In 2018, Australians went to the polls in a series of elections. With a general election looming in 2019, the unpopularity of the current federal government has heavily impacted results at a local and state level. In all those defeats, voters indicated they were furious that the governing Party refuses to put forward a coherent, proactive climate action policy.

In 2018 the Liberal-Nationals coalition lost:

The rural state seat of Wagga Wagga, which they’ve held for nearly 70 years;

Two special by-elections in Queensland and South Australia where their candidates repeatedly dodged questions on climate change;

A special by-election to replace their Party leader, who was replaced by a pro-climate Independent, and;

The state election in Victoria, where voters returned a government with a strong focus on renewable energy by landslide margins.

Furious MPs have openly questioned when the Party is going to get serious on climate change. On national TV some even spoke of having conversations with lifelong voters who told them they could no longer vote for them because their Party doesn’t have a serious climate change policy.

Figure 1: 2018 election defeats for the Liberal-Nationals Party where climate change was a key issue for voters.