The votes, the fury, the fallout

The Albanese government has done what no first-term government has managed since World War II—win a swing towards it. Not a small nudge or a reluctant shrug from the electorate, but a decisive, unmistakable message: keep going.

As commentators dig into why and how Labor managed to defy political gravity, a few voices—some calm, others utterly volcanic—have already turned the page to what happens next. There is rage, there is resignation, and there is a rather strange suggestion that the Prime Minister should now go full imperial. “Emperor for life,” a failed Libertarian candidate sneered online, mocking the incoming cohort of new Australians who’ll become eligible voters by 2028. The subtext? Multiculturalism is apparently ruining democracy. The irony is that this tantrum arrived in the same breath as a claim that the “worst government in history” somehow pulled off a historic feat.

Meanwhile, One Nation found something to celebrate. Pauline Hanson issued a full-bodied thank-you note to her supporters, vowing to be a thorn in the side of the incoming government. She praised the tradies, the bush voters, the battlers, and her battalion of volunteers who, despite not cracking the lower house, have managed to lift her party’s Senate standing. Whether this growth is anything more than a protest vote or the makings of a permanent base is too early to say.

On the other end of the political spectrum, Rukshan Fernando—the independent journalist known for his marathon livestreams—pointed to a deeper malaise on the Right. “We never had a choice,” was the catch cry during the campaign on immigration. But the vote count says otherwise. The electorate, by and large, did not flinch. Labor, the Greens, and Teal-aligned candidates were largely returned or strengthened, suggesting that scaremongering over border numbers may have reached its saturation point. Fernando believes the Right can no longer afford to cling to exclusion as a political strategy. It must evolve—or die trying.

Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott offered the Liberals something close to grace. “We mustn’t lose heart,” he wrote. But he also warned against mimicry. “We won’t win as an echo of Labor.” That line, deliberately understated, will no doubt fuel internal Liberal debates for months. Because Abbott’s coded message was clear: don’t chase the middle, reclaim the Right.

Except the Right, according to George Christensen, has already eaten itself. Christensen, who now veers between online agitator and born-again populist, claims Peter Dutton didn’t lose the election—he was sabotaged by his own party. His 20-post thread lays out a chaotic Liberal Party inner circle obsessed with factional revenge and personal careerism. From the “Black Hand” of moderate MPs to Sydney-centric dealmakers who resented Dutton’s Queensland rise, the campaign, he claims, was gutted from within. Ad buys were pulled, messaging was neutered, and damaging leaks were timed for maximum damage. If Christensen is right, this wasn’t just an election loss; it was a blood feud.

Somewhere between the gloating and the grievance lies a quieter truth. Labor didn’t win through soaring rhetoric or a grand national moment. It won with stability, incumbency, and a muted sense that chaos lies elsewhere. Australians, worn down by years of economic churn, climate events, and war headlines, weren’t looking for a revolution. They wanted a breather.

There’s no denying that Labor will face real headwinds. Inflation has cooled but not disappeared. China remains a diplomatic question mark, not a partnership. Interest rates may fall, but housing affordability won’t magically repair itself. The coming term will not be smooth, nor simple. But the public knew that—and still chose steady hands over sharp tongues.

Those sharp tongues, however, are far from done. The Libertarian brigade, Pauline Hanson’s foot soldiers, and George Christensen’s digital revolutionaries will spend the next three years plotting, leaking, podcasting, and shouting into the void. Whether anyone listens depends on whether they can offer something more than complaints and conspiracy.

And through all of this, the image of Peter Dutton remains—a man who took the fight to Labor, polled well for stretches, and ended up looking eerily like Bill Shorten in 2019. Not because he failed, but because his party didn’t back him, if the threads are to be believed.

The electorate, it seems, didn’t just vote on policies. It voted on tone, on temperament, and on trust. The Left, for now, owns those three.

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🗳️ Labor defied history with a swing toward it, securing trust over turbulence.💪The Right splintered, as @PeterDutton_MP lost support & fringe voices grew louder.🔥Voters chose tone, stability & trust over outrage & chaos. ✅ #TheIndianSun #AusVotes25
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