Australia's feminised politics need masculine balance

For years now, Australian politics has been guided almost entirely by what we might call the feminine virtues. Compassion. Gentleness. Sensitivity. Or, more accurately, the performance of these things. In our national debate, showing compassion is enough to win the argument before it has even begun. The substance behind the decision no longer matters. The consequences no longer matter. As long as the intention looks caring, the policy is applauded.

The problem is that compassion without wisdom is not a virtue. It is a vice. Wisdom is the hard-earned ability to see beyond the feeling of the moment and to protect a society from the unintended consequences that follow good intentions pushed too far. Yet in Australia today, wisdom is treated as cruelty. Prudence is labelled bigotry. Firm boundaries are called hatred. Anyone who insists on thinking through the long-term effects of policy is dismissed as cold or uncaring.

This imbalance is slowly hollowing out the country. A civilisation cannot survive on compassion alone. It needs masculine virtues. Not aggression or bravado, but firmness on principles and the courage to say no when the crowd demands yes. Masculine virtue means protecting the rules that hold a society together. It means refusing to trade away hard truths for momentary applause. It means understanding that values have consequences and that violating those values almost always leads to damage that cannot be easily undone.

It is important to be clear that these virtues are not tied to gender. Margaret Thatcher embodied masculine virtues more than most men in politics today. She was principled, disciplined and willing to face the outrage of the day for the sake of the decade ahead. On the other hand, Australia is currently led by a Prime Minister who embodies feminine vice. Anthony Albanese drifts with emotion, prizes optics over outcomes and confuses softness with strength. He offers compassion without structure and feeling without foresight.

Australia is paying the price for this lopsided moral compass. Rising debt, chaotic energy policy, collapsing education standards and a national mood of uncertainty are not accidents. They are the predictable results of leadership that avoids hard decisions in favour of comforting words.

Australian men in particular are looking for a political movement that speaks to their sense of duty, resilience and responsibility. They want leaders they can look at and say that is someone who stands firm when it counts. That is someone who represents me. That is my guy.

Australia needs a masculine conservative party that restores balance. Not a government that feels good, but a government that does good. Not one that performs compassion, but one that is anchored in wisdom. Only then can the country find its backbone again.