You would be forgiven for thinking that after seeing all the ‘woke’ craziness over the past few years, that the Australian people would vote for a party that would repudiate ‘wokeness,’ but instead it voted for a party that openly embraces and promotes ‘woke’ ideology.

You would think that after the brutal enforcement of lockdowns across the nation, which destroyed livelihoods and businesses, exacerbated mental health issues (incl. a spike in suicides) and stunted children’s education and development, that the Australian people would vote for a pro-freedom party that would stand against such harsh reactionary measures to the pandemic, but instead it voted for a party that openly supports draconian lockdown measures. You would think that after witnessing China threaten, bully and intimidate Australia over the past few years, that the Australian people would vote for a party that would continue to take an unapologetic firm stand for Australian sovereignty, but instead it voted for a party that is notoriously friendly with China. What explains all this?

There is a practical explanation of Labor’s election victory. Yes, people were reactionary to the absurd ‘wokeness,’ harsh lockdowns and the threat of China, but because of the Liberal Party’s policy of appeasement to the Left, especially with the Liberal Party’s passive support of vaccine mandates and its commitment to ‘net zero’ by 2050, many of the more conservative LNP voters decided to abandon the party and vote for ‘freedom parties’ such as One Nation, United Australia Party and Liberal Democrats in protest. As a result, these minor parties received as much as 12% of the overall vote. Yet, because most of the conservative voters preferenced other freedom parties before the LNP (again, out of protest) and most Greens and TEAL independent voters preferenced Labor at #2, it significantly increased the odds of a Labor victory based on preferences. This is especially evident when you consider that only 32.8% of Australians put the Labor Party as #1 on their ballot. That’s right. Two thirds of Australian’s voted for a party other than the Labor Party. Media outlets even reported that there was a -0.5% swing against the Labor Party compared to the 2019 federal election and that it was their lowest primary vote in over 100 years, so it’s hardly a ringing endorsement of the party by the Australian people. If anything, Labor’s election win is better described as a “Steven Bradbury” victory as Labor only got across the line not because of its superior policies and promises, but due to the misfortune of its competition.

All that said, that certainly doesn’t dismiss the worrying trend of votes to the Left side of politics. What is behind this surge? Or perhaps the question should be, who is behind this surge?

A pre-election survey conducted by GetUp of 828 residents in the rural seat of Gilmore revealed a surprising anomaly among the 18 to 34 year old demographic. The voting average for the Greens in the seat of Gilmore across all demographics is a lowly 11.1%, yet among 18-34 year olds the average is 29.9%. The voting average for the LNP in the seat of Gilmore across all demographics is a respectable 34.1%, yet among 18-34 year olds the average is a measly 6.8%. Is this just an anomaly for the seat of Gilmore or is this a trend that we see in other electorates? And what is the key issue that is driving so many young people to leftwing parties?

The Australian newspaper reported that exit polling conducted in the rural NSW seats of Gilmore, Page and Eden-Monaro has suggested that climate and environment policy were a key priority area for regional voters at the May 21 election. In the seat of Gilmore, which was heavily affected by the Black Summer bushfires, the exit polling showed that 72% of voters said “effective climate change policies” were important to their vote. In Eden-Monaro, 76% of voters surveyed nominated “effective climate change policies” as being important to them while in Page, on the north coast of NSW, 72% said it was important.

So why are so many young people caught up with the Left’s “climate change” narrative despite the fact that;

1. The average global temperatures have not changed for the past 20 to 25 years (see here and here)
2. Bushfires and other climate-related disasters are actually becoming less frequent (see here and here)
3. Australia’s contribution to global carbon emissions amounts to a minuscule 1.13% (see here). Yet, there are climate scientists who argue that considering Australia’s landmass and other factors, we are already at ‘net-zero’ (see here)

Despite facts that run counter to what the millennial climate alarmists believe, it is virtually impossible for this echo chamber to face any sort of challenge. The whole movement is better described as a religion and its adherents are growing by the day. Because the solution to this ‘climate emergency’ is empowering and centralising the government, the government becomes a ‘saviour’ to be worshipped and its followers are baptised into the Leftist worldview.

We know this disturbing trend of millennials moving further and further to the Left is not just an anomaly in the rural NSW seats of Gilmore, Page and Eden-Monaro. It’s happening everywhere.

Four years ago, a poll conducted for the Centre for Independent Studies showed 59% of Australians born between 1980 and 1996, believed ‘capitalism had failed’ and that government should exercise more control of the economy. This trend is also reflected in the United States. According to a report from the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) which relied on YouGov polling data, nearly half of American millennials (44%) would rather live in a socialist society than a capitalist one. So why are many of our young people in Western countries embracing such destructive ideologies?

There are 5 major factors that contribute to this trend:

1. Many young people have simply not been around long enough to have witnessed the destructive power of Marxism playing out in countries that adopted its philosophy.
2. Most young people have not heard of the atrocities carried out by Marx’s disciples in the 20th century, which is a consequence of my next point.
3. Many schools and almost all Australian Universities are openly indoctrinating our children into Leftist ideology. They are not just brainwashing our kids with Marxist concepts such as Social Justice and Critical Race Theory, but are deliberately teaching our kids a distorted view of history which supports the Left’s narrative.
4. The mainstream media plays a crucial role in reinforcing the Leftist worldview they have been taught in school or uni. In most cases, the media doesn’t need to fabricate stories, but rather they leave out significant details which alters the story to support the Leftist narrative. In other cases, they simply do not run with the story at all if it conflicts with their narrative.
5. Social media ensures that they never leave the Leftist echo chamber. Any information they come across which contravenes the Leftist narrative is flagged as ‘false information,’ ‘misinformation’ or ‘disinformation.’ Over time, they come to believe that it’s only conservatives who are naive or dumb enough to spread misinformation.

So considering the four most influential pillars in society being: academia, the media, Hollywood and social media, means that the Left have a strangle-hold on information and how it’s disseminated — in particularly to young people. This didn’t happen overnight, but has been a work in progress for over three quarters of a century. Furthermore, the slide to the Left has increased with each generation. John Wesley made this observation back in the eighteenth century when he said, “What one generation tolerates, the next generation will embrace.” And Thomas Jefferson said, “The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield, and government to gain ground.”

The Bible also tells us what happens when one generation fails to pass on their faith and values to the next generation. Judges 2:10-11 says, “After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals.”

There are many more indicators demonstrating that Australia (trending with other Western countries) is in the midst of experiencing this departure from the Christian faith hence why leftwing political parties are growing stronger and growing in number. Australians, particularly young Australians, are less likely to see the Church as the answer for society’s problems and are increasingly seeing an empowered ‘progressive’ government as the answer. They are increasingly of the view, that the more centralised and powerful the government becomes, the more it will be able to ‘fix’ all the social woes. Of course, those of us familiar with history know this to be a dangerous pipe dream.

So do we wring our hands with despair and resign ourselves to the inevitability of a hard-left, possibly totalitarian future? No. We continue to stand and we continue to fight because we are called to be salt and light. We are called to CONTEND for the faith. Some may say that Christians committed to political engagement in the times that we’re living in is a pointless exercise akin to reshuffling the deckchairs on the Titanic. Yet, Jesus never indicated that there would be a time for Christians to stop engaging the culture. Never. In fact, Jesus instructed us to keep working while it is daylight. In John 9:4 Jesus says, “As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.” So until the time comes when ‘night’ is upon us, we continue to labour for the Kingdom. Who knows? If we all become as passionate for advancing the Kingdom in our society we just may stave off or even reverse the secular trends we are seeing. May we all be inspired by William Wilberforce’s admirable attitude, “By all who are studious of their country’s welfare… every effort should be used to revive the Christianity of our better days.”