The year in review: the 2022 election

New Politics: Australian Politics

It was a big year in politics and the biggest event was the federal election in May. It wasn't clear who was going to win the election, even though opinion polls were suggesting Labor was going to win. In that first hour after the polls closed on election night, it seemed the Coalition was on track to achieve their second consecutive surprise election victory – didn't quite work out that way though. Labor achieved a narrow victory, there were many seats won by independent candidates, and the Coalition lost badly. Paul Keating once said that when the government changes, the country changes as well and Australia now has a new government, new prime minister in Anthony Albanese, and an opportunity to steer the country in a new direction. And, despite what the media kept saying, this was an exciting election campaign, and one of the most important in Australia’s history.
Looking at Labor has been performing since the election in May, it appears the election result has been validated – they've implemented anti-corruption commission legislation, reformed industrial relations, repaired the relationship with Pacific Islands and started to repair the relationship with China. They've put the Voice to Parliament on the political map, they've introduced legislation to stabilise energy prices. This is a government that wants to do things, they don't want to waste time. At looking at some of their achievements over the past seven months, they’ve achieved more than the Coalition managed to achieve over nine years They are riding high in the polls at the moment but that's not going to last forever. But it also suggests the electorate is happy with the choice they made at the 2022 federal election.