For more than a century, Australian politics has been a two-party contest, leaving voters with a simple choice on election day: Labor or the Coalition.
But that old rule book is being torn apart.
As a federal election looms, Four Corners returns for 2025 with reporter Angus Grigg examining whether our two-party system is collapsing.
Independents and minor parties are set to capture more than a third of the vote and become the king makers in the new parliament.
Drawing on exclusive data for the first time Four Corners reveals that in 82 per cent of seats most households are in financial distress – astonishingly up from just eight per cent three years ago.
That means paychecks barely cover basic living expenses.
So, in this cost-of-living election, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has plenty to worry about.
Grigg and the team travel to four battleground electorates in New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland where politics is being turned on its head.
CHAPTERS
00:00 – The unwritten rule
01:15 – The duopoly
02:22 – Labor heartland
05:40 – Family support
08:15 – Immigration
09:50 – Sam Kayal
11:45 – Gaza and the Middle East
12:55 – First time voter
14:35 – Anne Stanley
16:35 – Breaking of traditions
17:00 – Liberal voters
20:15 – Alex Dyson’s viral post
22:05 – Dan Tehan
28:45 – Max Chandler-Mather
30:16 – Housing crisis
31:20 – CFMEU
35:04 – Trish Cook
39:50 – Matt Moran
41:20 – Mia Davies
42:58 – Aboriginal Flag
43:20 – New political era
This episode was originally broadcast as ‘Party Crashers’ on 3 February 2025 on ABC TV and ABC iview.
Four Corners is Australia’s premier investigations documentary series.
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