The Two Pillars of the Liberal Establishment Are Striking — At Once
In Australia this week, two of the most sacred institutions of the progressive establishment are walking off the job simultaneously: the public education system and the public broadcaster.
Today, up to 35,000 Victorian public school teachers, principals, and support staff are striking — the first statewide teachers’ strike in 13 years. Hundreds of schools are closed or severely disrupted as the Australian Education Union demands a 35% pay rise over four years, rejecting the state Labor government’s offer of 17%.
Tomorrow, ABC journalists and staff will stage their first strike in 20 years after rejecting a 10% pay offer over three years plus a $1,000 bonus. The timing is almost poetic. The two great pillars that shape how Australians think — what our children are taught and what the nation is told — are downing tools together.
The Iran War Bonus: Fiscal Reality Bites Hard
The irony is delicious — and the timing could not be worse for the strikers. While these public sector workers demand large pay rises, Australia faces fresh economic headwinds from the escalating conflict involving Iran. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has already warned of higher inflation and potential fuel-price spikes.
Taxpayer funds are not an infinite slush fund. Australia’s Medicare system and broader social safety net are already under pressure and must take priority. These programs deliver tangible value: healthcare for the sick and stability for families. The ABC and public teachers, however ideologically important, do not provide anything approaching that same broad societal return.
The ABC’s Declining Relevance — and the Path to Real Change
The ABC’s relevance is already fading in lockstep with the weakening of the liberal-left cultural consensus that once sustained it. Just as the Murdoch press has become noticeably less influential as Liberal Party support has collapsed, the national broadcaster’s grip loosens when its ideological fellow-travellers lose ground. Both outlets thrived on partisan symmetry: one fed the right, the other the left. When one side of that duopoly crumbles, the other’s claim to special taxpayer protection looks increasingly anachronistic.
The deeper truth is uncomfortable for both camps.
Only when both the liberal-left establishment and the Liberal Party itself collapse can Australia finally break the status quo. As long as either side clings to its institutional fiefdoms — captured schools, captured broadcaster, captured media empires — the public will remain trapped in the same sterile culture war, paying the bills while receiving ever-less value.
Then and only then, can a true Left take root, sweeping away the bank-formulated liberal Left social justice identity politics performance to make room for something authentic to the Australian spirit.
Time for Accountability
The simultaneous strikes are a clarifying moment. They reveal institutions that feel entitled to ever-rising public largesse while delivering ever-more contested value — all while external shocks like the Iran war make such demands unsustainable.
