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This thread deserves more discussion than being left without a reply
Now the dust has settled, it's actually quite remarkable what happened.
1. The Liberal/National Coalition government got *trounced*.
2. But ... the opposition Labor party has not won a landslide victory. In fact, they're still awaiting results from 9 marginal seats to find out whether they'll actually have a majority or not (they currently have won 73 seats, they need 76).
So how can both those things be true? It's simple ... the Australian election has seen the emergence of a new political group, who've dealt the Liberals a big blow. Who are they? They're known as "Teal Independents". They aren't a formally organised party, but rather a group of independent candidates who share a common viewpoint and (mostly) a common source of funding for their campaigns. And while they are technically independents, in the background their success at this election (grabbing 5 seats off the Liberal party) is down to really solid planning and well organised campaigning.
So, what is a "Teal Independent". They're basically Green Conservatives, and they're almost all women. Where the traditional Green party is pro-climate and left-leaning on fiscal policy, the Aussie Teal group are pro-climate with moderate right fiscal policy. How were they so successful? They targeted seats held by the governing Liberal/National coalition where traditionally neither Labor nor the Greens have been able to get any traction as the electorate is right leaning. But they tapped into growing anger about how *both* major parties in Australia have failed to put climate at the forefront, and they've been able to take 5 seats (to add to 1 already held after a by-election).
Suspect there's lessons to be learned here in the UK. Perhaps this is something the Lib Dems should be taking a serious look at. They already occupy the centre ground. They already plan to mostly target Tory seats that the Labour party hasn't a hope in. Ramp up their "green" credentials while remaining solidly in the centre ground on the rest of their policy framework and they just might tap into something that delivers big for them.
On balance, I'd rather they just fixed the cause of voter apathy - uninspiring politicians and the existence of FPTP.
