[fphhotchips]

Which were enormously popular in retrospect, once the alternative was on display. The LNP were destroyed in two subsequent state elections, primarily around lockdown and border policy. Literally wiped out in WA.

The alternative angle to "lockdowns that looked like China" is "public health measures that weren't corrupted by corporate interests". Both are highly arguable, and as usual the truth is in the middle.

That's the main advantage of the Australian system - it keeps us somewhere near the middle (or is at least more difficult to shift away).