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Thank you, Donald Trump!

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A mere 2 1/2 hours or so after polling booths closed and the counting began in the 2025 Australian federal election, it was already apparent we had a bloodbath on our hands, and the election was called in favour of the sitting government.

This is not hyperbole, if you want to know what happened, Google it.

The conservative coalition, which was predicted a couple of months out to win, has suffered a defeat seldom, if ever, seen since federation. The exact extent of the loss will be known within the next couple of days, and I intend to have a lot more to say about the various factors that led to this incredible turn-around.

One thing is absolutely certain -- the Trump factor played a significant role in this crushing defeat for the Liberal/National party coalition. Australian voters, like their American counterparts and people around the globe, have been hurting in hard economic times. There has been a sense of dissatisfaction, to the point many thought it was time for a change.

Then Trump and his administration came along and showed us the ugly face of ultra-nationalism and heartless, greed-driven right-wing politics. Australian voters looked at their own right-wing politicians and saw, albeit to a far lesser degree, signs of the same callous and reckless approach to government. And they wanted no part of it. The overwhelming majority of Australians are now breathing a collective sigh of relief.

Much more to come.

RE: Thank you, Donald Trump!

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Well done, Australia.

Sadly, I can't say the same, here. After recent local elections, Reform have cleaned up. Personally, I don't think elections for local councillors ought to be tied to national political parties. It's really about someone local doing their bit for their area, but anyway..

Reform are the right wing gang, here. I'm not going to say 'far right', but they embody the sort of nationalism that leans that way. Led by the Garage joker who starts up parties to be an adjutant for change rather than actually LEAD (as we found out when he disbanded UKIP after the EU referendum and slithered off into the shadows to leave everyone else to deal with the actual work of taking us out of the EU).

It's 4 years until the next general election, here, so will be interesting to see what Reform do with their Council seats in this time.

RE: Thank you, Donald Trump!

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Farage, not Garage. Bloody autocorrect.

RE: Thank you, Donald Trump!

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Maybe they will take note of what has been happening over and over globally in recent times, Emma. Let's hope.

I'm not all that familiar with British politics (a bad oversight, since our system is largely based on yours). Is yours just the 2 levels -- local and national, or is there another level in between? I haven't heard reference to any. There is a long-running movement here, although not really a popular one, to remove our middle tier (state). The proponents seem to think we have too many politicians (perish the thought!) I don't think there is any chance at all that would ever happen.

RE: Thank you, Donald Trump!

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It's local and national in England. Local elections are for seats on the local authorities. So that's the people who manage the budgets in our local areas, which are split into parish Councils. For example, Scarborough is under the Jurisdiction of North Yorkshire County Council. Neighbouring Bridlington is under the Jurisdiction of East Riding Council, which is why we pay 40p for public toilets and they don't (trust me, that's a big issue, here).

If we had states, I expect there might be another level. Some of your states will be bigger than my country, so it does sort of make sense.

Scotland, Wales and NI have an extra tier because they have devolved legislature assemblies.

RE: Thank you, Donald Trump!

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Our *smallest* mainland state (Victoria) is nearly twice the size of England, Emma. The largest, Western Australia, is 20 times as big. Considering Australia is 60 times the size of England, with 1/3 of the population, I think it's quite a feat that we manage to pay for everything, including things such as roads, power transmission systems and politicians.

RE: Thank you, Donald Trump!

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Yes, well, the sheer size of Australia is hard to comprehend from here.

Oddly, there's been a move towards devolution, here, kind of kicked off by the introduction of assemblies for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, because people feel that the government is out of touch with the population beyond Westminster. So, for example, people in Cornwall feel they aren't well served by a government so far removed from their part of the UK.

If some of US feel like that, goodness knows how YOU must feel being governed from in some cases thousands of miles away.

RE: Thank you, Donald Trump!

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That's a topic that does come up from time to time. It's occasionally a bone of contention in our coalition parties, as the liberals are mostly based in capital cities and the Nationals in the bush.

RE: Thank you, Donald Trump!

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Yeah, well done, Aussie Brothers and Sisters!

I don't expect many on this forum realise how much Trump is hated and ridiculed in other countries, even those where the right seems to be becoming more popular

Dutton apparently tried to distance himself from Trump, but stuff like this printed in the Guardian wouldn't have helped:

When Trump came up with an appalling displacement policy for the Palestinians on the Gaza Strip, Dutton described the United States president as "a big thinker … shrewd … a deal maker." "The art of the deal," he said, "was incredibly important to him."

Then as the election drew closer, Dutton set up policies and rhetoric around indoctrination in schools, cuts to the public service, attacks on diversity and a Doge-style government efficiency unit.