Australia’s 2025 Election: How Multiculturalism Shaped a Landslide Which Sent Peter Dutton Packing

There are times in history when you can feel the tectonic plates shift. The 2025 Australian federal election wasn’t just a wobble, it was a political earthquake, a landslide so complete that people are still picking their jaws up from Bondi Beach to Broome. The Australian Labor Party (ALP) didn’t just win; they took the old political map, scribbled all over it with a red Sharpie, and then just tossed it in the recycling bin. Meanwhile, the Liberal Party, led by Peter Dutton, experienced what can only be described as the political equivalent of accidentally CC’ing your boss on your resignation letter, only to realise you got the date wrong and your new job doesn’t exist.

But let’s be honest: this election was more than a contest of policy or personalities. It was a referendum on multicultural Australia and a resounding “no thanks!” to the politics of division. So, how did multiculturalism become the star player of this electoral saga? Why did Labor soar while the Liberals nearly vanished from the map? And how on earth did Peter Dutton, the Liberal stalwart, the man many tipped as a future PM, lose his own seat to Labor’s Ali France, a young, dynamic candidate whose victory speech included both a heartfelt thank you to her African Ghanaian-Australian supporters and a warning to politicians who ignore multicultural voices?

Let’s brew a strong cup of Maccas Cappuccino Coffee and unpack how this happened.

The Multicultural Moment

First, let’s look at the numbers. In the past decade, Australia’s multicultural population has swelled, not just in the capital cities, but in regional centres, suburbs, and, yes, even the outback. Indian-Australians, Chinese-Australians, African-Australians, Pacific Islanders, Middle Eastern communities, and so many others aren’t just quietly getting on with life anymore; they’re running businesses, leading community groups, starring on reality TV, and, crucially, turning up to vote.

In this election, turnout in multicultural communities was historic. The message? Inclusion matters, and exclusion has consequences.

Labor Listened and Delivered

Why did Labor clean up? One word: listening. (Okay, maybe two: listening and acting.)

Let’s give them credit where it’s due. Over the last four years, Labor did more than pose for photo ops at Jambo Africa or Africa Daym Diwali festivals and Lunar New Year parades (though, to their credit, they never said no to a good nyama choma, samosa or mooncake). They ran forums in mosques, temples, and churches. They supported community initiatives. They recruited candidates who actually looked like the communities they hoped to represent. And maybe most importantly, when immigrants spoke about the challenges, housing, employment, young people problems, racism, Labor didn’t just nod politely. They put those concerns on the policy table.

For many new Australians, that was the clincher. Voting Labor began to feel less like picking the lesser evil and more like choosing family. (And, let’s be honest, after COVID lockdowns, we all know family is complicated, but sometimes, when there’s a choice, you pick the ones who actually show up at your barbecue.)

Dutton’s Downfall: A Cautionary Tale

Now, about Peter Dutton. There’s an old saying about “reading the room.” Dutton, it seems, not only failed to read it, he accidentally wandered into the wrong house, asked who everyone was, and then tried to redecorate.

Let’s not mince words: Dutton’s record on immigration was a running sore for the Liberals. Years of hardlines policies, tough talk, and a string of eyebrow-raising comments about African gangs and “ill-fitting” multiculturalism left a sour taste. If you were an immigrant, the idea of Dutton in charge of the country was less “fair go” and more “send ya packing.”

When asked about his image among immigrants, Dutton often shrugged, doubled down, or, in one memorable radio interview, claimed he was just “telling it like it is.” The problem? For many, what “it is” turned out to be wasn’t just tone-deaf; it was actively hostile.

Notably, the Liberal Party did little to distance itself from Dutton’s rhetoric. Instead of recalibrating, reaching out, apologising, or even just changing the subject, they doubled down. At campaign stops, Dutton’s speeches about “protecting Australian values” sounded, to many, like code for “protecting us from you.” It wasn’t subtle. It wasn’t strategic. And it bombed.

The Ali France Factor - Dickson’s

Enter Ali France. Young, energetic, articulate, and refreshingly normal, Ali wasn’t just “another candidate.” She was a symbol: the daughter, an African, born in Durban, South Africa, a 49 lawyer, a mother, and a tireless community advocate. Ali France made history by defeating Peter Dutton in 2025 after three attempts. The former journalist lost her leg in 2011. She sacrificed her limb while saving her son Zac from an elderly driver. Tragically, she lost her eldest son Henry to leukemia in early 2024.

As a single mother and daughter of Queensland Labor MP Peter Lawlor, she champions Medicare, NDIS and disability rights.

In Dickson, she built her campaign not on fear, but hope, not on what divides us, but what unites us.

When the results came in and Dutton’s safe seat went red, the reaction was electric. For the first time, kids from African, Indian, and Middle Eastern backgrounds looked at Parliament House and thought, “Hey, maybe there’s a place for us there too.”

Did the Liberals Ignore the Warning Signs?

In a word: yes.

For years, migrant communities warned the Liberals their rhetoric was alienating, not just on immigration, but on jobs, immigrants justice, housing, and belonging. Instead of course correction, the party doubled down, perhaps believing a “silent majority” would prevail. Instead, the “louder than you think majority” quietly enrolled, quietly campaigned, and then not-so-quietly voted them out.

Trump, Deportations, and the Ghost of Bad Policies Past

Let’s be honest, the spectre of Trumpian policies loomed large over this election. Many immigrants, watching the chaos in the US under Trump’s administration, saw uncomfortable parallels in Dutton’s language and the Liberals’ approach. The warnings were everywhere: “First, the rhetoric. Then, the policies. Next, the deportations.”

For those who’d left behind countries where governments could turn on minorities in a heartbeat, that was not an abstract fear. It was visceral and it translated, decisively, into votes for Labor.

A New Chapter: The Promise and the Challenge

So, is Peter Dutton finished? In Dickson, he certainly is. Nationally? Time will tell. But the real story is larger than any one politician. Australia has changed and politicians who don’t keep up risk getting left behind faster than an Uber driver at the end of a house party.

Labor now has a mandate, but also a challenge: to build on this trust, to deliver for all Australians new, old and to prove that multiculturalism isn’t just a buzzword, but a way forward.

As for the Liberals? Time for some soul-searching. Maybe even a new leader. And definitely, a new message.

Otherwise? They might just find themselves wiped out by the next generation of Australians, who don’t just look different, but who vote differently, too.

So, here’s to multicultural Australia! For reminding us that unity trumps division, that hope beats fear, and that the future belongs to those who listen and laugh together. Onwards, Australia. The barbecue’s big enough for us all.