Australian news and politics recap for Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has failed Australia in not being able to secure an exemption to Donald Trump’s steel and aluminium tariffs.

He says this is a “bad day for our country”, and lays the blame squarely at the PM’s feet.

Mr Dutton said it beggars belief Mr Albanese “can’t even secure a phone call” with the President, and says that says “something” about the PM’s “inability to govern”.

“How on earth can an outcome be negotiated if the President won’t take his call,” he said.

“It’s not just Australians to see the Prime Minister is weak and incompetent, it’s our trading partners as well. The sad reality is because of the Prime Minister’s inability to deal with this issue, Australian jobs are at risk, and Australian industry is at risk.

“The Prime Minister needed to get this right and he didn’t, this Prime Minister has made our country less safe.”

He said Mr Albanese “has a lot to answer for here”.

“With minority government the expected outcome of this election, whichever side forms government they will likely have more consultative, more transparent and deliver more evidence-based policy rather than raw politics.T

“This can only be a good thing because like it or not, everything is politics.

“Politics is the air that we all breathe. For too long we have subcontracted out to a political class who have said “Don’tworry, never you mind”.

“Now this movement is taking back our democracy. What we are witnessing now is a democratic revival, a renewal of the spirit of service and civic responsibility.

“The numbers don’t lie. One in three voters in this country now rejects the major parties.”

Mr Holmes a Court has accused the major parties of conspiring to tilt the election playing field in their favour by more than doubling the amount of public funding they receive to run their campaigns to over $130 million per electoral cycle.

“This is an increase of around $80 million since 2022 in the middle of a cost of living crisis,” he said.

“Just as the Australian public are walking away from the major parties, they are being forced to fund them more.

“The major parties have instituted an expenditure cap but allowed themselves to massively outspend Independents.

“The package is a financial gerrymander.

“We welcome the improvements to transparency, the net effect of the package is to degrade democracy, tightening the major parties’ grip on power as voters seek to loosen it.”

“In the last election cycles, the major parties spent almost half a billion dollars. Not including third party campaigns such as the Minerals Council. This massive investment isn’t spread across all seats,” Mr Holmes a Court said.

“Major parties often spend next to nothing in safe or unattainable seats so they can funnel millions into marginal races.

“By contrast, all up, independent candidates spent $25 million with Climate 200 contributing just 13 of that.

“I am proud to personally have contributed 2 per cent of Climate 200’s total.

“The funds we raise from more than 11,000 donors is a lot of money but it is a small fraction of what the major parties spend.”

Mr Holmes a Court said money can’t buy passion or grassroots support.

“That is why in the last election ClivePalmer spent over $120 million and ended up with one-third of a quota and one senator.

“Clive gave a lesson to us all that community is far more powerful than money alone.”

“The Independents movement takes safe seats and turns them into contests of ideas and grassroots democracy.

“Ask Tony Abbott who lost his seat of Warringah to Zali Steggall which he previously held by over 20 per cent.

“No seat is ever owned by a political party or is theirs by right.

“This election, Climate 200 is supporting 35 community independent campaigns across the country.”

Over half are in rural and regional areas.

Mr Holmes a Court said community independents are the fastest growing political movement in the country.

“We haven’t seen vitality like this in Australian democracy for decades,” he said.

“Some might argue we have never seen anything like this. At this election one in four Australians will have a chance to vote for a community-supported independent, providing a viable alternative for millions of Australians dissatisfied with the major parties.

“Uninspired by Labor and turned off by theCoalition’s negativity, most of the independent candidates are running in previously safe seats, seats that have long been taken for granted by the major parties.

“This is a big upgrade to our democracy. When communities choose to run a competitive independent, they win no matter what the outcome.”

Mr Holmes a Court says Climate 200 recognised the profound shift in Australia’s democracy and sought to provide resources and support needed to help communities and their independent candidates succeed.

“Climate 200 does not start campaigns. Climate 200 does not run campaigns, Climate 200 does not target seats or select candidates. Those responsibilities lie squarely with the communities themselves,” he said.

“Climate 200 comes to these campaigns late in the game, after countless kitchen table conversations, after Town Halls and after candidate selection.

“How communities choose their candidates couldn’t be more different from the way the major parties go about it.

“The major party pre-selection pool is a tiny but ambitious group who hang around their Liberal or Labor branch building networks of obligation, often parked in MPs offices or think tanks while they wait for the local member to move on.

“52 per cent of current Coalition MPs and 64 per cent of Labor MPs are former staffers.

“They have next to zero real world experience.

“The community independent selection process is very different.”

Simon Holmes a Court has argued that Australians are under pressure and they are angry as the nation faces a series of crises, including in cost of living, housing, climate and integrity.

“If you are angry with the political system, if you are perhaps a double hater, here in Australia we have a much better option,” he said.

“Despite this perfect storm of challenges, we are fortunate enough to have a much more productive outlet for this genuine anger. We have community independents.

Mr Holmes a Court said they were smart, passionate, engaged people chosen by their communities.

“They have vastly improved the tone and quality of our political discourse. At a time when trust in the political class is at an all time low community independents are rebuilding faith in democracy through a powerful idea.

“Communities coming together, selecting local leaders and backing them all the way to Canberra.”

Mr Holmes a Court says the coming Federal election will be a sliding doors moment for Australia.

“Will Australia emerge improved or impaired? Will we import authoritarian populism from Trump’s White House or will the best of the Australian character once again reveal itself?,” he asked.

“Around the world, citizens are voting for massive political disruption, across France, the US, Germany and others we have seen how the economic fall-out from the largest inflation spike in a generation combined with the ongoing impacts of conflict in Europe and the Middle East have eroded living standards and seen voters punish the political establishment.

“In the US, this was reflected in the so-called double hater phenomenon. It is voters who couldn’t bring themselves to vote for either major party. They either stayed at home or put their hopes in Trump, a perceived outsider.

“Here in Australia, compulsory voting means staying at home is not an option. A more responsible and considered media, combined with preferential voting protects us from the worst of the extreme polarisation we see in the US.

“We are not America. We are not destined to follow them. But we are grappling with the ramifications of massive geopolitical change.”

Climate 200 founder Simon Holmes a Court says the Coalition is “still the greatest threat to climate action”.

“Their nuclear policy is a Trojan horse for extending fossil fuels and it is a two billion tonne carbon bomb that would make net zero by 2050 an impossibility and cost the public north of half a trillion dollars.,” Mr Holmes a Court said during an address to the Press Club.

“Labor, whilst an improvement, continues to expand fossil fuel projects. Is there anyreal difference between Scott Morrison’s gas-led recovery and Labor’s future gas strategy?

“Both are at odds with the science.”