On the Albanese Labor Win
Some thoughts on the Labor victory:
The Morrison miracle win of three years ago was just not sustainable – either that or the age of miracles has passed! The counting still continues in yesterday’s Australian federal election, but at this point it is clear that Labor will take over, at least as a minority government in conjunction with the Greens and independents.
A number of electorates had around 20 per cent postal ballets (the highest ever), and those were not even counted until today, so we still await the final numbers. While those postal votes have tended to favour the conservatives in the past, things may be different this time around.
With 76 seats needed to win government outright, the number of basically certain seats so far in the House of Representatives are:
Labor – 72 (a half per cent swing against)
Coalition – 51 (a 6% swing against)
Independents – 7 (a 2% swing for)
Greens – 2 (a 2% swing for)
Katter Party – 1 seat
Centre Alliance – 1 seat
As of current counting, the Coalition got 4,080,182 votes (35.6%), while Labor got 3,763,336 votes (32.8%). All up there seems to have been a 3.9% two-party preferred swing to Labor.
As usual, it will be some time yet to see how the lie of the land in the Senate will actually pan out. Of special interest will be how the various smaller freedom parties have fared. But at this point it seems that it will not be good news (see more on this below). If so, the hoped-for balance in the Senate with some conservatives helping to keep the bastards honest seems not to have materialised. So Labor may be in smooth waters for the next few years in terms of getting its agenda through both houses.
The bad news
Political analysis will be with us for weeks, but a few brief things can be said:
-In part Morrison won in 2019 by being different from Labor and the Greens, especially on things like climate and energy.
-In part Morrison lost in 2022 by not being different from Labor and the Greens, especially on things like climate and energy.
-The Coalition refused to stand up for conservative social values, seeking to be just a pale version of Labor. It was happy under ScoMo to keep moving to the left. As Senator Matt Canavan put it: “The electorate hasn’t changed that much in 3 years, we changed.”
-A Liberal leader who is merely poll-driven and lacks strong convictions to uphold conservative principles and values has little chance of winning.
-A Labor win will mean things like the diabolical WHO Pandemic Treaty will be readily embraced and promoted by the Australian government.
-The failure of Morrison to stand up against lockdown lunacy and health fascism by the states was a part of the reason he was rejected. And if you thought things were bad, say in Dan Andrew’s Victoria over the past several years, look to things being just as bad on a national level, especially when Albo happily allows the WHO and WEF to determine our health and social policies.
-National defence will be weakened again, not just with plenty of boats arriving with those wanting to live here, but more Labor kowtowing to the likes of Communist China and so on.
-Economic management tends to go downhill big time under Labor governments, and we can expect that to happen here. Indeed, given how often Albo imitated Biden on the campaign trail with being clueless about many economic basics, we could be in for a real rough ride indeed.
–We can expect Labor to rush with all things green, including a gung-ho support of renewable energy. As a result, we can expect the economy, small business and employment to all take really big hits.
-It looks like we will now have a Schwab- and Gates-driven ‘climate change’ tyranny.
-Secular left outfits such as “our” ABC will simply be emboldened to become even more secular left.
-Labor will of course get into bed with the Greens, and given that most of the independents are anything but, and are instead just Labor sympathisers, we can expect the culture wars to get a whole lot worse.
–Along with this, there will be a whole lot more persecution of Christians. Say goodbye to religious freedom, and say hello to even greater clampdowns on biblical Christianity in this country.
–Freedom fighters like former Liberal MP Craig Kelly have not been able to keep their seats. It looks like One Nation leader Pauline Hanson may lose her Senate spot. Deputy leader Josh Frydenberg seems to have lost his Kooyong seat to a Teal independent. Real conservatives in federal politics are becoming few and far between.
-In many ways voters were left with a choice between Tweedledum and Tweedledumber. The latter won.
Just one bit of commentary at this point can be mentioned – one that I have to go along with. Consider this from Rowan Dean of the Australian Spectator:
Scott Morrison, through his cowardice on the climate issue and so many other issues – in particular the abandonment of the nation during Covid to the outrageous human rights abuses of the Labor premiers – and cultural issues such as religious freedom, has decimated the Liberal party. If you stand for nothing, you lose. That is the message from this campaign. If you betray your base, you lose. If you follow the siren calls of focus group researchers, you lose.
Whether you like or loathe the Teals, the point is they fought from a position of conviction. They stood for something and they won. It is time for the Liberal party to rediscover its conservative convictions and stop pandering to the woke, touchy-feely left. As we now know in no uncertain terms, appeasement is a sure path to defeat. https://spectator.com.au/2022/05/rowan-deans-election-comment/
Some good news
–As I walked the dog this morning I noticed that the sun had risen. There are some things that even a change of government will not alter. Although to be honest, it was an overcast morning, with the dark grey clouds reflecting the sombre heaviness many of us are now feeling!
-The votes for both major parties were down, with roughly one third of votes each going to the two major parties. Gains went to the independents and some smaller parties. Gone are the days when the two main parties could take in 85 to 95% of the votes.
-Voters are tired of the two-party system and its stranglehold on political life. Thus the huge growth in the cross bench in this election. Of course there will be new problems as more and more independents and smaller parties vie for power and control. But letting the two main parties know that voters are getting tired of being taken for granted by them may be a step in the right direction.
–The Nationals did much better than the Liberals in this election, at least in terms of seats lost.
-Morrison will step down as Liberal leader, with Peter Dutton most likely to take his place. That should be a step in the right direction as well. It remains to be seen who then will become the Deputy Opposition Leader.
–It looks like CLP Senate candidate Jacinta Price may have won her seat in the NT.
–Labor lefty Kristina Keneally lost (again), this time to an independent in Fowler, NSW. That alone was one of the real highlights of the day!
Spiritual considerations
Political considerations are not all there is here. We also need to look at the bigger spiritual picture. Yesterday I wrote an article looking at how God so very much was involved in the fate of nations and rulers – at least in the Old Testament. As Daniel 2:21 says: “He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others.” See that piece here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2022/05/21/god-government-and-elections/
Not only is God still on his throne, while human rulers come and go on their thrones, but God’s purposes and plans somehow cohere with the choices of humans. People voted in Labor yesterday, but God was also at work carrying out his purposes. So we need to trust God even more in what looks to be some real dark times ahead.
Another thing I have written about is the notion of a people getting the government they deserve, and the related issue of God allowing wicked rulers to judge a wayward and sinful people. As to the former, see this 2016 article: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2016/02/23/on-getting-the-government-we-deserve/
As to the latter, John Calvin is often appealed to in this regard. As I also wrote in 2016: “The words both attributed to, and actually written by, Calvin are certainly something to think about. As the West continues to go downhill, and its selection of leaders gets worse by the day, maybe there is something to this idea of being under divine judgment. If true, it would not surprise me at all to be honest.” https://billmuehlenberg.com/2016/02/27/calvin-on-wicked-rulers-and-gods-judgment/
This may be the most important takeaway from this election. Yes it is gloomy indeed right now for Christians and conservatives. It seems that we keep losing one battle after another. But if God is allowing all this to get our attention and to get our priorities right (and that includes believers as much as non-believers), then we must make good use of all this.
Falling on our knees before Almighty God and seeking his forgiveness and his help to endure in the dark days ahead is clearly the best way forward – indeed, it is the only way.
Although we can be far too glib as we overuse and abuse this verse, it still stands as the best bit of advice I can give my readers right now: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
[1659 words]
Rather than:
Labor Greens Bandt Teal+ (LGBT+)
More:
Romans 1:18+
Quite so John.
Labour and Greens spell deep disaster – just look out NZ’s Labour and Greens government being in power for 2 terms. We now have a blown up bureaucracy, increasingly many forms of taxes, family-unfriendly and anti-Christian policies like Ban Conversion Therapy Bills, increased crime due to being soft on crime, etc. etc. We’re going communist fast. I hope for Australians’ sakes, you guys survive this. The Greens are especially deadly to humanity.
Yes exactly right Jin. it is bad news here as it is in New Zealand.
Australia Has Finally Caught the ‘Net Zero’ Bus
I would argue unaware of the extent to which their election will favour the fortunes of already rich white men so heavily invested in so-called renewables and carbon trading they can’t afford for it to fail. These men don’t actually produce very much, rather they mostly make their money out of corporations’ dependent on government-funded schemes, mandates and subsidies including for particular types of electricity-generating energies. For example, I know a fellow who campaigned for Allegra Spender, the daughter of fashion designer Carla Zampatti, one of the so-called Teal Independents. Spender appears to have won the inner-city Sydney-seat of Wentworth. This Wentworth resident and Spender-supporter made his money out of selling insurance, then bought property in regional New South Wales that now has a windfarm that pays him $250,000 every year in rent. He has sold all the cattle that once populated the farm because they emitted carbon. He didn’t build the wind farm, and he doesn’t sell the wind, he just gets paid for owing the land.
https://jennifermarohasy.com/2022/05/australia-has-finally-caught-the-net-zero-bus/
OTOH, this particular election may well be the one you DON”T want to win. We are just past the edge of the economic waterfall and have a much bigger plunge ahead. Whoever was to win the 2022 election would be bound to look really bad in the next 12 months, as prices hike and mortgages start defaulting. And there is diddly squat that any bright spark politician or master economist can do about it. Hold on to your hat!
Dear Australians, remember this Scripture…1 Kings19:18 “There are 7000 who have not bowed their knee to Baal…” God is still with us, even though it may not seem so, but you get what you vote for and hopefully we will learn the lesson.
Thanks Christine.
With everything you said Bill, I agree. It is time for a moral reset.
Yes David, only a major moral and spiritual reset can save us now. I will speak to this further in an article to be posted tomorrow.
With the economy already artificially overstimulated and Labor admitting to spend an extra $7.8billion the next thing we will see in the economy is the resurgence of inflation and so the Reserve Bank will have no choice but to significantly raise interest rates. This, in combination with high fuel and energy costs, will result in industry closures with resultant unemployment.
Whether this will be enough to stop the angry, conservative voters preferencing the LP last we will see but even if half of those who voted for the “freedom parties” put the LP last, when they would have normally given them their preference, then this would explain the LP’s loss on its own.
Unfortunately we have the usual suspects in the media telling the LP they will need to move to the left to capture the vote and many within the LP actually believing this despite the repeated failure of this approach.
The big problem, however, is the constant propaganda coming from the ABC. While they continually get away with claiming the climate is an election issue when we have met our Kyoto and Paris agreements and Australia only contributes around 1% of world carbon emissions anyway and the differences between what Labor and the Liberals will achieve here is minuscule and while we have good forests and surrounded by oceans, whoever we vote into power it will make zero difference. You won’t get that from the deceitful, propagandist, socialist, corruptly bureaucratic ABC however, who clearly would say whatever it takes to get their preferred parties into power with zero regard for the truth of the matter.
I suggest those who will wake up because of the failing economy will wake up faster than those who notice that the Labor/Greens government has made no difference to the climate.
I think an important question to ask is what are Christians to pray for? A conservative government? The devil can kill, steal and destroy using left or right.
My concern is that Christians may get distracted from evil while trying to avoid evil. I certainly believe that the Bible speaks to all of life, including politics, but I also think we need to ask God what we are to pray for, in case we end up praying something more terrible into being.
Thanks Alistair. Sure, that we must always pray about such matters – indeed, about everything – goes without saying. But we also must pray – and act – with discernment, wisdom, and our eyes wide open. While all of politics is tainted and corruptible in a fallen world, some parties and platforms can still be somewhat better than others in terms of biblical values and ideals.
And given official Labor party policies such as their commitment to abortion on demand, the full LGBT agenda to destroy God’s institutions of marriage and family, and so on, I think we can safely say that the aim to ‘kill, steal and destroy’ is certainly entrenched in Labor. That is not officially the case with the Coalition, although we do sadly find some individual politicians in it who do of course support these anti-God agenda items. So while I can be cynical about all major political parties, I am not ready just yet to pronounce a total moral equivalence between them.
In my view it was replacing a quite faulty Morrison government with a worse Albanese one that entails seeing ‘something more terrible coming into being.’ And it was some of the pro-family, pro-freedom, and pro-faith smaller parties that I supported, and that I believed we could more fully get behind.
Good afternoon Bill, thank you for a very “insightful article” on the post -election fallout as it stands. I look forward to more of your observations and articles as the “electoral picture” becomes clearer over these next few weeks. I agree with you, that persecution of the Australian Church will be exacerbated as labour and the greens “snuggle ” up together. My sincere hope and prayer is that 2Chron.7:14 will take on a whole new and urgent significance within the whole Australian Church community. As always Bill, KEEP DISHING IT OUT! Bless you heaps, Kel.
Many thanks Kel.
Good analysis and good advice. Thanks Bill.
Thanks Alec.
Timothy Andrew, I believe you are right, it is going to be a rough 12 months coming up and no matter which government we have, they will not be able to do anything about it. Unfortunately, I can see raised taxes and new tax schemes in the pipeline to pay for the unfunded promises. Sadly however, the results just highlight how little people in Australia know about the policies of the party they are voting for. It really is a case of ‘itching ears’.
I absolutely agree with everything you said Bill… My first thoughts last night were. “You get the government you deserve”. We have seen the church lose it’s moral integrity, it’s courage and it’s true purpose. It has failed to bring the next generation into a saving knowledge of Christ. The Church is more happy to undermine the Bible’s message than to stand on it as The Word of GOD. It’s standing in the community is fraught with distrust, abhorrence and sheer irrelevance, much of which is justified. It has convinced it’s people that politics is something the church should not be involved in. We can only pray for Revival in the Church and Nation. Jesus is Lord. He can do it.
Bill you said it very well.
Between the media, the feminists (see teal new Emily’s list) who crept silently under the radar and being ignored and the interference of other states. The outcome couldn’t be different.
A huge inflation near the kind Hitlers barrage brought about is looming. But personally i don’t care. Its what unthinking Australians were conned into.
Thank you Bill. This is a very helpful summary in every way…the actual statistics so far, trends, the sad fact our recent PM was strong in some areas but sadly did not stand against climate change and a few other major areas. I believe he did his best and was serving the people of Australia as best he could under many pressures.
The thought of Labor appeasing WHO and also appeasing nations who will be a threat in foreign policy, are daunting. May God have mercy and help us pray on for some freedom of choice in health matters.
All in all so many prayed through and fasted for this election that I believe, no matter what happens, God has heard those prayers.
A lesson from history rings true: The people of Israel wanted Saul as King and were given him – only to suffer under him, but God had His own choice of king and protected David from early death or long term banishment. There were military defeats and unwise decisions and spiritual decline meanwhile until Israel repented. (This may be in line with Calvin’s thoughts)
I have come through this time with one main mandate- to preach/share the word of God and gospel while we can to those whom the Good Shepherd is seeking, while there is yet time. As the days grow darker and freedom to share wanes, we are told to obey God and pray for peace so the gospel can go forth still. (Mathew 28:17-18) ‘the night is far spent’ and we are to shine as lights turning many to righteousness Daniel 12:9-10 ‘Go your way Daniel because the are rolled up and sealed until the time of the end. Many will be purified, made spotless and refined but the wicked will continue to do wickedly. None of the wicked will understand but those who are wise will understand.’
May God have mercy on Australia and the future days of hardship and change. May He bless each laborer in the vineyard and guide each politician. May He protect the freedom to share the gospel.
While the days grow darker may His people shine as lights for His glory, for so many are lost, lonely, broken, depressed, confused re their identity while this earth is passing away. Others are trapped in forms of addiction, Domestic violence cycles and child abuse….may these ones be helped towards God’s word, His Light and find truth and eternal life, despite the Government of the day.
I agree when comparing LNP with Labour, LNP is the better option, and I agree that the smaller parties were better still. I have no qualms about taking action.
My point was that our desire to combat true evil may blind us to a more insidious evil we mistakenly welcome as a saviour.
Think Mugabe or Putin. Both were supported by people because they saved their countries from blatant ungodliness and disorder, and continued to be supported despite the evil *they* committed (and commit).
Just a caution. Or more strongly, a warning.
Come gather ’round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’
Or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’
Bob Dylan erstwhile Christian 40 years ago. So we better start swimmin.
Thanks John. Quite so, but one minor point: Dylan’s classic song “The Times They Are a-Changin'” appeared in 1964, but his Christian phase was not until the late 70s.
Of course we can look on the bright side. At least we have people like female fashion designers voted in who will clearly have a handle on how we can control the climate. Perhaps they can show us how we can sew something really big out of sheer material and send it into space to shade the Earth.
Here in America independents have been the largest section of the people voting for decades. And it does result, in election time at least, of the two parties courting these voters since just dems and just repubs no longer make up enough of the voters to elect someone. Sometimes the problem is they listen to the independents and promise them stuff on the campaign trail but once in office the don’t care about them (I have your vote so why should I care what you want). But sometimes the polling data showing how independents feel about something will affect their decisions to hopefully win future votes.
Biggest problem I’ve found with way too many independents is they go back and forth without real grounding real driving principles. Too often this means going back and forth between bad and slightly worse. There is a great opportunity to gain ground among independents by conservatives with bedrock conservative principles and values but it has only been more recently that I am seeing this. This a BIG opportunity for the church among independents but we can’t seem to even get our own people biblical sound so we aren’t exactly in a position to go out and convert the heathen.
I’ll leave you with this too ponder: Mat 5:13 – Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
I’m afraid John we drowned a while back!
I don’t understand why the worry. ‘God is in control’? I don’t know what that means either.
He works all things together for good for those who are his, but this is the domain of the evil one. So what to pray for then? For government that does its duty in maintaining peace and executing justice. Both things governments manifestly fail to do, and fail egregiously.
For Christians; we must pray for opportunities to proclaim the gospel: not just the John 3:16 rap, or legalistic conformity, but the particular corner of the gospel that is apposite at the time. It all goes to moving the hearer to belief and repentance and faith. For the church, that it will continue to execute its mission, irrespective of the Canberra Clown Show program.
OTOH, Christians so called need to be political, engage with local members, join a party (I don’t care which one, in a way, just think out what it is to be Christian and be one (as per Romans 12:2).
And remember; we are not the people of Israel, and this is not OT times. The OT is the story of the bringing of the Messiah. Now he’s come, we are in the last days, and last day things will happen until the return.
Dear Bill, Thank you for the really helpful summary of the election. It really IS a sad day for Australia Labour getting elected. Not that I think Liberal is anything to shout about. There is very little difference between the major parties now because they are both godless and left leaning so this makes the two party system ineffective and unworkable. However, Labour having to rely on the Greens to govern makes things even worse. At least the Liberals were in coalition with the Nationals who were more conservative.
The result means we will hear practically nothing about families struggling to pay mortgages and put food on the table in these times of high inflation. It will be climate change for breakfast, dinner and tea which will do nothing to make people’s lives easier and some people are really struggling now after two years of pandemic and lockdowns.
Hopefully when a godless people have enough of the government they deserve they will begin to see that left wing politics is never the answer and only turning back to God is.
Christian believers must pray as they have never prayed before.
Paul Wilson, I think you misunderstand what Australians are talking about with the Independents. We are referring to Independent Candidates that don’t belong to either major party. A lot of these were elected to Parliament. We were not talking about independent voters.
I realize your system is different but similarities exist as our two parties rely on independent voters to get victories your parties rely on independent politicians to get victories via majorities. But independent voters and politicians alike often don’t have firm grounding thus go back and forth. So the independent politicians support one party today but might support the other tomorrow. Fickleness is a major part of many independents either voter or politician and that was my main point. They are ungrounded in any real beliefs real strong worldviews so they aren’t reliable.
Look at the first preference figures- which represent a snapshot of electors’ first gut reaction to the choice to be made on polling day.
ALP 3,902,409 32.8%
LNP 4,257,491 35.8%
GREENS 1,409,633 11.85%
LDP/PHON/UAP/KATTER 1,323,783 11.14%
INDIES 657,694 5.53%
Which means that less than one in three of voters wanted the ALP in government, yet they win the treasury bench- the right to spend our many. Non-left voters outscore left voters convincingly. Not all Greens are socialist.
If that’s democracy Aussie style, then it sucks. We need to drag our system out of the 19th Century and set a system that is not based on horse and buggy days communication.
If you want to know conservatism at a federal Level , look to Queensland 21/30 seats LNP. I seat(Ryan) was lost (on current count) to the Greens by an UQ academic which is unsurprising since the seat is based on St Lucia and the leafy Greens “professional” belt of inner western Brisbane. Not one ALP (5/30) seat was outside SEQ. Rural Qld (and most of suburbia) is solidly conservative. I think Dutton will rise to the occasion as Opposition Leader. Seems Queensland will be the new Australia Conservative power base. It should be, its where the smart money is.