Power prices dominate election chatter amid rising voter frustration
Meltwater data shows power prices, cost of living and influencers driving public engagement around election.
As the 2025 Federal Election campaign heats up, new data from Meltwater has revealed a deeply engaged but increasingly frustrated Australian electorate, with online conversations centering on power prices, the cost of living, and influencer-driven political content.
The social and media intelligence platform analysed over one million posts across news and social media between 14 March and 14 April. The results show that power and energy is now the most talked-about issue, generating 70k posts and reaching 37 million people. Cost of living continues to dominate as a key concern with 64.7k posts, and discussions around the housing crisis have spiked 39% in the past week following new government policy announcements.
Voter sentiment shifts: A tale of two campaigns
Despite rising online chatter, overall sentiment across election-related content has skewed negative, driven by economic pressures and public scepticism.
Social media continues to outpace traditional news in both volume and engagement, with the Liberal Party recording 293k posts and 2.89 million engagements – almost double the volume of Labor. However, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is driving a broader reach (229 million), buoyed by a larger social following (1.7 million) and consistently high engagement rates (15.1K per post), according to Meltwater’s real-time Election Centre dashboard.
Volume, Reach & Engagement - Meltwater’s Election Centre
Labor’s digital campaign has largely focused on healthcare, which accounts for 25% of its trending topics, followed by tax (6.1%) and housing and cost of living (5.2% each).
Albanese Topics - Meltwater’s Election Centre
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In contrast, the Liberal Party’s messaging is more economically focused, with cost of living (16.5%), power and energy (14.1%), and housing (12.3%) leading its online narrative, with healthcare lagging behind (7%)
Dutton Topics - Meltwater’s Election Centre
Influencers and viral content shaping engagement
The data also highlights the increasing influence of creators and social-first content in driving political engagement, particularly among younger audiences.
One of the most engaging moments of the campaign so far came from Abbie Chatfield’s post featuring Greens Leader Adam Bandt DJing to encourage youth voting, attracting 22k engagements. Chatfield’s podcast It’s A Lot, which has featured both Bandt and Albanese, has emerged as a key political touchpoint.
[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@abbiechatfield/video/7482322183759383816[/embed]
Other standout social posts include:
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Pauline Hanson’s call to reduce immigration in a Facebook Post: 49k engagements
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@batesforbrisbane’s Instagram reel dubbing Peter Dutton as “Temu Trump”: 43k engagements
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The Betoota Advocate’s satirical Instagram post on Dutton reversing all his election policies: 20k engagements
Ross Candido, VP ANZ at Meltwater, said: “Australians are showing up in force online this election, but it’s clear from the data that emotional fatigue and scepticism are running high. What we’re seeing is a real shift - not just in what voters care about, but in how and where they’re engaging.”
He added: “Influencers and social-first content are driving the conversation, far outpacing traditional media. For campaigns and brands alike, having the tools to monitor sentiment and adapt messaging in real time is more important than ever.”
Top image: Ross Candido
