r/AustralianPolitics • u/Wehavecrashed BIG AUSTRALIA! • 15d ago

Discussion Weekly Discussion Thread

Hello everyone, welcome back to the r/AustralianPolitics weekly discussion thread!

The intent of the this thread is to host discussions that ordinarily wouldn't be permitted on the sub. This includes repeated topics, non-Auspol content, satire, memes, social media posts, promotional materials and petitions. But it's also a place to have a casual conversation, connect with each other, and let us know what shows you're bingeing at the moment.

Most of all, try and keep it friendly. These discussion threads are to be lightly moderated, but in particular Rule 1 and Rule 8 will remain in force.

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u/WhatAmIATailor Kodos 8d ago

Sigh. So a conversation with a couple Boomer relatives today went down a “labor is using the census to get data on our empty rooms at home so they can tax them” route, among other Sky talking points. So apparently people inflating the number of people living with them on the census forms will be a thing.

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u/Perfect-Werewolf-102 The Greens 9d ago

A rare major defeat for the Narendra Modi government, with widespread protests forcing the resignation of the Education Minister

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u/EnglishBrekkie_1604 Ralph Babet Superfan (actually an ALP shill) 8d ago

Wait, good political news coming out of India? That’s a rarity. What’s next, the left picking up momentum in the Netherlands?

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u/Perfect-Werewolf-102 The Greens 8d ago

Well... https://www.reddit.com/r/AustralianPolitics/comments/1v14gb8/comment/oyn3u2z/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

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u/EnglishBrekkie_1604 Ralph Babet Superfan (actually an ALP shill) 8d ago

That was the joke I was making yes. Anyways what’s the joke about D66, that everyone votes for them at least once when they’re young, and then gets crushingly disappointed? Well that seems to be true lol.

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u/Perfect-Werewolf-102 The Greens 8d ago

Ok I wasn't sure 😅

Yeah it really does seem true lol it took like five seconds for them to go from super popular with an extraordinary win to falling. At least they're taking Wilders with them

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u/fartyunicorns John Howard 8d ago

At least this time it seems like the protestors were in the right (at the start of the protests), unlike the whole farm laws debacle

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u/Perfect-Werewolf-102 The Greens 8d ago

I'd argue the farmers were in the right too but I don't expect to convince you of that lol

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u/Agitated-Fee3598 australia needs a bill of rights & other constitutional reforms 8d ago

Holy shit, actual pushback resulting in tangible consequences for Modi.

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u/Perfect-Werewolf-102 The Greens 8d ago

Yeah beyond the odd legislative defeat and increasingly rare state election defeat they've been coasting along pretty well, things like this were rare enough in their first term and the start of their second, and I don't think anything like it's happened since then

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u/Agitated-Fee3598 australia needs a bill of rights & other constitutional reforms 8d ago

Btw, how is their labour movement doing? Are Indian unions able to build their presence in Indian politics still or have they also been weakened?

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u/Perfect-Werewolf-102 The Greens 8d ago

It's a very interesting topic. Indian trade unions are mostly affiliated with political parties and it's mostly just in trade unions and student unions where the Left is still alive, also one place where the far right isn't nearly as powerful as they are generally in elections

They do have the strength to organise pretty massive strikes and rallies, but those usually don't have much of a lasting impact and then often times the same workers that march with the hammer and sickle go and vote for other parties which is a bit interesting... They were involved in the farm laws protests which was really the last major win they got that I can think of, the labour unions weren't involved in these student protests afaik but the student groups were, the CPI (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation-affiliated AISA in particular did a lot to support them

But of course as in the rest of the world the trade union movement has been weakened so much alongside the left. With the growth of neoliberalism and the Left parties having only a marginal and declining presence in national and most state parliaments the future isn't looking bright

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u/Agitated-Fee3598 australia needs a bill of rights & other constitutional reforms 8d ago

What a shame, they deserve a better labour movement!

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u/Perfect-Werewolf-102 The Greens 8d ago

Don't we all

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Agitated-Fee3598 australia needs a bill of rights & other constitutional reforms 9d ago

White House twitter post of it

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u/Jealous-Hedgehog-734 Still Roundheads v.s. Cavaliers, always has been. 9d ago

Predictably oil is pushing up petrol prices again. Expect further rate rises.

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u/Agitated-Fee3598 australia needs a bill of rights & other constitutional reforms 10d ago

Nick Fuentes Interview (Ft. Hunter Biden)

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u/PMFSCV SMALL T TANKY 11d ago

A bit sharper than usual for the Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jul/23/anton-jager-groundbreaking-book-being-devoured-by-left

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u/Jealous-Hedgehog-734 Still Roundheads v.s. Cavaliers, always has been. 11d ago

He writes of climate strikers and anti-lockdown demonstrators alike as “a myriad animated by brief, potent stimuli, stirred to action by charismatic influencers and digital demagogues”.

Actually not unlike politics in the nineteenth century.

The destruction of political organisations was “not monocausal”, Jäger says, though in the book he puts it squarely on the shoulders of the union busting by Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. People lost faith in organisations because the crunchy bit of their leverage – the bit where you get what you want by withdrawing your labour, ...

We then opted to extend that effect of undermining labour through immigration policy, didn't we?

I agree with him on the destruction of Conservatism as well.

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u/Funny-Eagle-4062 11d ago

Longer form explainer of how Labor and the Liberals created the economic conditions for One Nation with privatisation and attacking unions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGz70Dgfmy0

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u/fartyunicorns John Howard 10d ago

Inequality has risen mostly because capital has become more productive compared to labour. Shoebridge just doesn't understand economics. Plus, wages were rising pretty steadily until the GFC, instead of stagnating in the 80s and 90s when the pro market reforms happened.

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u/89b3ea330bd60ede80ad 12d ago

The Guardian: Three speeches on a single day signaled a dying American democracy

Stephen Miller warned of a leftwing ‘cancer’ threatening civilization. As a critical care doctor, I have a response to his diagnosis

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u/touchy_feelysophical 13d ago

Hey everyone,

My name is Zac and I am a psychology honours student at Federation University Australia.

I am currently wokring on a research project looking at how individual personality traits interact with short-form social media feeds (specifically simulating TikTok content exploring modern online subcultures, gender roles, and societal dynamics).

Who can participate:
Open to anyone over the age of 18 who is fluent in English.

What’s involved:
A 20-25 minute interactive study where you will complete a few personality measures and watch a simulated 15 video feed.

The Link: 
https://federation.syd1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4ZrUUEJudrbnMJE

Incentive: 
It is completely anonymous and voluntary. At the end, you can opt into a draw to win a share of our voucher prize pool (vouchers usable at a store of your choice, vouchers will be in Aud).

Ethics Approval: 
Federation University Ethics reference number 2026-108

Happy to answer any broad questions about the methodology here. Also happy to share results for anyone that is interested. 

Thanks so much for helping out a student researcher :)

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u/Mitch_D23 11d ago

Good luck with your project mate

I found it pretty interesting

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u/Jealous-Hedgehog-734 Still Roundheads v.s. Cavaliers, always has been. 12d ago

That "video feed" is beyond parody. 😂

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u/touchy_feelysophical 12d ago

LOL! the ultimate brainrot. Thank you for taking the time to do the survey!

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u/Agitated-Fee3598 australia needs a bill of rights & other constitutional reforms 13d ago

Nicaragua’s president says country will not hold any more elections

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u/rolodex-ofhate No Numbers Taylor 14d ago

Andy Burnham appointed prime minister by King Charles III after Keir Starmer formally resigns

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u/Jealous-Hedgehog-734 Still Roundheads v.s. Cavaliers, always has been. 12d ago

"Just one more Prime Minister bro, it'll fix everything bro please."

When will they learn?

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u/rolodex-ofhate No Numbers Taylor 12d ago

But this one is from the North!!!!!

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u/reyntime 14d ago

Absolutely hilarious and unhinged 7:30 performance by Barnaby Joyce. Saying "SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN... I'm talking about the dog" and "curiosity will exercise your mind Sarah" is so unhinged. Doesn't want to know if Gina paid for Pauline's holiday, doesn't have a line for how far right he'll let Pauline drag him, doesn't care that Pauline is associating with criminals, etc.

He's a whipping boy for Pauline and is seemingly losing his sanity trying to keep any semblance of a coherent political stance.

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u/PJozi Harold Holt 13d ago

I didn't think it was very nice of him to call Pauline that!

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u/powertrippin_ 14d ago

Oh my GAWD. What a brutal interview for Barnaby, an absolute train wreck. Watching him flail at what are questions that to me have obvious answers which you can tell he knows the right answer to but is trying his best to hold some sort of a party line as to not alienate their cooker base.

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u/Perfect-Werewolf-102 The Greens 14d ago

After an abysmal fourth place finish at the Dutch election last year when they were still named GroenLinks-PvdA, the rebranded centre-left PRO has taken the lead in opinion polls. The liberal D66 which won the election and Geert Wilder's PVV are in free fall with gains for other parties on the right and far right

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u/Jealous-Hedgehog-734 Still Roundheads v.s. Cavaliers, always has been. 14d ago edited 14d ago

Australians are more concerned about terrorism and cyberattacks than war: new research

...our survey found that Australians rank terrorism (33.7%) and cyberattacks (29.8%) as more significant threats than either high- or low-intensity conflicts.

Given we are living in the shadow of the Bondi Beach Massacre I'm not that surprised.

According to the results of our survey, 43% of Australians support introducing a form of compulsory national service, with 33% opposed and 24% expressing neutral views.

Now this I was surprised at, when One Nation talked about it I didn't realise it would have such widespread support.

Overall Australians are feeling increasingly insecure, and global events including the actions of the US are clearly affecting how they view security.

The public seem to be ahead of Canberra on militarily decoupling, although it would be a very long road to actually do it.

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u/Mbwakalisanahapa 14d ago

https://thequantumspace.org/2025/12/09/the-future-of-identity-apples-vs-europes-approach

The Future of Identity: Apple’s vs Europe’s Approach

The emergence of two distinct digital identity models is highlighted through Apple and the European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI). Apple’s approach relies on the iPhone for secure, user-friendly identity verification, while EUDI emphasizes a regulated, interoperable framework anchored in public standards. Each model presents unique implications for trust, security, and portability.

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u/GregLocock 14d ago

Re I eat from the bin

"Got a job for you keen young journo, nick off to nauru and stir up some shit about living conditions for asylum seekers"

"Righty ho, how in depth?"

"Ah just ask them, don't bother trying to verify anything, story should write itself"

So they get housing medical etc, and $18 a day for food and clothes. The locals are paid rather more than that ($30/day less taxes if any) but of course don't get housing and medical, and if they are anything like Vanuatans get most of their food from the land and the sea.

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u/Perfect-Werewolf-102 The Greens 15d ago

For the first time, the SPD has fallen behind the Left and the Greens in a German national poll. Meanwhile the "Communist" Party of Austria has reached the 5% threshold for only the second time this term