Yeah, I was gob smacked by the results. It was like Australia was saying by supporting the Labor party who were already the government, "We want even more big government to rule us". I want big government the current two party system to loose their clout, not gain more.
Albanese’s Win Offers Rare Chance to Fix Australia’s Economy By Swati Pandey May 5, 2025 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...to-fix-australia-s-economy?srnd=homepage-asia Takeaways NEW Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has won a historic election, giving his center-left government a strong mandate to overhaul the nation's economy. Summary by Bloomberg AI Economists say Albanese's government has a chance to tackle politically difficult issues, such as removing tax incentives for investment property and cutting red tape to improve housing supply, to ignite growth. Summary by Bloomberg AI However, it is unclear whether Albanese will take action, as his victory speech focused on the government's care agenda and the country's economic turmoil triggered by the US trade war may distract from reform efforts. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shocked Australia by securing an historic win in Saturday’s election. Now the question is whether he’ll use that mandate to push through tough measures to overhaul the nation’s economy. For years, previous administrations have shied away from tackling politically difficult issues such as removing tax incentives for investment property and cutting red tape to improve housing supply. After winning a majority in parliament with the strongest mandate since World War II, Albanese’s center-left government now has the best chance in years to take the hard steps economists have called for to ignite growth. Anthony Albanese in Sydney on election night.Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg The need to act is becoming more urgent as key pillars that drove Australia’s expansion in the past few decades start to unravel, including China’s massive demand for minerals. S&P Global Ratings warned last month that Australia’s prized AAA sovereign rating is at risk if election campaign pledges result in larger structural deficits, debt and interest costs. “The strong result means they are almost certain to get a third term and can have more confidence implementing reform policies that may be less popular initially but will produce longer-term benefits,” said Jonathan Kearns, previously a senior official at the Reserve Bank of Australia and now chief economist at money manager Challenger Ltd. “They know where to start,” he said, citing a number of past reviews of the tax system and productivity performance that are still “lying on the shelf. Australia has long been known for its prosperous economy, with many calling it “The Lucky Country.” But that luck may be starting to change. While the overall economy is not in recession, its people are. Whether Albanese will take action, however, is unclear. His victory speech on Saturday night focused on the government’s care agenda — strengthening the free healthcare system, wiping out student debt and offering universal childcare subsidies. That’s in addition to extending energy relief and providing financial assistance to first-home buyers. The prime minister will also be absorbed by the economic turmoil triggered by US President Donald Trump’s global trade war. “Quite clearly, the bond market will be asking questions how this spending will be paid for,” said Prashant Newnaha, a senior Asia-Pacific rate strategist at TD Securities. “The election outcome should push yields higher but more so at the long end to reflect the fiscal position.” Indeed, yields on the policy sensitive three-year government bond rose 5 basis points to 3.38% on Monday with traders expecting the Labor administration’s big spending to continue. The Australian dollar hit a fresh five-month high of 64.81 US cents. Bloomberg Australia Who Can Fix The Broken Economy? In an interview with Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Sunday, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the government remains “ambitious” but warned that any major reform agenda will be tempered by the fact that “nobody will control the Senate,” or the upper house of parliament. There, Labor will need the support of the opposition or minor parties to pass legislation. What’s Next for Australia’s PM Albanese After a Historic Re-Election Australian PM Anthony Albanese has been re-elected for a second term — the nation’s first leader in more than 20 years to win back-to-back elections.Ben Westcott explains the challenges that lay ahead for the Labor Party hero. Labor’s first-term priority, Chalmers said, “was primarily inflation without forgetting productivity. The second term will be primarily productivity without forgetting inflation.” That’s a strong signal that the treasurer is prepared to take on battles to lift Australia’s productivity performance, which is among the weakest in the developed world. Australia Is Growing But its Citizens Aren't Gap between overall GDP and per-capita GDP has widened since pandemic Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics Albanese’s government had struggled during its first term with sticky inflation, high interest rates and a housing crunch that’s fueled record prices. Economic output per person declined for seven consecutive quarters through 2023 and much of 2024, a sign of falling living standards. The government sought to soothe those concerns with additional tax cuts and rebates in a pre-election budget in March, measures that analysts say provided only a short-term sugar hit to the economy. “Significant economic reforms doesn’t seem to be a part of their agenda,” Diana Mousina, deputy chief economist at AMP Ltd. “And the budget position does make them a little bit constrained.” Australia's Budget Seen in Deficit For Foreseeable Future Underlying Cash Balance Source: Australian government On taxes, the last major reform, a 10% goods and services tax, was implemented by a center-right government a generation ago in July 2000. Since then, there have been attempts at change, including a mining tax in July 2012 implemented by Labor. However, that was repealed two years later after a massive campaign against it by resource companies followed by a change of government. Since the mining tax, both sides have shied away from attempting further reform. While more thoughtful members of the ruling Labor party and opposition Liberal-National Coalition acknowledge the current mix isn’t sustainable, there have been no major attempts to tackle it because it’s so easy to mount a political campaign against it. Anthony Albanese at the Labor Party election night event in Sydney on May 3.Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg At the heart of the problem is how Australia raises revenue. It relies much more heavily on individuals’ income tax than other developed world countries. A frequent suggestion, including from groups like the OECD, is that Australia should increase the revenue it generates from indirect taxes like the goods and services tax, and cut income taxes to boost incentives. Government spending has surged since the pandemic to record highs, and is forecast to reach about 26-27% of annual gross domestic product over the three years to June 2028. That compares with a long-term benchmark of 22.5%. In contrast, total revenue is forecast at around 25% of GDP in the period, leading to structural deficits. What Bloomberg Economics Says “Australia’s election outcome has the potential to deliver a boost to confidence,” while “policy continuity could bolster the prospective upswing in non-mining business investment, and drive a pickup in the housing market.” James McIntyre, economist For now, economists, including those at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., say they’re leaving their forecasts for the fiscal impulse, GDP growth and interest rates unchanged. They expect the central bank to cut its key rate later this month to 3.85%, with a further two cuts likely by December, according to a Bloomberg survey. Falling rates may give the government some fiscal flexibility for wider reform, said Eliza Owen, chief economist at property consultancy Cotality. “It’s early days, but the election-night address from the prime minister indicated a departure from culture wars and identity politics, and a focus on the fundamental concerns for households, such as housing, education, health care and child care,” Owen added.
I'd like to be optimistic but reality is, the political ruling pigs will not want to pull their snouts from out of the trough.
A new election, Albanese wins by a huge majority. Everyone is happy, blue eyed and bushy tailed. It feels like a new dawn. Just like the day Trump won his 2nd term, the optimism. Nothing will change, greed is greed and corruption is corruption.
Billionaire Rinehart Urges Australian Right to Embrace Trump Gina RinehartPhotographer: Philip Gostelow/Bloomberg By Ainsley Thomson May 5, 2025 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ehart-urges-australian-right-to-embrace-trump Iron ore billionaire Gina Rinehart, Australia’s richest person and a major donor to the nation’s center-right Liberal Party, urged the country’s conservatives to stare down the weekend’s election wipe-out and lean in to policies like those of US President Donald Trump. Rinehart, an ardent and vocal supporter of Trump, issued a lengthy statement Monday morning following Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s historic election win at the weekend. The result saw him achieve a majority in parliament for his center-left Labor Party, while Liberal leader Peter Dutton lost his seat. “Yes the loss was devastating for the Liberals, emotionally exhausting for many, disappointing and worrying for many, but important to not throw away truth and analysing skills, and instead learn from the loss and rebuild,” Rinehart said in the statement, which also compared Australia to the US and accused her compatriots of not “getting it.” In recent months Rinehart, who has a net worth of $25.9 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, has become more involved in politics. In addition to her burgeoning friendship with Trump, which saw her attend his election night party in November at his Mar-a-Lago resort, the iron-ore tycoon also donated a total A$500,000 ($323,100) to Australian state branches of the Liberal Party, according to the most recently available data. She has been making political speeches and comments with increasing frequency. During the election campaign, Albanese’s party persistently accused Dutton of copying Trump’s policies, prompting the Liberal leader to distance himself from the US president in recent weeks. In her statement, Rinehart called for people to “stay and fight for understanding of the changes Australia needs,” and to look more closely at the “common sense and truth” in the US. “Let’s use this time to build, to enlarge the foundations of common sense, rationale and truth,” she said.
It wasn't that people voted for Labor it's just that they didn't want to vote for the Libs. Bit of a long straw saying Dutton aligning with Trump just because he wanted to cut some of the fat out of public service.
Well the Democratic voters were duped by Obama's Hope & Change nonsense in 2008. He ran like FDR & governed like his predecessor GW Bush. I guess the bribes were too much to overlook. Obama went from community leader to living in the Hamptons. Just another sell out. I said this before in the politics section, Obama's legacy is Too Big To Prosecute.
Another spoiled child who thought she hit a triple but was actually just born on third base (baseball metaphor). Isn't this the lady that famously said young people are lazy and should stop eating avocado toast.
Yup, it's very very easy to dupe the sheeple with rhetoric. Sheeple want those with the gift of the gab to be their leaders. Seems as time goes on its getting worse, the amount of utter bs from our politicians.