Aussie Voters Show Anxiety as Political Concerns Rise

If this federal election is giving you serious “whatever” vibes—you’re definitely not the only one.

Sure, the world feels like it’s having an existential meltdown right now (think wars, climate chaos, shifting alliances), but here in Australia? The campaign trail has mostly felt... kinda bland.

Some new research from the ANU backs up what many of us have been quietly feeling:

Australian voters aren’t particularly fired up—or fired against anyone either. We’re not deeply polarised. We’re not especially enthusiastic. We’re kind of... uncertain and ambivalent.

The Anti-America Vibe

While American politics is full of shouting, finger-pointing, and a deeply toxic “us vs. them” mentality, Australia is kind of the opposite.

According to a new Election Monitoring Survey from the Australian National University, most Australians have pretty moderate views, even when it comes to the “other side”. So, if you support one major party, odds are you don’t hate the other one—and that’s actually rare globally.

In fact, Australia was the only country out of 17 in a big international study to show a decline in party-based polarisation. Countries like the US, UK, Canada, and New Zealand? They’re heading the other way—getting more divided.

Why Aren’t We All Screaming at Each Other?

Experts say it’s partly thanks to our political system. Think compulsory voting, preferential ballots, and a trustworthy electoral commission—they all give people a way to express themselves without going full rage mode.

Basically, extremism doesn’t pay here, and political parties know it. So, they tend to stick closer to the middle.

Labor Leans into Anti-America Messaging

Interestingly, though, the government is trying to tap into fears about where things could go. Labor has been framing Peter Dutton as “too American”, warning voters he wants to bring US-style chaos Down Under.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers even coined a new insult: “DOGEy disasters”, throwing shade at Dutton for following Trump-style policies (and even dragging Elon Musk into it).

Voter Uncertainty Is High

The ANU data also found that voters just aren’t that into anyone right now. Across two national surveys, no party or leader scored above the halfway mark on a 0–10 popularity scale.

• Albanese is more popular than Dutton, but neither is exactly lighting hearts on fire.

• The Liberal Party is slightly ahead of Labor in general favourability, but not by much.

• The Greens and Nationals are more polarising—some love them, others strongly don’t.

And it turns out that younger voters, women, and people with higher education tend to be less polarised, while older Aussies, Coalition supporters, and those in outer-metro areas are a bit more divided.

No Appetite for Big Spending

Another finding? Aussies aren’t keen on the government throwing money around right now.

Support for new government spending has dropped across the board, especially for stuff like the environment, the arts, and unemployment benefits. At the same time, hardly anyone thinks they’re paying too little tax. It’s just that everyone’s cautious, and understandably so—it’s still a cost-of-living election at its core.

What Does It All Mean?

So yeah, while this campaign might feel a bit flat, there’s actually something kind of refreshing about it too. We’re not super polarised, we’re not falling into culture wars, and we’re generally still operating as a stable, reasonable democracy—even if no one’s throwing a ticker-tape parade for any of the major parties.

And maybe, in a world full of chaos, that’s not such a bad place to be.