The Australians rejected cultural wars in Trump style. Now Albanese has to act with courage and vision | Julianne Schultz

Thank you, Donald Trump.

Australians are much better in define who they are by identifying what they are not than making high statements. And they have now clearly said that they are not angry little Americans, cultural warriors or self -interested libertarians.

We always knew that there was a decency in the heart of this nation, but it took bullying, the US president's show biz Bravado to crystallize it. First, when thousands of people canceled trips to America and then decided in the privacy of millions of cardboard stands.

Even the prime minister, who had difficulty going beyond the “largest country cliché” in his first speech in 2022 when he talked about Australia, found the words on the election night to grasp what makes this country unique and full of opportunities. He gets better with practice and self -confidence. It could even be translated into transformative action and could not let empty words die in the cemetery.

Culture is almost always ahead of politics, so the signs have been there for some time. The idea of ​​being incredible, which broke into the discourse in 2005 when Sam Kekovich insulted vegetarians, hippies and dissent of all kinds, was thrown out almost two decades later. The legendary Lamb display of the legendary Australia Day turned upside down in 2023. “I think we are all a little unbelievable, that makes us Australian.”

This is a beginning.

And when Australian managers realize that the ability to use the best of the offer, not to be afraid of innovation, to combine courage with compassion, remarkable things can happen.

It has been done before. As a rule, this is in a dance of two steps forward, but over time, the two steps go forward.

It was remarkable that the treasurer Jim Chalmers described his party's victory as the greatest achievement since the Federation. Who ever talks about the federation? But it was remarkable. It took a decade of the debate and two voices in every colony and then took the negotiations in London to create. A nation was formed that was a global model of democratic and social innovation for the next 15 years.

We tend to concentrate on the hardness of White Australia's hardship on the forced deportation of the South Sea residents, and tried to exterminate the first peoples.

But the rest of the world saw innovation, economic success with a compassionate heart and the birth of an Australian model. The Australians were educated, positive and enjoyed one of the highest living standards in the world. There were plenty of opportunities.

The destruction of the losses in the First World War and the commitment of British imperialism during the Great Depression obliges this trust. But before the Second World War ended plans for the reconstruction, the teachings of the past decades were developed and implemented. This set the scene for modern Australia, which reached its climax when the Whitlam government swept into power in 1972 and implemented policies that had been gestured for decades.

In the 1980s, when the old protectionist economic model imploded, Australia again led the world with a model of neoliberalism with a human face. It was not perfect, but it was copied worldwide and celebrated as a “third way” for the time. It was much better than holding the whip on the market and privatizing everything.

Then Australian politicians and political decision -makers in the global financial crisis were geared towards reacting to prevent the disaster that occurred in many other countries.

These models should be confident that there is an Australian way that, even in view of the existential crises of innovation, it is possible that it is not necessary to be inappropriately dependent on what could do great powers. This courage and compassion are not incompatible.

We have lost the habit of innovation and reform. His memory must be revived and reacted. The crises with which we are currently confronted – the climate catastrophe, a crumbling post -war -global order, an unreliable great power, the new digital imperialism and inequality between the generations – need vision and courage.

This choice showed strikingly that the Australian people can see that we can no longer rely on the rest of the world to give the lead – the future is to make ours to repair the foundations and present the future. Like Rose Scott, one of the participants in the debates of the Federation about the new nation, was observed foresight: “Be brave, brave, brave. Reform is difficult, but it's worth it.”