Hope and action: community reacts after Labor landslide

SBS Australia

07-05-2025

Palawa Elder Rodney Dillon, SNAICC chief executive Catherine Liddle and Central Land Council chair Warren Williams are all calling on Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for real action for First Nations people. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has secured an historic second term in government following a decisive victory for the Labor Party in the federal election, marking the first time since 2004 that a leader has secured back-to-back electoral victories. It was a devastating result for the Coalition, which is on track for its worst-ever result in a federal election, with Peter Dutton making history by becoming the first opposition leader to lose his own seat, with Dickson falling to Labor's Ali France.
Palawa Elder Rodney Dillon, Indigenous rights advisor at Amnesty International, says that the landmark result presents a significant opportunity for the nation to unite. 'We were sliding down a way that was trying to split us all apart, and I think that this has turned that around a bit,' he told NITV. Mr Albanese began his victory speech on Saturday night with a pointed Acknowledgement of Country. 'My fellow Australians ... the first thing that I do tonight is to say thank you to the people of Australia for the chance to continue to serve the best nation on earth,' Mr Albanese said to cheers from supporters at Labor headquarters in Sydney. "And I acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we meet, and I pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, today and every day."
In the last week of the campaign, Mr Dutton made a last-ditch foray into the culture wars, described the Welcome to Country as 'overdone, cheapening its significance' (also confusing an Acknowledgement with Welcome to Country). Mr Albanese seemed intent on countering those events, as well as the opposition's response to them, in his rhetoric on Saturday night.
'Today, the Australian people have voted for Australian values; for fairness, aspiration and opportunity for all," he said. "For the strength to show courage in adversity and kindness to those in need. "We will be a government that supports reconciliation with First Nations people, because we will be a stronger nation when we close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians." Mr Dillon said it is encouraging that reconciliation is at the top of the PM's agenda. 'We shouldn't have Closing the Gap, but we have to have it because of the the reasons that are there," he said. "I think that it gives him good initiative to address those issues of Closing the Gap, which parties previously haven't been able to do ... "Gaps in housing, health, justice, schooling - these things are the same as they were 30 years ago. 'Australians have said, 'We don't want that divide, we don't need that divide'. "I think this will take us down that road of all working together for the good of this country and addressing all the issues in the country, not just some of them.'
Mr Dillon says that the campaign run by Peter Dutton did not aim to improve the country, but rather sought to divide. "We've had enough of that in the past and we've seen that hasn't worked," he said. "And they didn't have one policy that was going to address Closing the Gap - they never mentioned the homelessness, the dispossession of our people, education, health, justice. "The only thing he wants to do is lock more Aboriginal people up.'
SNAICC, the peak body representing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families, welcomed the election result. Chief executive Catherine Liddle, an Arrernte and Luritja woman, said the win confirms that Australians want a society where all children and young people are safe, nurtured and can thrive. 'What we have is an ... extraordinary momentum in Australia to move differently," she said. "While all the analytics are still coming in, it does appear that women and young people played a significant role in the result. "And when we wonder what caused that, it absolutely leans into an overwhelming sentiment that people want to care for each other and that we want to invest in a kinder Australia.'
Ms Liddle said Closing the Gap starts with children, praising some of the initiatives announced by the government prior to the election. 'If we can get in early, if we can work with our children and our families at that point in time, then children are set up to thrive," she said. "[With] the removal of the activity test ... the investment into ensuring that our early educators are paid and recognised ... and the ability to build new centres and increase the incredible infrastructure that our early education and care centres work with ... there's some really, really promising bright spots in there.' However, Ms Liddle pointed out that Labor had said very little during the campaign on commitments into ensuring children are always safe and supported, which works for effective child protection. "We know that the (Closing the Gap) target relating to child removals is way too big, it's still not moving because [of] the investment that hasn't come in," she said. "The federal government holds the levers that could genuinely change that tide of over-representation."
In the wake of the size of the Coalition wipeout, Northern Territory Country Liberal Party Senator Jacinta Nampijipa Price took aim at the media and Labor, saying there were attempts to 'smear' her, after images emerged of her wearing a 'Make America Great Again' cap. "In terms of wanting this country to be great, Donald Trump doesn't own those four words," she told the ABC in a tense interview on election night. "Here in Lingiari (the NT seat won by Labor's Marion Scrymgour with an increased margin) Aboriginal people are going to continue to be marginalised, the gap is going to get wider because we take an ideological approach to all of these issues and Labor will continue to do that."
The NT's Central Land Council welcomed Mr Albanese's commitment in his election night speech to supporting the empowerment of First Nations people, with chair Warren Williams saying issues that needed to be addressed in the region included the cost of living, lack of jobs and housing. The CLC also welcomed Labor's commitment to finalising a First Nations Economic Empowerment Partnership with the Coalition of Peaks. 'Together, we hope to strengthen outcomes for our communities, support self-determination and ensure Aboriginal voices continue to shape the decisions that affect our lives,' Mr Williams said.
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