My enemy’s enemy is my enemy

May 7, 2025

There’s no doubt that the preference strategies of both Labor and the Coalition were to reinforce the two-party system that’s preventing Australia from facing the challenges of the 21st century: the economic and social disruption of climate change.

The Greens are a progressive force neither major party wishes to face. After losing ground in 2022, both clawed back ground before the new political funding model designed to hobble independents and minor parties comes into play.

The reality is that the Greens, and Teal and orange Independents, have taken electorates from Labor and the Coalition by winning the confidence of progressive voters. In a perfect world, the majors would have taken that aboard and incorporated progressive planks in their platforms. They even worked together to launch a bipartisan campaign for a sustainable Australia. That they have chosen to slug it out in a turf war is totally detrimental to Australia’s future.

Have the Greens’ ambitions overshot the mark? On the results it would appear so, but humans aren’t a rational species. Labor read the room beautifully; the Coalition were a bloody shambles. Could the electorate have been spooked by the global economic and geopolitical situation and felt it was no time for political experiments? Quite probably.