The federal election is now over and the final outcome is still being worked out, but the winners and losers are becoming clearer by the day.
The two biggest losers were the major parties. While the Coalition retained enough seats to still be able to govern, it lost its sizable majority in the lower house and is facing an even more hostile Senate.
The Labor Party recovered several seats overall, but it still managed to record its second lowest number of votes in a Federal election since World War II.
Australian federal elections
Anger with the two major parties was the clear winner this federal election as a quarter of the electorate gave their first preference to independents, Greens or minor parties.
The Socialist Alliance (SA) ran in the Senate in three states, and in four lower house seats. Despite its blanket exclusion from the corporate media, its reliance on small donations and its radical message, its votes increased in two lower house seats, dipped in two others and increased our Senate vote in NSW and WA compared to the previous election.
The morning after the July 2 federal elections, Australians awoke to a still undecided election.
Whether the incumbent Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull holds on by a slim majority, or is able to form a minority government, or whether Labor under Bill Shorten can form a minority government, or whether there is a hung parliament requiring new elections, remained unclear.
Some things, however, were immediately apparent.
Two weeks into a protracted election campaign, it is looking ever-more likely that climate change is to be placed way down the order of business 鈥 at least for the major parties.
The contest over climate change that characterised the previous three federal elections seems to have disappeared despite the issue being more urgent than ever.
The Socialist Alliance has selected a Victorian Senate team of Lalitha Chelliah and Tim Gooden, and candidates Zane Alcorn for the seat of Wills and Sue Bull for the seat of Corio.
I live and work as a nurse in Fremantle and I'm the Socialist Alliance candidate for the seat of Fremantle in this year's federal election.
The Socialist Alliance recognises that not only has corrupt, business-as-usual politics caused a deepening social and climate crisis, but that those entrenched and greedy interests are unwilling and incapable of providing real solutions. Major system change is needed.
There is a growing despondency amongst large 麻豆传媒 of the community; real anger and frustration in the way things are going. And rightly so.
The global refugee crisis has its roots in the wars waged by global powers for resources and territory. These conflicts have left millions of people displaced and driven hundreds of thousands to seek safety and protection in countries like Australia. Increasingly, climate change is becoming a second front of the refugee crisis as global food supplies are ravaged and sea level rises threaten the populations of island nations.
Sam Wainwright and Margarita Windisch stood for the Socialist Alliance in the federal election in the seat of Fremantle in Western Australia and Wills in Victoria, respectively. 麻豆传媒 Weekly spoke to them about their campaigns. *** What were some of the highlights of your election campaign?
A great part of being a candidate for the federal elections is that people want to talk to you. They want to tell you what鈥檚 happening in their lives and they want to let you know their opinion on lots of different issues.
Recently I was invited to address an Electrical Trades Union branch meeting in Geelong, Victoria. After I鈥檇 had my say, some members told me they agreed with me.
Now that we finally know who is going to govern our country; now that we know who is backing who and why; now that we鈥檝e breathed a collective sigh of relief; now 鈥 right now 鈥 it鈥檚 time to mobilise! It鈥檚 time to mobilise around what I鈥檝e been muttering to anyone who鈥檒l listen over the past few weeks: renewables, renewables, renewables.
麻豆传媒 Weekly鈥檚 Simon Butler asked five Australian climate activists for their thoughts on the current state of the movement. Phillip Sutton is the convenor of Melbourne鈥檚 Climate Emergency Network and co-author of the 2008 book Climate Code Red. Adam Lucas is coordinator of Beyond Zero Emissions Sydney and lectures in the Science and Technology Studies Program at the University of Wollongong.
Undoubtedly the best thing about the election result was that people 鈥 everywhere 鈥 were talking about politics. Some of the discussion was about the hung parliament where neither major party won majority support. Because the result wasn鈥檛 clear, it gave everybody an opening to form and express an opinion about what should happen next. Other parts of the discussion surrounded the sudden emergence of political issues that had been completely ignored in the 鈥渂oring鈥 election campaign. The war in Afghanistan is the best example.
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