chris Bowen, the destroyer’s electorate through a redistribution, my vote was going to be worthless. I, at least, tried to get the independent across the line. Failed. The recent citizenship additions to our nation would have happily voted for more of the same - never having seen a remotely conservative government
I was angered that a supposed Conservative Party couldn’t articulate a coherent conservative position with conservative policies. It appeared the entered a race with Labor to circle the drain and give out as much “free” stuff as they could.
I personally never heard anyone explain that cancelling HECS debt simply moved that debt to the taxpayer, and our children. No, it was Magic Pudding time in Australia 2025.
I’ve always believed it was your responsibility to vote, to have some skin in the game. I’ve changed my mind. Put simply, stupid people shouldn’t vote because they have to, they should be able to stay home and put their feet up and watch MAFS or some other trash entertainment.
Stupid people should'nt vote. But stupid people should'nt be alowed to stand for election.
You have to admire the irone. Australia is a purportedly a liberal democracy but voting and preferences are compulsory.
A truely Australian democracy - with compulsion at the core.
A system designed to privelge the majors but clearly not good enough anymore. Maybe the Libs might entertain some electoral reform that returns power to the people now.
Recall elections. Citizen initiated referenda. Term limits. Citizen approval of politician and senior bureaucrats pay increases.
The Liberals will never overturn compulsory voting.
Some years ago I asked a Liberal senator about that, during a private dinner and off the record.
He said that if voting was voluntary, then the major parties would have to spend more resources in order to get people to actually vote.
As it is now, they only have to do that in the few marginal seats. The safe ones can safely be ignored, because everyone knows who'll win them.
And, additionally, the political parties get cash for each primary vote; I think it's about $3.50 or thereabouts this time around.
What a great racket: They force us to vote and then they take our money to pay themselves for it!
Even Al Capone wasn't that good!
You are of course correct - that complusory voting advantages the major parties.
And the per vote subsidy makes them lazy. The marginal seat strategy yes, but also absolves them of speaking to and listening to voters.
Not a completely surprising result for me - I stopped following the campaign closely a week after the election was called, when it became obvious the Coalition’s primary strategy was to ride an expected wave of dissatisfaction with cost of living pressures, & otherwise present a small target. No heavy hitting on excessive immigration, & the consequential housing & infrastructure pressures, no cut thru’ on unnecessarily high energy bills & renewables fantasies, no convincing alternative to limited defence preparedness when internationally some countries look like they are preparing for war, etc etc. The strategy lacked the urgency needed to overturn voters’ innate unwillingness to turf a 1st term govt. Even so, Labor’s strong result despite a low primary vote was a surprise. It looks like the Coalition abandoned the field, and Labor was gifted the vacuum. The most promising outcome was a reduced representation for the Greens. Focusing on the ME, & association with persistent & violent street demonstrations against Israel, may have cost the Greens a couple of HoR seats. Small mercies. Other things being equal, the Coalition looks set for at least 2 more terms in Opposition, ie to the mid 2030s (!). Only actions to disrupt Australia’s traditional reliance on mineral and energy exports for its relative wealth look likely to cut short the government’s fortuitous landing on firm ground. And that is the Coalition’s main hope: that Labor will be stupid enough to kill the golden goose. If so, let’s hope that the Coalition is better prepared next time to drive home the message that they need to be in charge to preserve Australia’s good fortune. Based on the 2025 campaign, that looks a hard ask.
I miss the old Catallaxy...unfortunately the new versions are nowhere near the standard set by the original site.
Regarding the election, I think it once again proves the truth of the words of the immortal H.L. Mencken:
"No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the [American] public."
Or this one fits perhaps even better, just substitute "Parliament" for "White":
"On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."
Let's be clear though. Pretty much the same as everywhere else in the 'West', the opposition parties are almost as atrocious as the government. But still, there are minor parties and the inability of the voters to vote for 'anyone but the Uniparty' means that the productive among us will continue to be collectively punished.
Tax on unrealised gains? -- Check.
More ruinables and higher electricity prices, with an increasingly unstable grid? -- Check.
Ever-growing public sector, with still more red and green tape? -- Check.
More mass immigration, much of it from incompatible 'cultures'? -- Check.
Housing becoming yet more unaffordable? -- Check.
Voice II and more apartheid policies? -- Check.
Wake me up when when we arrive in Buenos Aires. Or is it called Naarm these days?
Hear hear. China will not have to ever invade us, they can just buy us for a bargain price.
I've spent lots of time on polling booth how to vote duty and one thing becomes abundantly apparent - the sheer lack of forethought that goes into voters' actions. Apathy, ignorance and misinformation abound.
Let's add indolence to this list - the majority of voters are there only because its compulsory. Which of course results in in "compulsory voters", who are swayed by the latest "free stuff" that they manage to remember from an ad or what their co-worker told them last week.
Labor have worked the mob out, by appealing to the lowly informed compulsory voter.
1) They release simple soundbite slogans, no matter how incorrect or an outright lie they are. Witness "Save Medicare!"
2) They play the man. Hard. Almost every comment was sprinkled with "Dutton will do this, Dutton will take away that".
3) They turn taxpayers' money into "free stuff", by shovelling money out the door for almost everything imaginable.
Never mind the fact check. Never mind the rigorous cost/benefit analysis. Scrutiny? Don't expect it from a media class brought upon Marxist theory at university, who couldn't budget repair form their elbow and are only interested in the next soundbite for their news item.
Of course, don't expect scrutiny and analysis from compulsory voters. They're not interested in real policy and its effect on their long-term future, only what free stuff the guvnmnt's gunna gimme.
Political parties know all this, which is why its increasingly a race to the bottom. To hand out more freebies to the uninformed voter than the next guy, so that something, anything, will stick in the heads of voters then they head to the ballot box. Which is why, for the first time in history, we saw the Liberal Party promise to spend more money than Labor. Yes, really.
But of course this strategy doesn't work for conservative governments, as the election has showed. And this is a major problem for the Liberal Party. Let me explain this to the 25 year old Liberal Party "strategists".
The Liberal Party are supposed to be the adults in the room. The ones that have to sometimes say no for the better good, to path a course for long term economic gain, regardless of short term pain.
Every other party is there to make compulsory voters choose them. They don't have to balance a budget, or to reject the latest brain fart someone in Labor/Greens/Teals dreamed up.
The Liberal Party is supposedly a bullwark against rank opportunism and populist polity. Yet the combination of compulsory voting and compulsory preferences is actively working against them.
Why isn't it working now? Because in the past, when media was much more concentrated, realistically only the two major parties would get on the 6 o'clock news, so people would only hear one story or the other. Now, with a plethora of "news", all readily available on their phones, people are as likely to be swayed by the latest Tik Tok video as they are by rigorous analysis.
Liberal Party needs people to conduct analysis, so understand why they should say "no" to something, or why we can't afford it, or to debunk the latest lie by Labor. Yet this isn't happening and they're not cutting through.
The other major problem the Liberal Party has is with young voters and women. Young people have been brought up on leftist ideology and are especially susceptible to free giveaways. These people have never lived through a recession or high unemployment. A glance at the voting intentions of those under 30 reveals a shockingly low support for the Coalition. Scarily low.
Then there's women. Sorry, ladies, I can't be complimentary, yet I speak the truth and in general terms. It's no coincidence that the rise of the Teals movement has been driven by and particularly aimed at, women. Statistically they are, in general terms, less interested in the policy and more interested in the person. Hence having a nice woman tell them "we're a gentler, nicer version of the Liberals" ensures a swathe of women and cuckolded men to vote teal and sing kumbaya. Never mind the policy, feel the love. Of those not voting Teal, sadly the lack of rigorous policy analysis, even a modicum of interest in policy and what it means to them, means many will vote for whoever "feels right" for them - generally the female Labor candidate. Again, Labor have worked this out, with a plethora of innocuous, female candidates.
Where does this leave the Liberal Party and where do they go from here? Geez, they've got a mountain to climb. But they can do it. Unfortunately for Australia, but luckily for the Liberals, we're headed for some dim and dark economic times over the next three years. This represents an opportunity, the same opportunity that they squandered at this election.
The opportunity is this: Is it bad enough yet? Is the economy so bad that you have to vote for the adults this time? We offer nothing but blood, toil and sweat (hat tip Mr Churchill). This should be the pitch to voters AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY. They have to ram home the economic mess that the even the compulsory voters might (I stress might) understand. They then have to offer a clearly articulated plan.
In short, they must stand for something. They must differentiate themselves. They must stand for their convictions. Better to die on your feet than live on your knees. Be a party that people actually want to vote for. That actually stands for something. That is true to their core values. That will DO SOMETHING and do it sensibly for the good of the nation. That's what the core constituency demands and what the vast plethora of disinterested and disaffected voters are looking for.
What they must NOT do is go off on tangents, like they did this time. no more nuclear energy debates. no more "we'll match the handouts". Just good, solid policy, that will actually differentiate them from the Labor Party and from the Teals.
Sadly, i can't see it happening. Too many vested interests. Too many professional staffers who know the price of everything yet the value of nothing. Too caught up in focus groups than the wider populace and formulating a long-term strategy. Much like the way governments run this country.
Donald Horne tolled the bell in 1964 - we are a first rate country run by a third rate political class. This has never been so true in 2025.
What they cannot be is Labor-Lite, which what has lost them the last two elections. After all, if you're offering to be a version of your opponent, well, you may as well vote for the real thing.
Very accurate.
$1 trillion of debt very soon. AAA credit rating about to go.
Eventually, the government will run out of other people's money.
Change will come. It just depends on how painful it will be.
I don't think they will run out of other people's money. The unions already have four trillion dollars at their fingertips in the industry super funds.
"Political parties know all this, which is why its increasingly a race to the bottom. To hand out more freebies to the uninformed voter than the next guy.."
That's very true, but it's not the case only in the few countries which, like Australia, have compulsory voting. It is instead the in-built fault of 'modern democracies'.
As Alexander Tytler observed more than 200 years ago already:
“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage.”
I recommend Hans-Hermann Hoppe's 'Democracy, the God that Failed', which explains in great detail why this is such a fatal flaw. The e-book can be found for free.
As Mencken said ; Sometimes, in a democracy, the voters will get what they truly deserve...good & hard. The pendulum, unfortunately, for the West {bar the USA} has swung full tilt. Dependency, BIG govt and ultimately bankruptcy, loss of freedom and decline. But, as Huxley said ; The masses will embrace their servitude and their chains. Yes, the Liberals ran an awful campaign but the landscape has well & truly altered, particularly in Australia ; The land of 90% "vaccinations", the 8% decline in disposable income and all the rest of it. We are a country living by dangerous myths. The larrikans, the anti-authoritarians, the can do attitude, the great Australian dream of home ownership---they are well & truly myths now. It will take a descent into the economic abyss that Venezuala & Argentina found themselves before, if at all, any real change will come. We will run out of money and the overcrowded, non productive economy will find a lot more of its citizenry homeless & eating out of garbage bins. I personally am not waiting around for the "revolution" to occur. I am exiting the country soon for greener pastures.
But where are the greener pastures?
There ain't no such thing.
As a friend whose parents came to Australia from a communist Eastern block said to me:
"They escaped communism. But now communism has caught up with them again. And there is nowhere to run anymore."
How true. How sad.
Well, I kived in South East Asia for 10 years in the 90's. On a recent visit, I see things have remained pretty much the same ;
1. Abundant housing. Thousands of beach side appartments to rent for under $100 a week
2, Still an homogeneous society. Thailand for Thais, Indonesia for Indomesians, Vietnam for Vietnamese. White expats with no criminal record and money to spend & invest are welcome.
3. Negligible crime & violence. Safe & orderly. Not even any graffitti.
4. Ridiculous low cost of living. $3 for a pack of ciggies, 80c for a beer, $ 5 for lunch, $20 a month power bills.
5.Generally a lot more personal freedom.
6. No wokeness or political correctness.
I have always been a supporter of the preferential system of voting and compulsory. Since the 2022 election i have changed my mind. In a democracy you should not be forced or coerced in to voting or be forced to vote for someone you despise.
Having said that the Liberals tried to out socialist the socialists. That was never going to work. The only way the Libs have a chance of gaining anything in three years is the economy totally tanks and there is a deep recession.
Way run: Presidential style (as for decades). Albanese looks friendlier than Dutton.
The result: Labor primary vote is down 1%; Coalition vote is down 4% >>> Coalition lost it.
What it means: Competence on both sides of Parliament, is at an all time low.
The election lacked authenticity and failed to uphold core democratic ideals. It was a performance, a hollow simulation of democratic engagement. None of the major parties meaningfully confronted the unsustainable trajectory of bloated government spending or the mounting debt from unchecked largesse. There was no serious challenge to the prevailing orthodoxies surrounding climate policy, DEI agendas, or the long-term implications of ESG frameworks. Energy policy remained on autopilot, with no credible alternatives proposed. In truth, the election was a bad joke that most voters didn’t even notice, devoid of creativity, vision, or the rhetorical substance needed to inspire genuine reform. Ironically, the winning party may well reflect the median level of political engagement and critical thinking in the country. That’s how I see it.
Andre
Thankyou for articulating. My instincts, but would take me an age, to set out as fluently as you have above.
Cheers
I see and hear nothing new here. Feed them bread and circuses. Free stuff and fun. Barely literate slogans demonising the nasty sad miserly and unfunny liars - so the job is done. 3 more years of unrestrained government in the interests of the governing crew. Happy days!!