The 2019 Australian election
| Published date | 01 March 2020 |
| Date | 01 March 2020 |
| DOI | 10.1177/2057891119886053 |
| Author | Carol Johnson |
| Subject Matter | Research articles |
Research article
The 2019 Australian election
Carol Johnson
The University of Adelaide, Australia
Abstract
Opinion polls suggested that Australia’s Coalition (Liberal and National Party) government was likely
to be replaced by a Labor government at the 2019 election. However, in fact the government was
returned. Key issues in the 2019 election centred around managing the economy, including levels of
taxation and issues of inequality; around spending on government services such as health and
education; and around issues of climate change. There were elements of populism in both major
parties’ campaigns, and two minor populist parties played a significant role in preference distribution.
There were also some simmering issues that reflect the broader geopolitical and geo-economic
changes that are impacting upon Australia. These include not only challenges for Australia’s economy
and identity in the ‘Asian Century’, but also issues of Australia’s relationship with China.
Keywords
Australian election, China, inequality, populism, social democracy
Given the predominantly western nature of Australia’s society and political system, it is common
to analyse Australian elections within a British, European or North American context. Such an
analysis might note the prevalence of common ‘western’ political issues such as rising inequality,
the legacies of neoliberalism, the role of conservative religious belief, the rise of populism and the
resulting challenges facing centre-left parties in particular. However, Australia is also situated in
the Asia-Pacific, albeit with a somewhat ambiguous relationship to its region and not always fully
accepted by its neighbours (see e.g. Blackburn, 2002; Pearlman, 2019). Australia’s economy is
increasingly integrated into that rapidly growing region. Like its neighbours, Australia is facing
both opportunities and challenges related to the rise of China, exacerbated in Australia’s case by
the dilemmas posed by Australia’s significant reliance on the Chinese economy (Thorpe, 2019)
combined with its close strategic alliance with the United States. Furthermore, political issues such
as populism, that are often treated in western literature as predominantly western ones, are also
issues in the broader Asian region (Chacko and Jay asuriya, 2018). It is not just longstanding
western centre-left parties that are facing challenges (Manwaring and Kennedy, 2018). Venerable
Corresponding author:
Carol Johnson, Department of Politics and International Relations, The University of Adelaide, S.A. 5005, Australia.
Email: carol.johnson@adelaide.edu.au
Asian Journal of Comparative Politics
2020, Vol. 5(1) 38–51
ªThe Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/2057891119886053
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