Woke Labor-Lite: Sussan Ley’s Julia Gillard Replay, By James Reed

In the cutthroat arena of Australian politics, where voters demand bold vision and unyielding conviction, the Coalition's latest implosion under Sussan Ley's watch is nothing short of a self-inflicted catastrophe. The numbers don't lie: Newspoll's damning verdict has the Coalition's primary vote cratering to a historic low of 27%, trailing Labor's steady 36% like a sinking ship in a storm. This isn't just a dip; it's the worst performance in Newspoll's storied history, a glaring testament to the perils of playing "Labor-lite." And if history is any guide, Sussan Ley is treading the same treacherous path that doomed Julia Gillard to infamy, a path paved with imitation, indecision, and ultimate irrelevance.

Let's rewind the clock to the Gillard era, that fateful period from 2010 to 2013 when Australia's first female Prime Minister promised the world, but delivered a diluted mess. Elected amid the chaos of a hung parliament, Gillard initially dazzled with her pragmatic poise, but her leadership quickly devolved into a desperate scramble to ape the opposition's policies while desperately clinging to power. Remember the carbon tax? She swore black and blue she'd never introduce one, only to flip-flop under pressure and ram it through, alienating her base and handing the Coalition a golden weapon. Her government became a pale shadow of the Liberals' economic blueprint, timid reforms, endless concessions, and a failure to articulate a distinct identity. The result? A primary vote haemorrhage, internal bloodletting, and an electoral thrashing in 2013 that left Labor in the wilderness for nearly a decade.

Fast forward to 2025, and Sussan Ley's Coalition is serving up a carbon copy of that disaster. As Deputy Leader and de facto shadow on Peter Dutton's throne, Ley has steered the party into a quagmire of me-too-ism, where every policy announcement feels like a watered-down echo of Albanese's Labor. Housing affordability? Instead of unleashing a torrent of market-driven reforms, deregulation, tax incentives for builders, and a war on NIMBYism, the Coalition mumbles about vague "incentives" that mirror Labor's half-baked schemes. Energy policy? Forget a full-throated defence of nuclear power or aggressive fossil fuel advocacy; it's all tepid nods to renewables that sound suspiciously like the Greens' playbook. And on the cost-of-living front, where Australians are drowning in bills, Ley's responses are as inspiring as a limp handshake, promising tweaks to Labor's subsidies without the guts to overhaul the system.

This Labor-lite strategy isn't just spineless; it's suicidal. Voters aren't idiots. They crave differentiation, not duplication. When the Coalition apes Labor's big-government band aids, it forfeits the one thing that has historically defined it: a fierce commitment to free markets, individual liberty, and fiscal discipline. Polls reflect this betrayal, 27% primary vote isn't a blip; it's a roar of discontent from the heartland. Small business owners, regional voters, and working families who once saw the Coalition as their bulwark against Labor's overreach are now eyeing the crossbench or staying home. Ley's leadership, much like Gillard's, reeks of opportunism over principle, turning the party into a bland facsimile that excites no one.

The parallels to Gillard are uncanny, and unforgiving. Both women ascended in turbulent times; Gillard via a leadership spill, Ley amid Dutton's shadow struggles, only to prioritise survival over strategy. Gillard's fatal flaw was her inability to sell a bold narrative, leading to a perception of her as a lightweight pretender. Ley, with her folksy Health Minister persona repackaged for opposition, is repeating the script; photo ops in regional towns, softball criticisms, and zero appetite for the fight. Where Gillard broke promises and lost trust, Ley is breaking the Coalition's brand and losing voters. The endgame? Marginal seat annihilation and a leadership coup that leaves the party fractured.

But here's the fiery truth: This doesn't have to be the Coalition's obituary. To claw back from this abyss, whoever emerges from the rubble of a leadership challenge to Ley, must ditch the Labor-lite delusion and rediscover the party's warrior spirit. Channel the ghosts of Howard and Abbott: hammer Labor's waste, champion real economic freedom, and wage war on the bureaucracy strangling growth. Nuclear energy? Push it hard as the clean, baseload saviour. Immigration? Demand sustainable levels tied to infrastructure, not endless population Ponzi schemes. Andstop whispering — roar with policies that ignite the base and sway the middle.

Sussan Ley's Coalition is hurtling toward a Gillard-esque graveyard, but the clock is ticking. September 2025's polls are a wake-up call, not a death knell. Heed it, or prepare for the political morgue. Australia deserves better than imitation; it demands innovation. The Coalition, if it has any fire left, better find it fast. But I think, far better to bury them in favour of a UK-style Reform coalition comprising One Nation and all other dissents.

https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2025/09/the-coalition-will-not-succeed-by-being-labor-lite/