Written By:
advantage - Date published:
8:18 am, May 4th, 2025 - 39 comments
Categories: australian politics -
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This is a Labor landslide.
Australia is by a long, long way the most important country to New Zealand.
Nearly a million of us live there. So this election really matters to us.
Dutton lost his seat. The Independents surged. The Greens got no seats. Labor has a big majority.
SkyNews wept buckets and explained a lot will be worse.
And if you want to see what will Labor delivering, here’s the summary policies.
Plenty in that policy set to cheer for.
A short post so everyone can provide their own links and commentary.
Preferential voting is an interesting system, strengthened by compulsory voting. Two major differences.
I am proud of Aussies turning their backs on bunyip Trumpism.
Dutton losing Dickson, and seats Liberal for 50 years going Labor says clearly they rejected demolishing public services, nuclear energy and racist undertones.
Let us hope our electorate follows theirs.
They recognised Dutton as inflexible and out of touch.
I was really surprised that Albanese, in his victory speech, didn’t emphasise, even gloat, that Dutton lost his own seat. This election was an emphatic rejection of Liberal’s divisive policies and Trumpism.
Surprised by grace.
It's sure uncommon.
"Preferential voting is an interesting system,"
It's only slightly better than FPP. For instance the Greens vote stayed steady at 12% in yesterday's Oz election compared with the 2022 election.
Under MMP this would have given them 18 seats, They are predicted to get NONE.
But at least the Greens and Labour are forecast to have 39 seats in the Senate which gives them a majority-there are 76 senators.
One can have preferential voting in electorates and MMP for total seat allocation.
"seats Liberal for 50 years going Labor ".
That sounds quite an amazing result. Can you tell us what were these seats that were held by the Liberals in every election since at least 1975 but that swung to Labour this time around?
I can't think of any but I'm sure you can tell us the ones you seem to know about.
Have you found any yet Patricia? I can't find a single one that is now Labour after 50 years of a Liberal member.
My eyesight is deteriorating, but perhaps this will shed a little (en)light(enment.)
A sea of red… fair warms the heart
Trumpet of Patriots managed a creditable 1.87%, but still finished last.
If the trend continues that will certainly meet the criteria. When I was looking it was not called as they can't have counted far enough to make the call.
It doesn't fit with the claim of multiple seats made at 8.43am though does it?
Looking @2:25 pm today? The ABC article I quoted from is now 10 hours old.
I was responding to your inability (@1.3.1; 2:25 pm) "to find a single one."
Pleased to be able "to bring some enlightenment to the ignorant."
You surely don't regard the ABC as being a reliable source of news do you?
That is like treating RNZ as being neutral.
No I was looking at the SMH site. Have you found another division that qualifies? Patricia was referring to multiple occurrences and she hasn't said what they were.
Stop digging. ABC and RNZ are very reliable sources for news unless you're a RW conspiracy theorist. They are neutral, especially compared to Sky News Australia and NZME.
Don't I? Your assumptions are a shambles today – just my opinion.
Perhaps it's the discombobulating effect of "a sea of red" – are you OK?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Broadcasting_Corporation#Independence_and_impartiality
Trump's mate Peters is going to slash RadioNZ's funding Alwyn…you will be happy.
Then we will have to rely on unbiased reporting from NewstalkZB (sarc)
Don't get too pedantic. I should have said a seat going Labor from Liberal after 50 years. Ok Alwyn? We have had a week of visitors congratulating us on 60 years married, so missed your comment as I don't live on here.
Thank you Drowsy M. Kram
Thankyou Australian people, Dutton has always come across as the most toxic horrible little toad to have ever crawled out of the political swamp.
So good that description lol
I have a new addiction..podcast Rest is History . Soo good and they cancel NOBODY.. very refreshing. The 10 parter on Battle of Little Bighorn was unturnoffable. Anyway they did am EXCELLENt two episodes on Australian Prime ministers. Your Dutton swamp comment made my think of Menzies..albeit into swamp sadly.
They're calling it the "Trump effect!"
Carney wins in Canada and the leading 'Trump' supporter loses his seat!
Albonese wins in Australia and the leading 'Trump' supporter loses his seat.
Bring on the 2026 election (or earlier if Winnie wills it) so the Trump effect can work its magic here!
+1000
The other Monro doctrine.
Canada and Australia vote to stay Trump free.
I am interested in their voting system compared to ours. I certainly support compulsory voting. It is a civic duty and I will never understand why people can't be arsed.
In teaching many young people in Aussie, I learned that many of them did not have a basic understanding of Aussie politics: didn't understand differences between state and federal elections, didn't have a basic understanding of the policies or values of the main parties, and didn't understand the preferential voting system.
It isn't much different here. There was always a dis-junction in understanding that you elected a local MP to help form a government that was determined by the number of MPs.
MMP helped a lot with that because of the party vote, in particular amongst the 18-25 demographic.
Don't know what it is like now, but when I looked at this in the Jack Vowles led NZElection Studies from 1993 onwards, there was a determinable difference over time of that age group changing their voting pattern.
Probably because while they wouldn't know their local candidates at all – like I (as a political geek) currently have little idea in the local body elections. Voting parties is simpler to explain.
Ummm.. look at that – dataverse.ada.edu.au has the whole NZES set from 1993-2020. I can catch up…
The more complex the voting procedure and jurisdictions, the harder it is to explain the relationship between voting and possible effects. This shows up when you look at voluntary voting participation rates across the world.
It shows up here in out pathetic participation in local body elections with their incomprehensible voting procedures (postal voting being my pet hate and the reason why I miss some of them).
In Australia the voting system put into place when the commonwealth formed was complex enough that people couldn't be bothered. In 1911 compulsory registration to vote was introduced. In 1915 compulsory voting was put in for state elections in Queensland. In 1924 compulsory voting was put in at a Federal level by a private members bill. As I remember my aussie history – it was mostly supported by conservatives worried about Labor and union activists getting out the vote – whcih effectively simplified the decision to vote by organisers helping to explain why voters should vote and for whom and why and making it simplier to vote – ie education.
Ummm – yes – https://www.aec.gov.au/about_aec/publications/voting/#his
Of course just making the voting system simpler usually isn't considered. It provides fewer opportunities for weaselling politicians. I am thinking of the rotten borough farce that is the Entrust election in particular. Try explaining that to a young adult.
Very similar to life in NZ. I'm constantly amazed at the number of people on our local community FaceBook page who apparently think that their MP can sort out an issue with their local park, rubbish collection or road surfacing.
Eighteen months should be long enough to tar the incoming deputy PM with the temu tRump brush. Happy days.
Australia, Canada and the UK. One of their election results is not like the other… Australia and Canada are both natural resource rich nations supported by a still prosperous blue collar artisan class, and they share a strong tradition of assimilation of immigrants. Both of them have easily seen off an appeal to radicalist Trumpism and bigotry because technocratic centrism is still – just – delivering enough.
The UK by contrast is a complete basket case. Everything is in decay and in need of radical reform from its over financialised economy, it's decadent political class, ridiculously top heavy royal family, creaking FPP electoral system, to the rampant corruption of its concierge class of rent seeking neoliberal executives and bankers. Starmer and British Labour have no idea on how to deal with any of it. The rise of Reform signals the decline of Britain as a first world state. Reform is responding to British absolute decline with a form of British Peronism, and the political instability Argentina is probably as a good a guide as to the future of the UK.
Fingers crossed that the Trump effect is (still) operating 17 months from now, and that (like Canada and Australia) NZ voters steer left.
Actually I don't think we discuss enough the rampant corruption that seems a built in characteristic of late stage neoliberalism, One characterisitic of both the US and UK – where Reaganism and Thatcherism respcetively have held sway the longest – is an unbelievable level of instutional corruption that inevitably accompanies the loss of captalist dynamism and the increasingly rent seeking behaviour of powerful oligarchs. Comparative to the UK & the USA ,Australia and Canada have healthier democratic ecosystems much less susceptible to the corruption of politicians.
We are seeing signs of systemic, decaden late neoliberal institutional corruption creep in here with the excessive power the likes of the Seafood industry appear to have over certain ministers…
I not sure who is most Trumpian.
Seymour on the economic side, or Winnie with all the woke stuff.
The opposition should go after both.
Luxon is the low hanging fruit. He's not bright enough to navigate a campaign linking him to Trump and he has spent a great deal of time in the US.
All three coalition partners are allies of Trump. He's their guy on economic and social policy, and we've seen what a powerful weapon it is to reinforce in the public's mind that association.
With John Key being so vocal for Trump (and still the hero of the party) and CLuxon being his prodigy, National is an easy connection to Trump.
Just go back and read "Dirty Politics" by Bryce Edwards. His response to Slater, Key's lies and Nicky Hager's book 'The Hollow Men"
This time we have a PM who in his own words does not care enough to dissemble/fudge.
The "Rah Rah" for Trump has been from National supporters and Key.
The PM's statements will make great Billboards "I don't care" "(I don't govern for all.) "I'm sorted"(My capital and investments are doing well) "We don't want bottom feeders" (Only Top Feeders will do") "We have lowered expectations" (Those who looked for Government help need to use charities.) 'We have lowered Government spend on Public Services as we can't afford them" ( We have increased money for Landlord's tax breaks Defence and Roads" Just to mention a few in the commentaries.
Then we have Seymour using the Atlas Handbook and hanging with some real righties.
As for Winston, he may be a lawyer, but he clearly believes rights belong to only people he can define as a "woman" or a "man".
All three have themselves as their hero, followed by anyone with solid money.
Forgive me for sounding sour, but Luxon has empowered some really egregious Ministers.
He has spent 18 months undoing all worker supports within reach, all health reforms within reach, breaking contracts with other countries, and sacking more than 12000.
Meanwhile the Education Minister and David Seymour are dismantling and tick boxing Education, using untaught material to get required "Test Results" and dissing standardised NZ wide testing.
The "trumpeted" positive moves, are poorly resourced, and often run by inexperienced or barnacled Ministers with poor oversight in place.
The Fast Track Bill, The Regulations Bill, are poorly drafted, poorly perused by short circuited passage through Parliament. More and more it seems Democracy is seen as a handbrake, which it is against foolish decisions, but they are circumventing those checks.
Let us hope all of this plus the Trump effect will assist us to "Lose this lot" as Australia has done with their anti Public Service racist trump loving lot"
Agree with your statements, Patricia, but 'Dirty Politics' was written by Nicky Hager. I very much doubt if Bryce Edwards is capable of such solid investigative writing.
Tony hi. Bryce does borrow from others I should be more careful His article was Dirty Politics 2.0 Cheers
This one?
There’s also a 2019 “Dirty Politics 2.0” article by Nicky Hager in The Spinoff.
https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/03-01-2019/summer-reissue-nicky-hager-on-the-jami-lee-ross-saga-and-dirty-politics-2-0
And there’s this 2025 satirical article by columnist / journalist Steve Braunias:
[This image belongs to Bryce Edwards’ Integrity Briefing: Dirty Politics 2.0?]
Think I had too much Rose'. Bryce Edwards (@bryce_edwards/X Dirty Politics 2.0 ?
Spinoff