Opinion: Australia’s shocking election offers a warning to Democrats
Bill Shorten, leader of the Labor Party of Australia, concedes defeat after the May 18 election. By Henry Olsen Henry Olsen Columnist focusing on politics, populism, and American conservative thought Email Bio Follow Columnist May 23 at 8:00 AM The Australian Labor Party’s unexpected defeat in last weekend’s election should be a warning for Democrats. The lesson: Don’t scare swing voters with a platform that’s too left-wing.
Climate change had an especially negative impact on voters dependent on mining and forestry. The state of Queensland is rich in coal, exporting much of it to China. Labor’s stated goal of cutting carbon emissions by 45 percent by 2030 led it to waffle on whether it would allow a new coal mine in the region. Queensland voters, desperately in need of jobs from that mine, shifted massively against Labor.
These policies, especially the emphasis on climate change, were supposed to help Labor win over highly educated urban voters. The party did gain some votes among that demographic, but nowhere near what the polls had predicted. In the end, the Liberal Party lost only one wealthy, educated urban seat — and that was to an independent. It regained another wealthy Sydney area seat and held on to all the wealthy seats around Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth that were supposed to swing toward Labor.
Even the culture wars came back to hurt Labor. Shorten had outraged religious communities, Christian and Muslim alike, with stances that threatened their schools’ ability to teach traditional doctrine concerning homosexuality. He also failed to satisfy religious leaders with a strong commitment to religious liberty, leading them to fear that Labor leadership would force their institutions to affirm LGBTQ-rights ideology.
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