By Denis Hay
Australia’s federal election 2025 looms as cost of living, housing, climate, and youth issues put the nation’s future on the line.
Picture this: It’s a chilly winter evening in outer Melbourne. Liz, a 35-year-old single mum, watches her children eat dinner in the dark. She can’t afford to turn on the heater. The power bill is overdue – again. “I never thought I’d be here,” she mutters. “I work full-time, but I’m drowning.”
This isn’t just Liz’s story – it’s Australia’s. As we head into the 2025 federal election, families like hers are struggling under the weight of systemic failure. The cost of living, housing crisis, environmental inaction, and fiscal fear collide with a generational shift in political power.
But here’s the truth: Australia is a currency-issuing nation. We can fund public services, build homes, and support people – if we choose to. This article explores what’s at stake, why your vote matters, and how Australians can reclaim control.
It’s not just about statistics – it’s about lived experiences. Electricity bills have spiked 20% in some states. Groceries, rent, and fuel? All up. One in four Australians now skip meals to keep a roof over their head.
Owning a home once symbolised stability. Now, the median house price in Sydney tops $1.3 million. First-time buyers face a 10-year savings timeline – assuming no emergencies. Even renting is unaffordable for many, with vacancy rates below 1% in major cities.
“We can’t afford it,” politicians say. But Australia issues its own currency. The trillion-dollar debt fear is political theatre. Real fiscal constraints are inflation and resource capacity – not an empty treasury.
Heatwaves, bushfires, and floods are now seasonal norms. Yet fossil fuel subsidies continue. Bob Brown recently warned that Labor’s failure to pass strong environmental laws is an election betrayal.
Millennials and Gen Z will cast 50% of the votes in 2025. This demographic cares about climate, equality, and systemic reform – but feels ignored.
Emma, a nurse in rural NSW, earns $72,000 a year. Yet after rent, bills, and student loan repayments, she has $120 left a fortnight. “Sometimes I cry before my shift,” she confesses. “I care for others, but no one’s looking after us.”
In the suburbs of Brisbane, Jai, a 24-year-old Uber driver, shares a two-bedroom apartment with four others. He says, “We studied hard and worked hard, but everything’s casual now. We’re surviving – not living.” Meanwhile, politicians speak of surpluses, corporate incentives, and balanced budgets.
As the sole issuer of the Australian dollar, the federal government can fund public services without borrowing or taxing first. What limits us is political will, not money.
Other nations build public homes. Australia once did, too. With the right policies, the government can construct energy-efficient public housing that is rent-capped and universally accessible.
Subsidise essential goods and services, cap energy prices permanently, fully fund TAFE and university education, and provide universal childcare, which can lift thousands out of poverty.
A shift from deficit fear to purposeful investment. A government deficit can be the private sector’s surplus.
Create climate-safe jobs. Reinvest in youth mental health, education, and pathways to employment. Reduce or cancel HECS debt entirely.
Australia is at a crossroads. Neoliberal policies have widened inequality, privatised public goods, and entrenched corporate power. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
By embracing our monetary sovereignty, demanding transparency, and voting for genuine representation, we can build a nation where dignity, justice, and equality are more than ideals – they’re lived realities.
Have you or someone you know struggled with rising costs, unaffordable housing, or policy neglect? Share your story below.
Q1: Can the government really afford to fund all this?
Yes. As the sovereign issuer of its currency, the Australian government is not financially constrained like a household. It can create money to fund public goods, provided it manages inflation and resource capacity.
Q2: What can citizens do to push for change?
Vote for independents or parties that prioritise public services in the coming federal election 2025. Join grassroots campaigns. Share verified information and advocate within your community.
Q3: Why aren’t major parties promoting these solutions?
Corporate influence, political donations, and media control often deter bold reform. But growing public awareness can shift this dynamic.
If you found this article insightful, explore more on political reform and Australia’s monetary sovereignty at Social Justice Australia.
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View Comments
We will change Australia forever, and not in a good way, if Potty Boy Dutton is elected! The nuclear fantasy will push power prices sky-high. Inequality will increase substantially, too.
50 years ago worker deduction were removed for a tax cut it is time for the removal of deductions for the rich and companies then we would have enough money to reduce abject poverty.
You should vote for the candidate who would best represent you. Commonsense says put the bandit and his loonies last.
I heard poor old angus and he was too frightened to give any figures beyond 444% Albo should make fun of Taylor, Susson everything and at Dutton’s reply
Independents are fantastic members in the parliament, but they can't be the majority and therefore control spending. By taking votes away from Labor, the risk is a Coalition win.
I would love for the Labor party to embrace more Green AND independent thinking, but they MUST be the government. Anything else is a nightmare to horrible to contemplate
I with keitha, agree. I have great admiration for the Independents in Federal Parliament but they don't have enough "clout". I am horrified to learn that Tim Wilson - of the IPA- is hoping to make another ghastly resurrection by having a go at removing Zoe Daniels from Goldstein. Daniels has made a good contribution and is eminently better than that IPA person.
I would also wish that Labor embraced and took seriously more Independent and Green views though I think some measures were passed with collaboration over the last parliament.
Dutton is an Australian Trump! Everything he says he will do is an echo of Donald Trump. He's spent too much time in the USA in these gatherings with MAGA supporters. I'm hoping his daft ideas won't wash with Australians.
I was a rusted on Labor voter since 1967. Not any more. I am disgusted with the present Labor government and spineless Albanese in particular. The only collaborative measures with the LNP were to water down essential reforms like ICAC and we know Dutton is about as trustworthy as the fox in the old fable. I certainly hope Labor leads a minority government because it will have to listen to the Greens and the Teals ( or those who represent social progressiveness). I agree with all of the points made in this article. It is unconscionable that in 2025 Australians are living in poverty, and in tents or cars among other inappropriate places while we continue to subsidise fossil fuel producers who then dud us of their due taxes and royalties. We have just commemorated the 50th anniversary of Australia’s most destructive Cyclone followed shortly thereafter by Alfred which presaged the increased southern movement of these weather events. Australia needs a government which acknowledges climate change and does what is needed to mitigate it, even though we know other countries are as recalcitrant as we are. Clearly though, in any election scenario, the answer is not Dutton and his team of incompetents.
I wondered how long it would be before they popped the cork on the giant jar of formaldahyde containing caterpillar eyebrows and let him loose to speak meaningless drivel.
https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/former-prime-minister-john-howard-says-anthony-albanese-is-completely-out-of-his-depth/news-story/512c3a2ae394937ea9b540f38b7769d5
Judith,
Timmy misses having his snout firmly stuck in the pollie pig trough. Plus being pushed off the golden pedestal is galling to him as well. How dare the oiks vote him out!
Lest we forget: Golden moments with the former member for Goldstein...
Setting out from Parliament House on the Parliamentary Friends of Running gig in support of indigenous Australians, then after the cameras had duly noted his presence, turning around and going back to the House. Gig over. A poseur and puffed up piece of falsity.
And after losing his seat to Zoe Daniels, curled up in fetal position, sobbing.
Yes, folks, this is the type of character who would wish to get back his place at the trough. His LinkedIn bio describes him as "one of the most eminent political strategists of their political generation". What a wanker, literally.
Keitha, there is nothing to prevent independents becoming ministers. In the case of a hung parliament, coalitions of sorts can be made. The Libs and Nats have been doing that since Menzies formed the Liberal Party.
I believe that Julia Gillard was the most successful PM in this century, basing that assessment on the legislation that was passed through a hung parliament, and that legislation steered through the lower house by the then manager of Government business who negotiated the various bills through the parliament. That person is now PM. A quietly spoken gentleman who demonstrates respect in his dealings with people and within the limitations of a democracy, the legislation his government presents. Again, there is negotiation, and in negotiation there are vested interests to be 'protected', so politics is a balancing act, a means of governing for 'the greater good', but in essence, to attempt, and that is an important distention, to attempt to produce the best outcome. That does not please every one, and we can all have a good gripe now and again, especially when self interest is considered.
And every three years or so we get the chance to vent our anger, our frustrations as one of some 19 million voters.
That time is almost with us again. So make each vote count....
The other actions we can take is to actively campaign. Whether it is for a member of a party or an independent, by working on a campaign, by being active, we can sway voters.
Good government is dependent on having a good opposition, an opposition which will work to strengthen legislation, to ensure there is good, transparent government.
And another thing.....
The Australian Constitution does not mention anything about political parties, so the idea of having a government of independent members is actually a possibility. e great if we had people with particular skills and qualifications, not tied to any political party, making up the ministry, and presenting bills to the parliament which could then be debated and strengthened in a manner not beholden to any political ideology, but amended to serve the best interests of the nation as a whole, not the peers behind the thrones of the political parties, the billionaire best friends to the power brokers in the union movement and so forth.
Dream on.