May 16, 2025
The election result on 3 May was a great win for workers’ rights, preventing what we’ve won over the past three years being watered down or rolled back. Same Job Same Pay, improved rights for union delegates, and strong wage growth were all on the ballot this election and, to our relief, secured a resounding victory.
Anthony Albanese has become the first sitting Prime Minister to be re-elected since John Howard, and Labor is the first government to increase its majority on re-election ever.
Nationally, Labor reversed the gradual decline of their primary vote over the past two decades. They were also two points ahead of the Coalition in primary votes, marking the first time since 2007 that more people have given their first preference to Labor than to the Coalition.
Likewise, 55% of Australians prefer a Labor government to the Coalition alternative. This means Labor has secured the highest two-party preferred vote of any government in Australian history since John Curtin in 1943. This trend also holds in seat allocation, as Labor has won at least 93 lower house seats, holding its strongest majority since the Second World War.
This election, the Mining and Energy Union ran a focused campaign targeting the mining heartland seats of Capricornia in Queensland, and Hunter, Paterson, Shortland, and Parkes in New South Wales. We supported candidates in these seats based on their connection to our Union and support for our members. Targeting these seats where our members live and work allowed us to connect with mining and energy communities about the issues that matter to them, including Same Job Same Pay.
All five of the candidates we were supporting recorded a two-party preferred swing, with all except Capricornia exceeding the average national two-party preferred swing for Labor.
In Capricornia, Hunter, and Shortland, the swings in primary vote share have more than doubled the national average of 2.2%, outperforming the pro-Labor trend of this election.
In Hunter, MEU member and former coal miner Dan Repacholi has secured a massive 44.2% of the primary vote – more than the Nationals, One Nation, and Greens combined. This is a testament to Dan’s personal popularity in the community and the tireless work he’s put in for the people of Hunter over the last three years.
Dan has also secured a well-deserved promotion, becoming the first Special Envoy for Men’s Health. In this new role he will work alongside the Minister for Health and Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide to raise awareness of men’s mental health issues and deliver practical assistance to improve outcomes.
In Capricornia, Emily Mawson came within 3,000 votes of overtaking Michelle Landry on first preferences, giving Landry the hardest run for her money since 2016. Emily’s result was hampered by preference-swapping deals between Landry and the minor right-wing parties, including One Nation.
We were offered a stark choice on May 3rd – between a sensible, progressive, and worker-focused government, and a divisive and distrusted opposition. The overwhelming result for Labor is a reaffirmation of the Australian values of justice, fairness, and equity, as well as for the work the Albanese government has put in to re-balance a system that has been tilted in favour of powerful employers for too long.
Now it is up to us to continue to push for reform and to use the new powers at our disposal to deliver for our workmates, our families, and our communities.
Grahame Kelly is the General Secretary of the Mining and Energy Union