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Behind the Lines

And when the music stops you can... freeze!

As Australia's politicians gyrated in a wild collective dance, our cartoonists periodically pressed pause on the music to capture moments of grace and charm, spins and flourishes – and the occasional 'face plant'.

For the most part, cartoonists fixed their gaze on the performance of our two major political parties and their leaders.

In 2023 Albanese's Labor government enjoyed its first anniversary and all the thrills of an ALP National Conference. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton led the Liberal Party into plummeting polls, and a by-election stumble in Aston early in the year, only to grasp a later by-election win in the seat of Fadden. A number of veteran politicians ran out of puff and resigned from politics altogether, some in protest, some in disgrace.

Entitled 'John Howard Wilderness Tours', a short man guides a tall man through a jungle, saying 'Forget about the sharks... but I'd watch out for snakes, spiders and Nazis...' A skeleton holds a 'Robodebt' sign.

Untitled

David Rowe, The Australian Financial Review,

Four colourful logos: Blockbuster, Kodak, Brashs and Liberal.

Obsolete Brands

Matt Golding, The Age,

Two rows with six almost-identical portraits of Peter Dutton in a suit. Top row is his 'old' image, bottom row is his 'new' image. He wears glasses in the 'new' portraits.

Dutton's New/Old Image

Alan Moir, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Titled 'Now we are "one": towards net zero expectations by 2030!' Three people with party hats and plates stand around a giant melting ice-cream cake in the form of Anthony Albanese's head.

Net Zero Expectations

David Pope, The Canberra Times,

Two panels. First panel titled 'Opposition', a dog wearing glasses chases a car. Second panel titled 'Government', the dog catches the car and thinks, 'Now what?'

Now What?

Jon Kudelka, The Saturday Paper,

Anthony Albanese says, 'Weddings, parties, anything' as he holds the bridal train for Tegan Kynaston, who is on the arm of Kyle Sandilands at their wedding. Guests wear sunglasses.

Weddings, Parties, Anything

Mark Knight, Herald Sun,

A parody advertisement from 'The federated union of cartoonists, comedians and satirists' endorsing Tony Abbott for the Senate.

Don't Make Us Beg

Glen Le Lievre, Self-published,

David Littleproud sits behind a 'Nats' sign in a paddock, holding a long paper list which flows around him across the land. A farmer asks, 'So what did you do for the bush over the past nine years?'

National Enquirer

Peter Broelman, The Echidna,

A cleaner mops the floor using a bucket with the Liberal Party logo, wiping clean an image of Scott Morrison.

SCOTT-OFF!

Reg Lynch, The Sun-Herald,

A disheveled Anthony Albanese and Penny Wong emerge from a 'PJK' room, smoke billows out. A man asks, 'How was the catch up with Paul?' Albanese responds: 'He went nuclear'.

So Hot Right Now

Brett Lethbridge, The Courier-Mail,

A group of people holding bags with the Labor Party logo appear shocked at an all-day itinerary of sessions. Sessions include: 'On hold to Centrelink' and 'Sleeping rough in the local park'.

The Care Factor

Fiona Katauskas, The Guardian Australia,

A dog stands behind a lectern and addresses delegates at the 2023 ALP National Conference. The dog says they will only 'pretend to consider' changes to policy positions.

ALP Conference 2023

First Dog on the Moon, The Guardian Australia,

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