Centre gains Voters reject fringe flirtations as Labor seizes middle ground

As Australians returned from the calm of summer holidays, Labor and the Coalition held their breath as Donald Trump took his oath of office in Washington.

- Tom McIlroy

With a federal election year under way and the Albanese government desperate to restart Labor’s flagging prospects, Trump’s victory had emboldened conservatives in the Coalition and rightwing minor parties. Along with sections of the media, they pushed for an Australian version of Trump’s politics.

Sensing a shift to the right across the electorate, Peter Dutton and the Coalition finalised policies to slash the federal public service and root out “woke” ideology in schools and social policy. They fine-tuned messages about the Indigenous welcome to country and accused Labor of dangerous overreach in the transition to renewable energy.