President Zelenskyy (Photo credit: Ukrainian Presidential Press Off/Planet Pix via ZUMA Press Wire/TASS)
By Sue Barrett
Crunch time has arrived, not just for Australia, but for every democracy teetering on the edge of a global descent into chaos.
The grotesque spectacle of Trump and Vance sitting with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wasn’t just a photo-op – it was a stomach-churning betrayal of everything decent. They weren’t merely grinning like smug, entitled schoolboys; they were lying through their teeth and belittling a man who’s spent years fighting tooth and nail to save his people from annihilation. Zelenskyy, bloodshot-eyed and resolute, has faced down Putin’s war machine with a courage most can only dream of. And there they were – Trump, with his carnival-barker bluster, and Vance, with his oily opportunism – spinning fairy tales about “peace deals” while sneering at the very idea of Ukraine’s survival. It was a gut punch to anyone who still believes in decency, a slap in the face to a leader who’s carried the weight of a nation while they’ve peddled their cheap, self-serving con. This wasn’t diplomacy; it was a disgrace.
America, once a flawed but shining beacon, is now a cautionary tale of self-inflicted ruin. And if we’re not careful, Australia will be next. Let’s not mince words: we’re staring down the barrel of barbarism, and it’s dressed in a crisp navy suit, hiding behind an inscrutable mask. The Trumpian playbook – lies, division, and a ruthless hunger for power – has found a willing disciple in Peter Dutton. But he is no brash firebrand in a red tie; he is a shape-shifter, saying whatever he must to evade scrutiny, dodging accountability at every turn while methodically paving the way for something far more insidious. The LNP has tethered itself to this strategy, banking on fear and fury to smother reason and compassion. They’re wrong. We can’t let them be right.
In this moment, we are all Zelenskyy. Not in the literal sense of facing tanks and missiles, but in the deeper, more human sense of standing at a crossroads between civilisation and collapse. Zelenskyy fights for Ukraine’s survival against a tyrant who’d rather see cities burn than admit defeat. We fight for Australia’s soul against a creeping ideology that thrives on tearing us apart – pitting mate against mate, stoking culture wars, and peddling a nostalgia for a past that never existed.
Dutton’s Liberal-National Coalition doesn’t offer solutions; it wields a sledgehammer – a blunt, destructive force that demolishes rather than builds. Their track record in government speaks for itself: an economy run into the ground, deepening inequality, and policies that made life harder for everyone except the wealthy few.
And we’ve seen where this path leads. Look across the Pacific. America’s tragedy isn’t just the spectre of Trump’s return – it’s the millions who cheered as he shattered norms, institutions, and any remaining sense of decency. It’s the smirk of J.D. Vance, the cynical Zelenskyy photo-op, the normalisation of a politics so rotten it reeks. That’s not leadership; it’s a surrender to the worst in us.
And now there’s Dutton – Australia’s own mini-Trump – strutting the stage with the same corrosive playbook: fear over facts, division over unity, and a sneering disregard for accountability. Propped up by a compromised main stream media and billionaire backers and fossil fuel-funded propaganda machines like Advance Australia (linked to the shadowy Atlas Network) and the astroturfing Australians for Prosperity, he is not acting alone – this is a coordinated assault on our democracy.
Here in Australia, the LNP is taking notes. Dutton’s tough-guy act, his dog-whistle rhetoric, his refusal to engage with complexity – it’s all straight out of the Trump-Vance handbook. If we let this take root, we’re not just risking an election loss; we’re risking who we are as a nation.
So what do we do? We unite. Not in some feel-good, kumbaya way, but in a fierce, unapologetic stand for what’s right. We call out Dutton and the LNP’s Trumpian turn for what it is: a betrayal of Australian values. We reject the politics of fear and division, whether it’s about immigration, climate, or the cost of living.
We demand better; leaders who solve problems, not inflame them. And we get loud about it.
This morning (1 March 2025) Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s unwavering support for Ukraine in the wake of Trump’s catastrophic meeting with Zelenskyy marks a defining moment in Australia’s foreign policy. For the first time in modern history, Australia is publicly at odds with the United States on a major global issue, standing firm with European allies while the US retreats into isolationism and appeasement. Albanese’s stance is a rare display of leadership, affirming that Australia will not be bullied into submission or compromise its democratic values for political convenience.
But we cannot stop here. Across the country, a powerful movement is growing – 35 community independents are stepping up to contest the next federal election, offering a real alternative to the old, broken politics of division and self-interest, especially the that of the LNP. Community Independents are listening, engaging, and putting people before party lines. Now it’s up to us to back them. Write to your MP. Talk to your neighbour. Support the community independents in your electorate.
Vote like the future depends on it – because it does.
This isn’t just about stopping Dutton and the LNP from getting into power. It’s about stopping the slide into a world where might makes right, where truth is optional, where the Zelenskyys of the world are left to fend for themselves while clowns in suits preen for the cameras.
We can’t save America from itself, but we can damn well save Australia. We owe it to ourselves, to our kids, and to every democracy clinging to hope in these dark days.
The battle for Australia’s future won’t be won in a single election. It’s fought in everyday conversations, in community halls, in letters to politicians, and in the refusal to be silent in the face of lies. Join a local campaign. Call out disinformation. Mobilise your community.
We don’t just need voters – we need warriors for democracy.
We are all Zelenskyy now.
The war on barbarism isn’t just his – it’s ours.
Let’s fight like it.
Definition: Barbarism refers to a state of extreme cruelty, ignorance, or disregard for civilisation, culture, and human dignity. It is characterised by:
Historically, “barbarism” was used to describe societies perceived as uncivilised by dominant empires, but today, it describes any political, social, or economic system that embraces chaos, oppression, and moral decay over progress, justice, and human rights.
85 Reasons why Dutton is unfit to be PM… and counting, Michell Pini 21 Feb 2025
Albanese backs Ukraine after Trump’s catastrophic meeting with Zelensky, The Age 1 March 2025
5 Feb 2025: A great link to Zoe Daniel’s National Press Club speech on YouTube. Feel free to give it a like and comment if that’s your style.
Vote Community Independents: Not shit candidates list
Ian Macphee Articles
Our Democracy is Damaged – only progressive independents can repair it – 4 Dec 2021
We need independents to check ‘Power Hungry’ political parties – 10 Aug 2021
This article was originally published on Sue Barrett
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View Comments
Trump has single handedly undermined Australian confidence in the US alliance, perhaps with help from the complete weirdo Vance.
Those interested in resistance to expansionist fascist colonisers, such as the Putin regime, will support Ukraine for as long as they are willing to resist
Democracy was flawed from inception in Greece. It did not permit women or anyone who did not own land. Democracy has always been exclusive and elitist. A better form of governance to replace the British Crown owned "Australia" construct, which is not even a democracy, is a Deliberative Republic that is reflects the fabric of society and shows RESPECT for Allodial entitlement of First People. Party politics is corrupt and elections too easily to manipulate by outside influences. The British Crown has no evidence of having acquired the Allodial Title of First People.
A Deliberative Republic model means no head of state, no Prime Minister or President, no elections, no political factions, no state or Local governments no more senate, Governor-General or British Australian Crown.
ONE government consisting of a gender balanced representation of THE BROADER COMMUNITY recruited randomly from each language area across our island continent to form a lower house that massages legislation together with the advice of professional advisers. The legislation is then handed up to a gender balanced Circle of First People from each language area for final ascent of legislation.
A similar system worked for millennia across this island continent in harmony with all things in this land.
A Balanced Future
AC's reference to 'expansionist fascist colonisers' ought to corral the current USA leadership in that reference frame; Trump has indicated his wish to acquire Greenland (and in so doing, rename it Red White & Blue Land), as well as mused on turning Canada into the 51st state of America.
As witnessed since his regaining incumbency, the flood of toxic effluvia emanating from this rancid individual seems unstoppable, but there will be a reckoning. With likely numbers of dismissed, sacked, retrenched and otherwise tossed on the garbage heap workers likely to run into the many tens of thousands, and with the bald facts of America being a highly pathological and dangerous society where gun ownership runs into the many milions and death by these weapons into stratospheric numbers, it's a reasonable assumption, statistically speaking, to suggest that there will be some very pissed-off people who will seek revenge against these Machiavellian monsters.
Dutton should be very thankful that we don't inhabit such a febrile set of circumstances.
Canguro, I'm entirely comfortable with the criticism of Trump's policies on just about every subject.
In my view he is wrong, on tariffs, wrong in every aspect of foreign policy, wrong on his domestic/social policy
He is even worse than I expected
His behaviour is boorish, bullying, ill informed. He preens and seeks only self agrandissement
It's weird that so many of "the left" share his position on Ukraine.
I think he is wrong on everything
Something we will probably not read in our newspapers or see on TV :
"President Trump and VP J D Vance have extended their profuse apologies to President Zelinskyy for their intemperate outbursts in the Oval office and for their appalling behaviour to a visiting dignitary who was a guest in their country. Both men offer no excuse beyond their poor upbringing and their mistaken belief that they are superior beings"
Why should Zelensky thank the Orange Messiah? He wasn't president when Russia invaded, I seem to remember someone named Joe Biden being in charge. All The Donald did was:
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/26/politics/trump-putin-ukraine/index.html
He's Putin's well trained parrot.