Peter Dutton’s imitation of Donald Trump and his plans for racism and cuts are going badly for him. It will be a relief if Dutton is kept out of office. But the main reason for a Labor win will not be enthusiasm for Anthony Albanese.
Albanese is running a dull, uninspiring election campaign, offering very little to improve workers’ lives.
In the face of the cost-of-living crisis Albanese promises only minor improvements. This is typified by Labor’s new tax cuts of just $5 a week, not kicking in until the middle of next year.
We need far more. Living standards have been savaged by the surging cost of rents, home loans and groceries.
Household disposable income has plummeted almost 8 per cent since the last election—about $4800 per person.
Donald Trump is casting a huge shadow over the campaign as his tariffs threaten to tank the global economy.
Australia was hit with direct tariffs of 10 per cent. But the bigger threat is the US’s targeting of China—a protracted trade war would have knock-on effects here.
Albanese’s efforts to placate Trump failed. In response to the tariffs, he has wrapped himself in nationalism, declaring the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme “not up for negotiation” and pledging to support affected industries. But Labor’s support for AUKUS and nuclear submarines is unchecked.
Dutton’s imitation of Donald Trump makes him look like an even more dangerous risk.
His plan for nuclear energy has been widely ridiculed. And he can’t explain how his proposal to bring down gas prices would work.
Dutton has mimicked Trump and Elon Musk’s public sector cuts, vowing to sack 41,000 public servants.
Jacinta Price, who Dutton wants to run a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) mirroring Musk’s, even declared she wanted to “Make Australia Great Again” at a campaign rally.
Dutton has launched “anti-woke” attacks on teachers, suggesting students were being “indoctrinated”. But he was forced into a humiliating backdown, dumping his attack on working from home mid-election campaign and walking back his call for public sector sackings.
Trump is a creating a dangerous world where the US bullies everyone in its path to advance its own power and profits. He has also shown his willingness to resort to naked force, bombing Yemen and giving the green light for Israel to resume its genocide in Gaza.
He is now escalating tensions with China by singling it out as the prime target of his tariffs. This risks a slide into a devastating conflict between two of the world’s largest military powers.
Australia’s support for US imperialism only inflames the conflict and increases the danger of war.
We should be scrapping the $368 billion AUKUS nuclear subs, kicking out all the US bases in Australia, including Pine Gap, and getting out of the US alliance.
Instead Albanese is doubling down on the US and ramping up arms spending.
Albanese has even sought to outdo Dutton in his support for the US, accusing him of suggesting military ties should be a bargaining chip with Trump over tariffs.
Dutton needs to be kept out of office. But a re-elected Albanese government will be just as conservative as its first term.
Labor’s betrayals
Labor has betrayed many of those who voted for it last time.
After the referendum for the Voice was lost, Labor has let Indigenous rights go backwards. Labor has given the green light to new coal and gas mining.
Perhaps the most glaring is its attack on the CFMEU. The administration regime is likely to move more aggressively against militant unionism if the unions’ High Court challenge fails. A result is likely shortly after the election.
Labor is still allowing weapons exports to Israel as it escalates its genocide. The ABC revealed that Israel is trialling a new weapons system from Canberra-based Electro Optic Systems.
Understandably many people will vote for The Greens or for independents supporting Palestine in places like Western Sydney to show their disgust for Labor.
But pushing Labor into minority government is not going to bring any serious shift to the left. Labor will seek the support of more conservative independents before The Greens. And The Greens currently holding the balance of power in the Senate has not pushed Labor to the left. Instead Albanese has used Liberal support to pass legislation—such as over immigration or the CFMEU.
It’s going to take grassroots campaigns and union organising outside of parliament to force change—both in the lead up to and after the election. The doctors’ three-day strike in NSW, defying the Industrial Relations Commission, shows how to fight.
Student activists need to keep standing up to the crackdown against protests for Palestine at universities—and build outwards to deepen the opposition to universities’ ties with Israel. The University of WA has just announced the end of its exchange partnership with the Hebrew University in a win for the push for sanctions against Israel.
Whoever forms government, we are going to have a fight on our hands.
