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May 3, 2025 | [OPINION] The Echo of a Boring Campaign
As almost every media outlet in Australia has concluded - this Federal Election campaign has been the most boring campaign in living memory.
It's honestly just sad that if Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton is the best the two parties can serve up for Australian voters, then the nation is possibly in a much worse political position than most understand.
I feel invisible, and it turns out I am not alone.
Many of society's most vulnerable citizens have been totally forgotten about in this campaign.
There has been no mention or policy announcements to assist renters, with all the focus being on home buyers or those with an existing portfolio of multiple properties which the Government apparently feels are being pretty hard done by.
Renters have been completely abandoned by both parties, as have job seekers and pensioners.
Indigenous Affairs is once again forgotten about and remains in the too hard basket.
The continued lack of attention given to Australia's most vulnerable, including Indigenous Affairs remains one of the nation's greatest first-world failures.
It's outrageous and shameful, and frankly it's completely unacceptable.
Voters have noticed, but unfortunately the media doesn't seem to have noticed.
They've been too focused on polling numbers and how many times Albo has lied.
I'm unsure why everyone is surprised to see a politician lying, it's nothing unusual.
I agree polls are interesting, and I confess I follow them closely myself.
However, polling numbers don't affect people's lives, policy is what affects people's lives and brings about change.
Policy?
Well, forget about that.
The entire campaign has been completely void of policy and reform.
Instead, it has been a spendathon with billions promised without concern of the increasing and unmanageable debt Australia is facing as it approaches a trillion dollars.
Neither party has a plan on how to manage it.
The matters of national importance have been ignored or received such little attention nobody even remembers when they were brought up for conversation.
In my view, this election campaign should have been about Immigration, Defense, Cost of Living and Indigenous Affairs.
Particular emphasis should have been placed on Immigration and Defense.
Immigration remains way too high and has been a leading contributor to the nation's housing crisis and complete lack of available affordable rental accommodation.
Defense, arguably more critical than immigration, has received only brief sporadic mentions and only in terms of throwing a bit more cash into the air as if that can fix everything that is wrong with the state of the Australian Defense Force.
With the abandonment of any meaningful discussion on these critical issues, we're left with a campaign that prioritizes soundbites over substance.
Our northern neighbors continue their military build-up while we debate trivialities.
China's growing influence in the Pacific isn't waiting for our politicians to finish their photo ops and handshakes.
The cost of living crisis continues to squeeze everyday Australians, yet concrete plans to address housing affordability and energy prices remain conspicuously absent from campaign talking points.
Both major parties seem content to tinker at the edges rather than propose bold reforms that might actually make a difference.
Dutton mentioned nuclear, and then he didn't.
What we've witnessed isn't democracy at its finest but rather politics at its most cynical - a calculated exercise in avoiding controversy, dodging responsibility, and maintaining the status quo.
The political establishment seems to have forgotten that elections should be about vision and leadership, not just winning.
And still, Indigenous Australians wait.
They wait for meaningful recognition, for genuine attempts to close the gap, and for a seat at the table where decisions affecting their communities are made.
The silence on these issues speaks volumes about our national priorities.
I'm left wondering if this is the best we can do.
There was a time I could say Australia is good, but could be great.
Somehow "good" and "great" now seem out of place and no longer reflect the Australia I once knew.
Is this truly the pinnacle of Australian democracy - a tepid contest between uninspiring candidates offering nothing but empty rhetoric and vague promises?
Australians deserve better.
We deserve leaders who address the hard issues, who speak truth even when it's uncomfortable, who offer genuine solutions rather than political theater.
Until then, many of us will continue to feel invisible, forgotten in the calculations of those who claim to represent us but seem only interested in representing themselves.
None of this should come as a surprise.
I have been telling everyone since 2022 how this election would unfold and what the result will be.
It was always foreseeable and any visionary could have mapped it out in advance and built a successful campaign around it.
The predictability of Australian politics has become its most reliable feature - a disappointing testament to our leadership's lack of imagination and courage when bold vision is precisely what our nation needs most.
If we truly want vision, we need only look to China.
That's where Australia's future lies.
We need not abandon the US entirely, but embracing China as our future partner presents far brighter prospects for sino-Australian relations than continuing down our current path.
US leadership is quickly evaporating, leaving Australia geostrategically and militarily naked in an increasingly volatile region.
An embrace with China is the best option we have - yet another uncomfortable truth our political establishment seems unwilling to confront.