The outcome of Australia’s 2025 federal election shocked just about everyone. Co-hosts Markus Wagner and David Turner unpack the results: the landslide win for Labor resulting in a historic second term for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese; how the Coalition is facing an identity crisis; the Greens’ growing pains; and the Teals’ staying power; and the curious case of the “Trumpets for Patriots”. Markus and David break down the numbers, the narratives, and the big lessons for all sides. Boring politics might be back—but that seems what the electorate wanted. Tune in to The Civic Podcast to find out.
Links:
ABC News, Ex-PMs farewell election analyst Antony Green after his final ABC Australia Votes broadcast,
Australian Electoral Commission, Tally Room
Annabel Crabb, Peter Dutton’s platform infuriated women — and it likely lost him the election, ABC News, 4 May 2025
Diego Garzia, Frederico Ferreira da Silva, Simon Maye, Affective Polarization in Comparative and Longitudinal Perspective, Public Opinion Quarterly, Volume 87, Issue 1, Spring 2023, 219–231
Olivia Ireland, Clay Lucas and Bridie Smith, Bandt clings to Melbourne seat as members clash on party direction, 4 May 2025
Joseph Olbrycht-Palmer, Jumbled messages and an un-electable leader drove Labor’s win, pollster claims, News.com, 4 May 2025
Laura Silver, Most across 19 countries see strong partisan conflicts in their society, especially in South Korea and the U.S., Pew Research, 16 November 2022
Chris Wallace, Labor wins with a superior campaign and weak opposition – now it’s time to make the second term really matter, The Conversation, 3 May 2025,
Tongue in Cheek, Donald Trump Actually Quite Good At Uniting A Nation When It’s Not His Own, Betoota Advocate
Recommendations:
Ross Douthat, Interesting Times
Jerome Doraisamy, Baking bad: Here, intellectual property lawyers weigh in on the extraordinary dispute between two of Australia’s most famous chefs, Lawyers Weekly, 5 May 2025
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Hosts:
Markus Wagner is Professor of Law at the University of Wollongong, Australia and has advised the private sector, governments and international organizations. An award-winning instructor, his academic work and consulting are focused on the intersections of international trade law and governance, and international peace and security, as well as US and Australian constitutional law. Professor Wagner is a sought after commentator on TV, radio and other news outlets.
David Turner is a lawyer and software developer from Sydney, Australia. As the principal lawyer of Empirical Legal, David advises Australian startups, scale-ups and small businesses on corporate advisory and technology challenges. As a co-founder of Lext, David works to make the law easier to access and easier to practise through software. Lext develops its own software-as-a-service products, and also works with government agencies, law firms and not-for-profit organisations to develop technological solutions to law and justice problems.