Neither major party wants to talk about climate. It might still be a major election issue (1 Apr 2025)
Article summary: As Australia approaches the 2025 federal election, digital advertising trends suggest that climate and energy issues remain a significant concern — not necessarily among political parties, but among advocacy groups and independent candidates. Despite the climate focus of the 2022 election, which saw a dramatic shift towards climate-conscious candidates like the Greens and the teals, this year’s campaign so far has seen both major parties, Labor and the Coalition, largely sidestepping the topic.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese mentioned “climate” only three times during the press conference announcing the election, primarily to promote Labor’s past achievements and criticise the Liberal Party. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton avoided the topic altogether. While energy policy is a subject of contention — including Dutton’s support for nuclear power and his plan to reserve gas for domestic use — these discussions have been framed around financial implications rather than environmental ones.
Public interest in climate change also appears to have waned since 2022. The Australian Financial Review’s Freshwater poll ranked climate as only the seventh most important issue for voters, overshadowed by concerns like the cost of living. Nevertheless, some analysis, such as from Michelle Grattan, notes that voters may still associate economic challenges with climate-related policies, suggesting a more nuanced public view than polls alone indicate.
Despite the lack of emphasis from the major parties and certain segments of the media, climate change has been difficult to ignore in practice. Recent events — including Albanese’s delayed election announcement due to Cyclone Alfred and severe flooding in outback Queensland — underscore the ongoing impact of climate events. Activists have also interrupted speeches by Albanese, Dutton, and Treasurer Jim Chalmers, ensuring the issue remains visible.
One clear indicator of climate’s persistent relevance is the digital advertising landscape. According to data from Who Targets Me, pro-climate groups were among the highest spenders on Meta platforms (such as Facebook and Instagram) in the month leading up to 25 March 2025. These groups ranked fourth overall, spending $671,493 — behind the Liberal Party, a miscellaneous “others” category, and independents. However, the “others” category was itself largely dominated by pro-climate voices such as Climate 200, Hothouse Magazine, and Nuclear for Australia.
Independents were the third-largest spenders, and among them, Kate Chaney, Monique Ryan and Ben Smith stood out. All three are Climate 200-backed candidates, reaffirming their shared commitment to strong climate action. Kate Chaney’s inclusion in the top ad spenders highlights her active role in pushing climate discourse, even as mainstream political narratives drift away from the subject.
This level of digital investment raises key questions: are these groups responding to latent voter demand that is not being acknowledged by the major parties, or are they seeking to reignite public engagement on a sidelined issue? Either way, the persistence of extreme weather and the strategic focus of independent candidates suggest that climate change remains an undercurrent shaping electoral dynamics — potentially marking every election moving forward as, at least implicitly, a “climate election”.
