Here's what defined Australian politics in 2025

What defined Australian politics in 2025? That was the question we asked some of the ABC's political reporters, commentators and broadcasters.

The consensus was this was a strong year for the Albanese government as it soared to a 94-seat majority while the Coalition struggled with internal divisions, and a precarious global political landscape continued to unsettle the nation. 

But the centre might not hold as the prime minister finishes the year on less stable ground after the horrific terror attack in Bondi.

David Speers, national political lead and Insiders host

2025 was defined by Labor's dominance of the political landscape and the fracturing on the conservative side.

A more confident prime minister, sitting on a huge parliamentary majority, was willing to strike a deal with the Greens on environment laws, won respect from Donald Trump, and is asserting his authority within cabinet. These things may not have happened if he'd won only a narrow majority.

By contrast, the Coalition has had one of its worst years in memory. More instability and departures are likely as the right realigns. This has completely undercut its influence.

Jane Norman, national affairs correspondent

The rise and rise of Anthony Albanese. Labor's thumping victory in May arguably handed Albanese more authority over his party room than any leader before him. But what's been remarkable to observe is that he's grown even more dominant in the months since. 

He's more confident on the world stage, pulling off a near-perfect meeting with Donald Trump — after months of intensifying pressure — and he got his way on key internal issues including the treasurer's contentious superannuation tax changes as well as the energy minister's risky bid for Adelaide to host next year's global climate conference. And Labor capped off the parliamentary year with a big win on environmental laws, sealing a deal with the Greens.

All of this has been aided by the opening of a deep schism among his opponents, lukewarm on Sussan Ley's nascent leadership and riven over what modern conservatism means in Australia. But as they say, "events, dear boy, events".

Having largely driven the agenda this year, Albanese finishes the year struggling to regain control of it. His government has been utterly consumed by a travel expenses saga that he initially dismissed, in what voters could perceive as arrogance or stubbornness. And it finishes the year confronting the nightmare of a terror attack on home soil, which is triggering some uncomfortable questions about, and serious criticism of, its handling of a surge in antisemitism. How Albanese responds could ultimately come to define his prime ministership.

Clare Armstrong, chief digital political correspondent

The ramifications of Labor's historic election victory in May have undoubtedly been the defining feature of this year in politics.

Against considerable odds, Anthony Albanese soared to a 94-seat majority and felled not one, but two leading opponents.

The Greens continue to regroup and recalibrate after losing their leader Adam Bandt and most of their lower house seats, while the Liberals are in absolute disarray after their paltry showing at the polls.

With Peter Dutton out of the picture, the manoeuvring and jostling for power by his various remaining lieutenants has severely impacted their efficacy as an opposition.

No one has capitalised on this more than the Nationals, who have opportunistically snatched policy victory after victory, making a return to the centre-right seemingly unlikely for the Coalition in the near future.

Meanwhile, the PM has never been more assured in his position; discipline inside the Labor Party is at an all-time high, with almost no-one questioning the government's direction under Albanese's methodical and arguably cautious approach.

Casey Briggs, chief elections and data analyst

Pride comes before the fall, and the moment of greatest pride for the Liberals this year was probably the very beginning — when they were leading the government in several polls, including one MRP model which suggested a plausible majority for Peter Dutton.

The opposition peaked too soon, and public opinion started to drop not long after that.

You can argue that polling success contributed to the election defeat: it gave Peter Dutton great authority over his party. It encouraged the opposition to continue doing what it was doing and frame the election as a referendum on Anthony Albanese. It was also a wake-up call for the Labor campaign, kicking them into gear, and a jolt to voters and journalists, who started taking a much closer look at the Coalition's policy offering.

We now know voters found the policy offering wanting, and the head-to-head comparison of Albanese and Dutton was disastrous for the opposition.

It's easy to dismiss polling as divorced from the real world. In 2025 we saw how it affected the parties in real time, and the campaigns they ran.

Stephen Dziedzic, foreign affairs reporter

From a foreign policy perspective, 2025 was defined by successive shocks for Australia. The increasingly rancorous and intolerant political climate in Washington DC and across the US this year has been deeply unsettling to Australian politicians and officials alike.

The US has displayed a seemingly endless capacity for reinvention and rejuvenation but also there's no denying that under Trump 2.0 our closest ally looks increasingly illiberal, while its democratic institutions are under real pressure.

Meanwhile the government has pursued "stabilisation" with an increasingly self-confident and authoritarian China, but Beijing continues to make it crystal clear that it wants to set the rules in the relationship.

Australia isn't just dealing with Beijing's relentless campaigns of cyber espionage and persistent foreign interference attempts.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy's (PLA-N) partial circumnavigation of Australia earlier this year was also a jolting reminder of just how much China's military power has grown, and how it's willing to use that power to try and shape the decisions made by much smaller powers like Australia. It's hard to shake the feeling that Australia's room for manoeuvre could shrink substantially in the coming years.

Patricia Karvelas, host of Afternoon Briefing and host of Politics Now

The centre — 2025 delivered a seismic victory for Anthony Albanese and Labor but the story wasn't just the 94 seats it is how they got them. 

Labor had a victory through the power of centrism defeating the left-wing greens leader Adam Bandt and then vanquishing Dutton from the right. 

The victory was significant because it provided a template for Labor to come through the middle in a world with more polarised perspectives and political strategies. 

Albanese's deliberately careful "let's not scare the horses" style and policy agenda may have been frustrating for the big reformers and thinkers but it matched the mood of the country that was demonstrating a rejection of more polarised ideas. 

There was a deep need in Australia for stability after a revolving door of prime ministers and Labor was able to provide it .

Jake Evans, federal political reporter

Albanese's extraordinary election win and the Coalition's collapse should have been the defining theme of 2025. 

But the horrors of Bondi will loom larger over the Australian political psyche than the May poll. 

The terror attack has just changed Australian politics, in particular the calculus on our freedoms as citizens, and re-enlivened a debate on migration that the Coalition had become more coy on after blunders with Australia's Chinese and Indian communities. 

Like Port Arthur 30 years ago, it will be a defining marker of the era for Australia. And just as Port Arthur came to define John Howard, this could be the single moment that Anthony Albanese is remembered for — but not for the same reasons. 

After riding high most of the year, Albanese ends the year at his lowest ebb, with an expenses scandal waiting to reignite in the New Year.

Courtney Gould, political reporter and live blog specialist

Delays. Anthony Albanese wasn't able to hold the election when he wanted (thanks to ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred) and ended up having to hold a budget. It paid off for him. 

His decision to hold off on his meeting with Donald Trump until recently, also ended up working in his favour. 

Conversely, the Coalition hasn't been able to get their timing right. Sussan Ley's push to hold off on settling on position on net zero until recently didn't play well internally and called her leadership into question.

Maani Truu, federal politics reporter

Anthony Albanese. As the new year ticked over, we saw a brand new prime minister. He was fired-up, with a clear eye on the election after a rough end to 2024. Once the campaign was under way, belatedly thanks to Cyclone Alfred, many remarked on his almost flawless performance, the only low point being when he fell off a stage and then said he didn't.

When the election results came back as an unexpected landslide for the incumbent government, Albanese's legacy as one of the party's all-time greats was cemented.

For most of the second half of the year then he set the political pace, as the opposition lunged from messy infighting to spill speculation and existential questions about the future of the Liberals. Meanwhile, Albanese emerged from the Oval Office unscathed and became the first ever Australia leader to wed in office, all without a scandal.

That run of good luck came somewhat undone in December, when a seemingly never-ending expenses furore mostly focused on Labor ministers gave the opposition a fresh wind. That was cut short, however, with the heinous news that 15 people had been killed when gunmen opened fire on a Hannukah celebration at Bondi Beach.

People looked to the prime minister for leadership and, at least initially, Albanese seemed to come up short. As many have reflected, how he responds from here — to the worst terror attack in Australia's history — will outlive his time in The Lodge.

Shalailah Medhora, political reporter for triple j's Hack

This was the year that Millennial and Gen Z voters finally came into their own power. For the first time in the nearly 10 years I've been covering youth politics, the issues young people care about were front and centre during the federal election and its aftermath. From housing, to student debt to taxation — politicians realised the voting power of younger generations and started to act accordingly. (Toppling Baby Boomers as the biggest voting bloc definitely helps.)

Albanese promised that slashing HECS-HELP loans by 20 per cent would be the first order of business for the new government, and he held true to his word, despite opposition to the program from the Coalition.

The reduction in student debt and 5 per cent housing deposit scheme were both incredibly popular and Labor's focus on younger voters was evident in its media strategy, too, when choosing to focus on podcasts and content creators to spread its message.

The Coalition, on the other hand, largely chose to ignore younger voters even though younger voters were far more inclined to support policies like nuclear energy. If only Dutton had attempted to reach them.

Ley, by contrast, has been on a youth media blitz, recognising that the only way is up when it comes to winning over that audience.

Tom Crowley, federal political reporter

It was the year when the centre held. Other liberal democracies are gleefully up-ending their political norms and turning longstanding parties and dynasties into has-beens. But not here, not yet.

Yes, Australians are turning away from the major parties, one-third now voting for others. And Liberal ranks have dwindled to their lowest level in the party's long history.

Still, the government was re-elected with an increased majority, even after a term dominated by high inflation. It might sound dry, but inflation is a lethal enemy with tremendous power to smash social norms by making people feel poor and angry.

So it's no small thing that our politics has stayed connected to its tether. As has been written about a lot this year, one explanation may be that our electoral system has a strong centre of gravity.

But that's not a given, and nobody inside either major party should be — or is — complacent.

Claudia Long, federal politics reporter

Influencers and podcasters. The government may have banned social media for under 16s, but when it came to reaching their older counterparts they were all over it during the election campaign.

And who better to help you try to influence someone's vote than an influencer? Content creators have long been part of the media ecosystem, but during the campaign parties and independents put them front and centre.

Politicians carved out time for podcast appearances and TikToks, with varying levels of success as some couldn't help but be cringe. Established media often use the "influencer" title as shorthand for lightweight, deriding media personalities wanting to engage in political life who aren't journalists. And while the US is an example of how blurring the lines between the two is a dangerous game, with journalists having to make way for heavily biased "new media" in press conferences, things haven't quite played out this way in Australia.

With Generations Y and Z now making up almost half of the electorate — and using social media to get the bulk of their news — there's a much more accurate synonym to be using: powerful.