Australian voters voted in a general election on Saturday, the third major ally behind Germany and Canada, to vote in a global economic and political environment subverted by the second Trump administration.
The two scrambled for the people who led Australia – Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of the left-wing Labor Party and Peter Dutton, opposition leader of the Conservative coalition – agreed that the country finds itself in the most challenging environment of a generation. It depends to a lot on U.S. security, but it has gained a lot of prosperity from its trade with China, which has brought its military ambitions closer to Australia's coast.
But what most desperately urges for voters is the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and growing housing affordability, further curbing long-standing optimism that Australia is a government with rich resources, high wages and stable, and Australia is a blessed recession country.
“It all costs a lot of money,” said Judy Pula, a registered nurse and the mother of the two who voted in the suburbs of Sydney in Liverpool during his break. Ms Pula, 29, said she had voted for labor in the past, but chose the Australian Green Party this time. “I think new leaders will be beneficial to us.”
Still, recent polls have shown that Mr. Albanese's party served in the second term, mostly in the House of Representatives, a shift earlier that year when the opposition led the way. Australia has a Westmist style parliamentary system.
Here is what you know about elections:
It's economical, companion
Mr. Dutton has reached no less than 15 gas stations in the campaign – Guardians – and paid partisan proposals to reduce taxes. Mr. Albanes swipes his card for Australia's universal health care system Medicare, highlighting his commitment to reduce out-of-pocket expenses.
Although global turmoil originating from Washington has dominated the news cycle here in recent months, their main focus is the extension of bread and drinks (or bread, butter and vegetarians here) sent out by ordinary families. But the two major parties have only promised small-scale measures to relieve economic pressure, rather than bold, ambitious ideas about the direction of the country.
Returning citizen Bilal Anwar, who voted in Australia's first general election, said prices have been shocking in recent years.
“Even a loaf of bread I bought, it used to cost a dollar or two, now it's four or five dollars,” said Mr Anwar, 39. “It's not how much salary increases.”
In the last debate, the two candidates were asked to sell for twelve eggs for more than $8, or nearly $6. Mr. Dutton has left, putting the price in about half the case. Mr Albanese approached, but still low, and he answered $7.
After a 6.8% increase in the previous year, egg prices rose 13.5% in the year to March 2025. Another staple food, Vegemite, also became more expensive, albeit at a slower pace.
“It's the nerves in the hips. Under which government, you're better?” said Shaun Ratcliff, a political scientist and pollster at Accent Research. Although economic dissatisfaction has weakened Mr. Albanese's hierarchy of recognition and should help the conservative opposition, “I don't think they're convinced voters that they'll do better,” he said.
Cultural War
Mr Albanes' political low for three-year term is the 2023 referendum failing to grant the parliamentary Aboriginal Australians the right to represent. It was his main campaign commitment when he was elected a year before. His Labour Party gained control in 2022 after nine years in power in the center-right coalition.
Mr. Dutton, a former Queensland police officer, opposed the measure and continued to take a stance on other symbolic recognition of Indigenous peoples. He said he would not stand on the flags of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and said it was “excessive” to express gratitude to Australia's first Australians at public events.
John Goodwin, a 72-year-old retiree wearing sandals and a T-shirt that reads “Old Guys” and says he doesn't think Mr. Dudton runs a good campaign but rather votes for his party because he doesn't want to control his labor.
He criticized two major political parties: “I think policy is just rhetoric, working hard.” He added: “I can't wait to end it.”
Early in the campaign, opposition leaders adopted some buzzwords or policies that echoed President Trump and some of his pet causes, including condemning “suffocation” and diversity initiatives. The strategy seems to be aimed at riding the global, anti-temporary trend that it dominated last year. But with the emergence of the first few months of Trump's presidency, the association began cutting with Mr. Dutton.
“Now, it’s considered Trump’s because median voters are not a good thing,” said Ben Raue, an independent election analyst who owns the Talley Room in the political tracking scene.
Grahame Don, 56, voted for the Liberal Party for decades, but began supporting Labor in the last election. He said Mr Trump's tone of talking about the problem was bleeding Australian politics.
“This country is only gaining from things like immigration and international students,” he said.
Transfer from major political parties
Australia is one of the few places in the world where there is a mandatory vote, with fines for people who fail to participate in the polls. This means that politicians are unable to choose to cater to a narrow extreme base to vote, making their politics more centrist.
But in recent elections, Australian voters have left the two major parties that have long dominated the world, instead turning to independent candidates and smaller parties. This trend also makes the prospect of minority governments more likely, which will force which party wins the most seats to negotiate with smaller parties.
Garth Lotz, 35, a Queensland resident who is home to Mr Dutton, said he voted for an independent candidate in hopes that it would lead to a reduction in party politics.
“Maybe sometimes, the atmosphere on the sports team will be reduced,” he said.
Chris Wallace, a political historian at the University of Canberra, said the shift was a clear signal of the Australian public's dissatisfaction with a range of suggestions and candidates provided by the two major players.
“The main parties are not listening to voters and there is a desperate need for in-depth solutions to today’s deep problems, especially young voters,” she said.
