I've already passed comment (after the last federal election) that Australians are naturally supporters of the Liberal Party, as they are fundamentally skeptical of ... well, anything. Most Australians think they know better, which makes them independent thinkers, self-reliant, etc, but also means that politicians using the media for voter manipulation is the equivalent of herding cats.
My next point is that the Australian population (or voters, at least) are essentially conservative. I don't mean politically right-wing, but that they prefer "more of the same" until they get fed up. Stability is one of the main-stays of politics in this country. Very few governments, at state or federal level, last only one term. It's not just "giving them a fair go", it's a partial fear of the unknown (what will those currently in opposition do? what will they change?) & a fear of change in general. Radicalism has no place in Australian politics.
Let's look at the campaigns of the major parties (Liberal v Labor) - & this is the primary battle-ground, as the second-tier parties (Nationals, Greens) have actual platforms & supporters, rather than dirtying themselves with the middle ground (leaving aside the Greens' appeal to middle-class guilt).
The Liberals, whose coalition gained power, repeatedly used conservative statements. One might say that makes sense, they are a conservative party, but the statements were carefully crafted to make radical changes to some policies to make them appear to be not changing anything. Occasionally, there was an outright lie (broken promise), but we'll put that aside as the over-exuberance of an opposition with nothing to lose but their self-respect.
"Stop the boats" was a pretty radical policy. In the eyes of some, this was tantamount to a declaration of war on our near neighbour, & the relationship with Indonesia has been decidedly frosty ever since. How extraordinary! But, with that policy was a conservative undercurrent of "your way of life will no longer be affected by the influx of asylum seekers". In itself, such a way of thinking is so full of holes that it would barely make it off an Indonesian beach, but it appeals to the shallow thinkers - "Oh no! My peaceful existence is being threatened by a bunch of frightened, starving political refugees arriving on a distant island! Please do something about it!" I've certainly put more panic into that train of thought than is warranted, but you get the idea.
"On education, a vote for the Liberals is the same as a vote for Labor" was probably a lie. Even in light of how the Liberals in opposition had done everything in their power to block the education reforms (note that radical word), there is a conservativism in how it's expressed. The changes are in, we don't want to rock the boat (we'd rather turn it back).
"Repeal the carbon tax" & "Climate isn't really changing" are both very conservative statements - don't worry, just be "alert, not alarmed" - oops, that's from the previous Liberal government. Australians bought it. There's nothing wrong. The rest of the world is going mad. Business as usual. We like that. No impact on my lifestyle.
There are so many other examples, where Liberal policy encompassed either "we'll do what they did, just better", or else "we don't like what they did, so we'll go back to a time when voters were happier".
At this point, gentle reader, I'm sure you'll point out again that the Liberals are meant to be conservative. That's their job. My response is two-fold - the Labor party is not exactly radical, they just weren't as good at expressing their policies conservatively; &, how are we ever going to get anywhere if we never, ever, want things to change?
If we want a better life for ourselves, for our children, for the planet, etc, then we have to want change, embrace it, encourage it, expect it. By all means, be critical of any attempt at change - & I don't mean skeptical, I mean think through the impact without letting the media do the thinking for you - but when change doesn't come, then you get entropy, a degradation. There is no such thing as keeping things the same, as that takes too much work.
Once you accept that outside forces affect circumstances (think GFC - even though the Liberals denied its existence), then you must also adapt to changes in the environment (rather than ignoring them) & change your approach. A sign of madness is when you keep doing the same thing expecting a different outcome.
On that note, I point out that we, the voting populace, must be insane, because we keep voting for the same people - the major parties - & expecting that things will somehow be different to what they have been throughout out experience. It's not going to happen.
To get change, do something different.
