Thriller or killer

An election campaign can be a real thriller – although usually of the kind you wished had stopped at the two-hour mark.

There are twists and turns in every campaign: red herrings and smoking guns. Juicy subplots emerge. One moment, the polls favour one side. Next time you look, the other side’s back on top.

Despite the predictions, the climax – the point of highest tension and drama – always falls on election night, after which we emerge blinking in the sunlight, with some of us already gearing up for the sequel in three years’ time.

The major campaign issues in the 2025 Australian federal election were cost of living, energy, housing, healthcare and defence. Afterwards, some commentators declared that Labor had run the stronger campaign, but up until the votes were being counted many were still predicting a pretty close affair. The voters ultimately elected Labor to a second consecutive term, with the most House of Representatives seats ever for an Australian political party in a federal election.