Returned Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had the tone right in his Federal Election victory speech on Saturday night. He was grateful and humbled. His comments were positive and he urged colleagues to be magnanimous in victory.

That last part goes out the window in the first Question Time after Parliament resumes in a few weeks. It will play out like this:

The Governor-General’s speech (written by the incoming government) will outline the Government’s agenda. A new Speaker will be elected and escorted to his or her chair with mock reluctance.

The Government will introduce its first legislation, making clear its solemn intention to deliver every promise made in the campaign. Then the public humiliation of a decimated Opposition in Question Time will begin.

What’s it like to be a returned government-in-waiting? The emphasis is on “waiting”. Unless you’re part of the leadership group, it’s all about letting the count of undecided seats finish and seeing what the PM does.

The public servants have completed briefing packs for incoming or continuing Ministers. These “Red Books” translate election promises in to “to do” lists. The PM will put Ministerial place cards onto chairs after considering the factional, gender and geographical make-up of his whopping majority.

Good performers need to be rewarded and potential challengers must be kept busy or at a distance. The indicators point to minimal change in the Ministry, but expect new blood to come into the ranks as part of a renewal process. It always happens.

The media post-mortems on the botched Opposition campaign have been landing like cluster bombs since Saturday night. All eyes will be on the Liberal Party Room for the election of a new Leader to a job that nobody genuinely wants.

Horse trading with the National Party for a new Coalition Agreement and Shadow Ministries starts after that. The Nats will put a shot across the Liberals’ bows just to make it clear that they’re nobody’s patsies and the disastrous result was not really their fault.

It was an honour for the Primary Comms Group team to both support and attend The Aquas at Le Montage in Sydney – Royal Life Saving’s premier event celebrating excellence across the aquatic industry.

This night of nights recognised the outstanding contributions, dedication, and efforts of individuals and organisations in drowning prevention and the promotion of aquatic participation. With 14 award categories presented, we were especially proud to sponsor the Excellence in Cultural Diversity award, which was deservedly won by Ennia Jones from A Splash of Colour Swimming (pictured).

Congratulations to Michael Ilinsky, CEO of Royal Life Saving NSW, and the entire RLS team for delivering such a memorable event. Michael is pictured with Australian Olympian Sam Fricker, Roy Butler MP (Member for Barwon), and our own CEO, Chris Hall.

Chris was joined on the night by Primary team members Lindsay Toussaint, Jackie Lloyd, and Johanna Rigg-Smith, and we sincerely thank Royal Life Saving for formally recognising Primary as an event partner.

The Aquas not only honours exceptional achievements but also fosters a culture of excellence in our industry. This year’s event held extra significance as it marked the 130^th anniversary of Royal Life Saving. Be sure to sign up for our regular newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook to keep up to date on all our news and latest Information from our clients and partners, including Royal Life Saving.

What a memorable occasion it was for our clients at the 2025 Australian Cyber Awards held at Ilumina in Sydney.

Semperis took home the Ransomware Protection Business of the Year and Lumify carried off the gong for Cyber Security Training Business of the Year.

We are especially proud to announce that, in fact, three of our incredible clients, Claroty, Lumify, and Semperis, were all named as finalists in this year’s awards.

Our full list of finalists were:

• Claroty – Network Cybersecurity Business of the Year and Threat Detection Business of the Year
• Lumify – Jeremy Daly (Lumify Work) for Cyber Security Rising Star – SME finalist
• Lumify – Louis Cremen (Lumify Work) for Cyber Security Champion of the Year – Internal finalist (Jeremy and Louis are pictured below with their CEO, Jon Lang)
• Lumify Work – shortlisted for Cyber Security Training Business of the Year
• Semperis – finalist for Ransomware Protection of the Year, recognised for its leadership in identity system security, innovation, and rapid growth across the Australian market.

Primary Comms Group team members Elaine Banoub and Renee de la Motte (pictured above with Michael Bovalino and Gabriel Khnanisho of Semperis) were on hand to celebrate their success.

Primary is proud to represent organisations who are gamechangers, and are at the forefront of cybersecurity innovation and excellence.

Don’t forget to sign up for our regular newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook to keep up to date on all our news and latest information from our clients and partners.

There’s a maxim in media training that’s used to coach people to effectively deliver their messages: “Hold the salad, just serve up the meat.”

Almost a week into a listless Federal election campaign, precious little fibre has appeared on the plates of the Government or the Opposition.

Peter Dutton entered the fray with declining public polling and promising to unveil substantial policies. Voters have been taking a good, hard look at the alternative PM and in the first six days, but so far only Labor-generated negatives have been filling the vacuum.

Labor’s painting of Dutton as a lite version of Donald Trump who will slash public services and ban anybody from working from home is crude but effective.

In Australian political campaigns, countering attacks is the job of “attack dogs”. They’re senior front-benchers who are close to the leader, good with a media grab and across all portfolios.

Shadow Attorney-General Michaelia Cash seems to have the job but has been sighted in media only sporadically.  Campaign spokesperson Senator James Patterson is normally an incessant and articulate voice on national security but has been near invisible.

From a distance, that hat points to an Opposition too slow to react or one that’s being flooded by Government white noise.

Anthony Albanese’s belated positioning as an action man battening down hatches for a cyclone that turned into a rain dump a few weeks ago was opportunistic but a winner as Labor scored some big personal hits on Dutton.

The campaign has a long way to run but Labor has the upper hand in a plod towards likely minority government. Neither major party is riding a wave of public support.

Craig Regan, Senior Account Director, Primary Communication

Electricity Safety Week, now in its 25th year, is a powerful reminder that impactful communication isn’t just about broadcasting messages, it’s about changing behaviour.

Originally developed by Primary in response to research highlighting the need for more effective electrical safety education for children, the week-long initiative held each year in September continues to evolve, reaching thousands of primary school students with messages that quite literally save lives.

At its core, Electricity Safety Week is a masterclass in behaviour change communications. For PR professionals, it underscores a crucial truth: every brief is, at heart, a behaviour change challenge. Whether we’re encouraging safety near powerlines or sparking conversations around mental health, success hinges on understanding what truly motivates people, or in the case of Electricity Safety Week – primary school aged children – and how to shift what humans do and how they do it, through creative strategy and stakeholder collaboration.

It is critical that PR and comms strategies can harness behavioural insights to continuously interrogate the brief more deeply, even if it seems like it’s the same project each year. It is only when we unlock hidden audience drivers, and engage closer with key stakeholders who become your most avid advocates, that we are able to deliver campaigns that do more than inform – they transform.

Read more about our Electricity Safety Week program which we continue to run on behalf of electricity distributors in NSW (Ausgrid and Endeavour Energy) and QLD (Energy Queensland). It’s where research-led insights, stakeholder partnerships and creativity can intersect to build long-term engagement and purpose-led campaigns.

It’s time to stop ticking boxes and start shifting dials. Because when we treat communication as behaviour change, we create campaigns that matter and last.

Mary-Anne Boustany, Account Director, Primary Communication