Editorial: The trap all-conquering Labor must not fall into

Labor must avoid the trap of thinking this extraordinary election result is a green light for it to give into its own temptations, writes the editor.

On Monday in this column, we urged the Liberal Party to resist the temptation to think that extreme conservatism is the way to dig itself out of the electoral hole it has fallen into – to remember that Australian elections are won in the centre.

Today we remind the Labor Party that it also must avoid the trap of thinking this extraordinary election result is a green light for it to give into its own temptations and flirt with its own extreme.

The Left dominates Labor’s rank and file, and so its organisational wing. The Left has also just won a majority in the Labor parliamentary caucus. The temptation will be real when all the applause and back-slapping calms down.

Respected commentator Paul Kelly observed in The Australian this week that the proposition that the Liberals were not conservative enough at this election and so should embrace the populist pro-Trump Right and aggressive conservatism is “based on a misreading of Australia’s character and history”.

Labor should heed the same warnings, but the other way around – in that the proposition that this result gives Labor a mandate for pursuing an even bolder big government, universal handouts and pro-unions agenda is wrong.

Only just over one in three voters gave their first preference to Labor. This result was more a rejection of what the Peter Dutton-led Liberal Party offered than a resounding backing of the Labor program.

The good news is Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been saying the right things when it comes to these temptations.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese celebrates victory with fiancee Jodie Haydon and son Nathan Albanese. Picture: Saeed Khan/AFP

Despite having been a proud “Trot” in his younger years, he has put those old socialist predilections behind him while in the nation’s top job – and it seems he plans to continue doing the same, despite this emphatic victory that has seen him become the first prime minister to win two consecutive elections since John Howard a full generation ago.

This is welcome. On Monday, Mr Albanese said: “We’re not getting carried away.” He promised to not overreach beyond the agenda he took to the election, and he vowed to be open to hearing all good ideas from all MPs and senators – not just those from his own Labor caucus.

This approach fits the reality of our compulsory voting system that drags our political leaders back to the centre, and also is a pragmatic approach for the Prime Minister considering what has happened to the socialist-Left Greens after three years of cockiness in parliament.

Their four lower house seats have been reduced to probably one (the Brisbane seat of Ryan). This was in some part due to the clever Labor strategy to drag young people away from the Greens through promises such as help for first-home buyers and paying 20 per cent of their university HECS bills. But it was also no doubt due to the fact the Greens since 2022 have openly pursued too aggressive an agenda for mainstream Australians.

But the Greens will still wield significant power in this next parliament, for the simple fact that the government will likely need either their support – or that of the Coalition – to get its legislation through the Senate.

This is why it was so important for Prime Minister Albanese to this week repeatedly vow to govern for all Australians, and to stick to his mandate. He will no doubt be under pressure over the next three years from both the extreme Left in his own party and from the Greens to go beyond it. He must be cautious.

WORLD EVEN MORE DANGEROUS

The world was already a dangerous place. With the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza defying clumsy attempts at peace, Chinese and Russian sabre-rattling in our region and US President Donald Trump’s trade wars and territorial claims, global tensions were already at levels rarely seen since the end of the Second World War.

Then earlier this week things suddenly became much worse, with Indian military aircraft bombing sites within Pakistan.

India said the strikes were in response to terrorist attacks last month in Indian-administered Kashmir, in which 26 Hindu tourists were killed.

Pakistan has responded with tough talk, claiming they will “avenge the blood of martyrs”. India in turn said they had every right to respond to the terrorist attack, which Islamabad says they had nothing to do with.

Tensions have been high between the two nations since the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008. Even their cricket teams can barely stand to be on the same field together.

While this may be just another border flashpoint in the acrimonious history of these two rivals since partition in 1947, there is the potential for it to be far worse. Let’s not forget these two nations are armed with nuclear weapons.

Cooler heads must prevail, and the international community – so distracted by tariffs and other conflicts – needs to act quickly to ensure that both nations can save face without escalation.

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Chris Jones, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details here

Originally published as Editorial: The trap all-conquering Labor must not fall into