The date of the Farrer by-election has been set for May 9, as announced in parliament on Thursday by the Speaker, Milton Dick. Michelle Grattan in The Conversation relates that Labor is not running, which I have not seen reported elsewhere, and there is no indication yet on who the Liberal candidate might be. One Nation yesterday endorsed David Farley, 69-year-old former head of major beef producer the Australian Agricultural Company and an activist locally on water issues. Farley was chosen by local party members ahead of Albury small business owner Leigh Wolki and agribusiness manager Guy Cooper.
A Nationals preselection vote to be held today will be contested by former Albury mayor Kylie King, former Wodonga mayor Kev Poulton, retired army colonel Brad Robertson and beef farmer Marc Greening. Helen Dalton, the state independent member for Murray, says she will not run, after earlier considering doing so either as an independent or for One Nation.
Before diving into various federal electoral matters that have been accumulating over the past two months, two non-federal matters worth noting: Labor looks to have won the Northern Territory seat of Nightcliff from the Greens at a by-election held yesterday, and a draft state redistribution for Queensland will be published on Tuesday.
• Nine Newspapers reported a fortnight ago that Special Minister of State Don Farrell has been holding “informal talks” with other parties about expanding the federal parliament. This would likely involve 12 new seats for the Senate and twice that many for the House (a requirement of the Constitution’s nexus clause), resulting in around 174 seats for the House and 88 for the Senate, though there are options for adding further seats for the territories. Any such change would take effect after the 2028 election. The Liberals have declared themselves opposed, though the report says “some Liberal MPs and strategists” are privately supportive, but the Greens and the Nationals are thought likely to be favourable.
• A Greens preselection is looming to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Tasmanian Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, which he announced last October. Among the candidates will be Tabatha Badger, who has held a seat for the party in Lyons since the March 2024 state election. Other prospective nominees identified by the ABC are Vanessa Bleyer, an environmental lawyer who ran in Braddon in last year’s state election; Scott Jordan, an environmental campaigner and frequent election candidate; and Alistair Allan, a former Sea Shepherd captain and the party’s candidate for Lyons at last year’s federal election.
• Barnaby Joyce, who is currently slated to be One Nation’s lead Senate candidate in New South Wales, says he would “consider” running again in his existing seat of New England, presumably reflecting bullishness about the party’s position in the polls.
• The Australian National University’s Centre for Policy Research has released an analysis of survey research conducted immediately after the election showing support for the proposition that democracy was “always preferable to other forms of government” ranging from just 43.8% among those aged 18-to-24 to 89.1% among those 75 and over. Those inclined to disagree were more likely to have low educational attainment, speak a language other than English at home, and live in a rural electorate. Those with religious affiliations and identifying as being on the left were more inclined to agree.
• The Australian’s Feeding the Chooks column reported last month that Luke Howarth, who was unseated in the northern Brisbane seat of Petrie last year, has nominated for top position for the Senate ticket in a preselection to be held at the party’s state convention next month. This places him in opposition to James McGrath, “who is expected to hold his position”. Second spot is reserved for the Nationals and Matt Canavan, notwithstanding suggestions he may run in the lower house seat of Capricornia, and former Senator Joanna Lindgren has nominated for third.
• Antony Green has published an instructive resource in the shape of two-party preferred preference flow data by candidate from non-classic contests at the last three elections, provided to him by the Australian Electoral Commission. The AEC routinely publishes data showing how the preferences of each candidate that didn’t make the final preference count divided between those who did, but this data extends the principle to preference splits between Labor and the Coalition in those seats where an independent or minor party candidate made the final count at the expense of one or the other.
• A note regarding the BludgerTrack poll aggregate: the leadership rating trends are on hold for the moment, as accommodating the new Opposition Leader will require some code re-engineering and enough data points to produce a workable trend result, which I won’t have time to do until after the South Australian election. I have added some new tabs to the “Poll Data” feature recording voting intention by 2025 election vote and the four regional categories used by the Australian Electoral Commission, the former striking me as being of particular interest in the current environment. You can access this by clicking the “more” tab on the far right until it gets you to the relevant set of tabs.
Oh and a moron!
@Clem Attlee
With a large serve of that Toxic masculinity
Can we establish some sort of verification process for this?
A lot of people would like to see it happen.
I am not convinced the second coming of Whitlam is the insult to Labor party members that Alabama thinks it is.
Lowest vote since 2022? Probably their lowest vote since the Great Depression.
At least Whitlam got things done and achieved things that took decades to undo.
Albanese has achieved precisely nothing (which is about the only good thing that can be said about him).
“With a large serve of that Toxic masculinity”
Toxic masculinity is only a construct of the woke world which demonises all men and wishes that everyone simply became women. Sorry but the world doesn’t work this way. Perhaps in another life they will find their parthenogenetic paradise.
Universal suffrage has its faults!
“Timmy, a real man:
How DARE you call me a name corresponding to a woman. You are lucky this is an online forum and you could be far away. If someone did that to me in person I’d show them the consequences of insulting my masculinity!!!
I would be willing to bet good money that this guy has a Grindr account hidden somewhere on his phone.”
This implies you also think Grindr-using men (which I am most certainly not) aren’t real men. While I agree with that, the hypocrisy from you is breathtaking.
Whitlam was a brilliant man and prime minister. Way ahead of his time. Love him so much, even if just for how much he seems to have triggered old ALABAMA.
I despise polls of that sort. They don’t properly address the question and it will lump people in together even if they are opposed on how far the Govt should intervene. Someone might say “not very well” because the Govt hasn’t gone far enough (eg, greens), and others might say “not very well” because the Govt has gone too far (eg, far right libertarians).
An intelligent question would be a Goldilocks question “Do you think the Government had done too little, too much, or just right”.
One interesting thing in that is the “issues facing Australia”. Immigration was very minor for Coalition, and non-existent for Labor & Greens. But for One Nation it was 2nd place. It was so important to One Nation voters that they are the LEAST concerned about Cost of Living, and the LEAST concerned about Housing Affordability and Healthcare.
Even though ON voters are the least likely to live in an area with significant immigration. They have been primed by the right wing mainstream media and facebook to hate minorities so badly that they care less about their own living standards, their ability to get healthcare or housing costs than every other group of party voters, in the nation. It’s the “shoot yourself to spite your enemies” baby boomer rural idiocy that lead to Brexit and Trump.
@goll: Indeed. The village idiot’s vote is worth precisely as much as that of the smartest person in the village. A relatively minor flaw in an otherwise pretty-good system.
A song for Timmy – He knows what REAL men are like, not those who use Grindr
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrgpZ0fUixs
Won’t be long before ALABAMA starts spewing far-right memes like “I didn’t kill humans, only communists” and calling for Albo to be “physically removed” by throwing him out of a chopper, Pinochet style.
Honest question to all takers; why do you assume the current parties will remain for the foreseeable future? Plenty of political parties that looked strong died quick deaths in the 20th century, both here and abroad.
Especially during periods of turmoil…
Diogenes,
California has about 80 times the population of Wyoming, and the same senate representation, NSW is less than 20 times the population of Tasmania, so there are worse malapportioned electorates(not just the HoL)
@Miskal
Well from what we’ve seen tonight, the party populated by meth-snorting psychopaths who want to re-enact the Nazi Einsatzgruppen probably won’t last long.
Terrible night on PB. Usually there’s at least a couple of interesting comments at this hour.
Dr Fumbles McStupid says:
Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at 10:53 pm
A song for Timmy – He knows what REAL men are like, not those who use Grindr
————————————–
I used to vote Greens be into gender studies and eat tofu…… Then I heard this and now I am a maouwn….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AXoBzTWLP4
I wouldn’t worry too much about invective from the right wing loons, it’s all they’ve got because deep down they know that the amount support they get from the majority of Aussies isa like their appendages, minuscule.
I make no such assumption, there are no guarantees. I think that we could well see a new hard right Australian Conservatives form in the next few years, made up of the remains of the Liberals, Nationals and the saner elements of One Nation. This might happen in the wake of a 2028 Labor Federal election victory, especially if Big Money gets behind the project.
Meanwhile, the centre-left effectively split in the 1990s with the rise of the Greens, taking much of the left of Labor. Preferential voting and the fact that Green voters overwhelmingly favour Labor has protected the Labor party so far. That being said, I don’t see any new Centre-left party forming and I don’t see the Greens getting much past their ceiling (in actual elections) of about 12% of the vote. They are a niche party, who attract people who care more about the climate, environment, biodiversity or Palestine than they do about their mortgage rate, the price of electricity or their marginal tax rate. To become a major party you need to talk about money.
The thing I really appreciate about the far right in this country is how well adjusted they all are.
Timmy the Heterosexual:
Loooool.
You can be assured that is not what I was implying. Rather that people who feel the need to assert their masculinity and straightness generally have some deep-seated insecurities on that front.
Jolly Jumbuck says:
Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at 11:14 pm
I used to vote Greens be into gender studies and eat tofu…… Then I heard this and now I am a maouwn….
__________________________
You are so right, I listened to the song then went outside, flipped the car over, punched myself in the face a few times, decided to deep fry a live turkey on my BBQ while getting ‘Chuck’ and ‘Norris’ tattooed on each fist.
subgrometer
Very true. House of Lords still wins as the most undemocratic structure in a supposed democracy.
Steve777 says:
Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at 11:18 pm
That being said, I don’t see any new Centre-left party forming and I don’t see the Greens getting much past their ceiling (in actual elections) of about 12% of the vote. They are a niche party, who attract people who care more about the climate, environment, biodiversity or Palestine than they do about their mortgage rate, the price of electricity or their marginal tax rate.
——————————————-
The greens are child adults that have never had to grow up and live in the real world.
Their arguments remind me of about that 12 year old age group. They do not really care about the climate or the environment or whatever because their actions say otherwise. Lots of plane flights, living in concrete jungles, not exactly in caves among the gun trees with lots of plum trees.
I will give you a recent example of how batshit stupid they are. Labor was desperate to get their changes to the environment and biodiversity acts passed. So previously farmers had a continuous use exemption where they could keep land clear that had been cleared up to 50 years before. Out of the blue the greens wanted that changed to 15 years and labor not going to lose votes over it complies.
Now I have been reliably informed that dozers pulling chains in broadscaling clearing are running around the clock in Australia as producers are desperate to get timber down that they would ordinarily be recleared over twenty of thirty year or even fifty year time frames are removing the timber en masse to get it under this time frame. The fifteen years even goes against all scientific evidence which the greens gave ignored as they are an anti-science political party. This outcome is not that good for the environment and the complete intellectual retardism of the greens is completely to blame and the idiot greens are responsible.
Miskal:
I actually don’t make that assumption.
We seem to to be in the midst of a serious realignment on the right, at least, with first the Teals and now One Nation eating away at the Coalition from both sides, and while Labor still seem to be in a comparatively healthier position, that could well change in future.
That said, we’ve also seen plenty of cases in recent decades where small parties look as though they are about to completely shake up the two-party system only to come back down to earth by election day and see their vote go back to one or both of the major parties. I admit it does feel a bit different this time, but a lot could happen before the next federal election.
Time will tell, as always.
Socrates says quoting ARKANSAS:
Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at 10:42 pm
If Albo wins the next election I’m selling up and moving to Alabama.
Can we establish some sort of verification process for this?
A lot of people would like to see it happen.
—————————
I’m happy to set up a gofund me page to make sure he does, ‘cos Albo’s win in 2028 is baked in.
Dr Fumbles:
My two cats are named Chuck and Norris. How about that! Ameowzing!
(If I ever get two kittens again I’m naming them BREXIT and TRUMP!)
“The greens are child adults that have never had to grow up and live in the real world.”
Given the demographics, I believe they do exist in the real world…
I urge the BWs, the C@tmommas, the bystanders, the JJs, thePPs, the Timmys of the world to watch this video clip.
Rachel Maddow: Trump gave the reason why he is doing Iran war
“We are doing this for the other parts of the world”
https://youtu.be/geWyWoYi6OU?si=4IKU_Cxh65gvLZza
Timmy says:
Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at 11:48 pm
Dr Fumbles:
My two cats are named Chuck and Norris. How about that! Ameowzing!
__________________
Love it, that’s pretty cool but one has to be a bad-ass Ginger tom.
Asha says:
Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at 11:34 pm
We seem to to be in the midst of a serious realignment on the right, at least, with first the Teals and now One Nation eating away at the Coalition from both sides, and while Labor still seem to be in a comparatively healthier position, that could well change in future.
—————————————–
That will change. Australia is as it stands not sustainable. Spending so much on welfare. So much gets handed to people who produce nothing. We have some of not only the highest wages, but also the highest costs of employment. All those workers rights and entitlements are not free.
Then there is all the red, green and black tape in Australia that only serve to create bullshit jobs and empires in bureaucracy.
At the moment it is only the countries obscene natural mineral wealth that is propping everything up. Lefties hate on rinehart but it is only people like her that give the lefties the ability to hate her. Without people like her the gender studies and other horseshit academic studies would not exist, because no one would have any money to fund that stupidity.
The saying Australia is the white trash of Asia, is actually pretty true the way we have gone from embracing people who create wealth to trashing real wealth creation.
“So much gets handed to people who produce nothing”
Does this include the CEO’s and investors who do nothing while real people do all the work?
Yes, those pesky workers rights are generally expensive, what with the blood they are written in…
If Albo wins the next election I’m selling up and moving to Alabama.
SocrATES: Can we establish some sort of verification process for this?
A lot of people would like to see it happen.
We should Crowd Fund this
David Littleproud’s resignation was not a surprise or sudden.
He has been a dead man walking since he split the Coalition for the second time.
And everybody knew it, and I mean everybody.
98.6:
There will probably be some fascinating political books to come in future about Ley and Littleproud’s fractured relationship. Going off of their public statements and some off-the-records remarks by their colleagues during the two Coalition splits, at least one of the two of them was clearly being dishonest about what went down behind closed doors.
Regarding the assumption that the current parties will remain for the foreseeable future, Italy serves as an interesting example that is decades ahead of the UK or Australia. It took the demise of the Christian Democrats in the mid-1990s to result in the creation of Forza Italia, then the Lega, the Five Star Party and, most recently, Brothers of Italy. The possible demise of the Liberal Party, or the Coalition as a whole, could begin the same process in Australia, with One Nation as the first of a succession of ‘new’ parties. Prior to the mid-1990s Italy had a stable 2-party system; jokes about frequent elections aside. The left remained relatively stable throughout the latter period, although the Communist Party rebranded as the Democratic Party.
Hey pied piper
Are you interested in horse racing?
The fact that according to some immigration was a minor issue for the coalition and important for one nation voters showed how out of touch libs were.
One nation is doing very well in the outer subs of Australia better than the current labor government said the last yougov poll.
Lots of new Aussies live there, so arrogant labor putdowns saying only rednecks and deplorables in the country vote labor are wrong.
They also have mortgages and have woken up to the fact they are paying for labors big spending and tax via mortgage rate increases including another next week.Labor has abondoned them by bringing more people into these areas without the infrastructure due to Fed labors gov population Ponzi scheme, where for the past 4 years under labor Australia has been mostly in a percapita recession.
Next week falsely blaming Trump will not cut it,as inflation was at 3.8% in Australia before the war started.
Oil prices up 12% in past hour on reports Iran may be taking steps to deploy mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
Err correction should have been” so arrogant labor putdowns saying” … should be one nation not labor.Re previous post.
Iran dropping mines in the Strait of Hormuz was the predictable risk Trump was running from the start of war against Iran. It will be difficult to remove them while under fire from the shore.
Meanwhile two more Iranoan footballers have defected at the airport. The rest of the team has now left. Burke seems to have handled this well
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-10/iran-womens-football-team-players/106439174
Holdenhillbilly says:
Wednesday, March 11, 2026 at 6:27 am
Oil prices up 12% in past hour on reports Iran may be taking steps to deploy mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
You mean arm the mines it’s been planting for last 20 years
I’m surprised there haven’t been more of these complaints.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/03/10/social-security-data-breach-doge/
CNN..
Recovering Iran’s remaining highly enriched uranium stockpile believed to be sitting in a storage facility deep underground, an objective the Trump administration has been discussing, would require a significant number of US ground troops beyond a small special operations footprint, seven current and former officials familiar with the military planning told CNN.
It would be easier to search for the plutonium that Iran has already shipped to US cities
New thread.
World News & Politics Patrol:
Australians serving on a US submarine which sunk an Iranian warship last week were ordered to their sleeping quarters while the operation to fire torpedoes at the enemy target was underway: https://thenightly.com.au/politics/how-australian-submariners-avoided-taking-part-in-iranian-warship-sinking–c-21892748
U.S. Consulate in downtown Toronto hit by gunfire: https://www.cp24.com/local/toronto/2026/03/10/shooting-at-us-consulate-in-toronto-being-treated-as-national-security-incident/
US detects signs Iran preparing to lay mines in Strait of Hormuz: https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h1rw1e0y11x
US Chips Found in Russia’s New “Izdeliye-30” Cruise Missile Used in Strike on Kharkiv: https://united24media.com/latest-news/us-chips-found-in-russias-new-izdeliye-30-cruise-missile-used-in-strike-on-kharkiv-16678
Saudi Arabia prepping ‘huge deal’ for Ukrainian weapons amid Iranian drone threat: https://kyivindependent.com/exclusive-saudi-arabia-prepping-huge-deal-for-ukrainian-weapons-amid-iran-threat/
Russia is the only winner of Middle East war, EU’s Costa says: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/russia-is-only-winner-middle-east-war-eus-costa-says-2026-03-10/
Nigel Farage accused of U-turn as he says UK should keep out of Iran war: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/mar/10/nigel-farage-u-turn-uk-iran-war
James Talarico Beating Both Ken Paxton And John Cornyn In Texas Senate Election, Poll Shows: https://www.latintimes.com/james-talarico-beating-both-ken-paxton-john-cornyn-texas-senate-election-poll-shows-595503
Pete Hegseth Blew Billions on Fruit Basket Stands, Chairs, and Crab: https://newrepublic.com/post/207555/pete-hegseth-billions-dollars-fruit-basket-stands-chairs-crab
US attorneys handpicked by Pam Bondi were appointed illegally, judge rules: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/10/attorneys-appointed-pam-bondi-trump
‘His Brain Is Broken’: Critics Torch ‘Unstable’ Trump After Wild Social Media Meltdown: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/trump-iran-death-fire-fury-message_n_69af851ce4b0a62acae53aa3
Good Morning! Here’s Your Daily News and Views Roundup Part 1
Jim, this is the most important budget this century. You’d better not bottle it. Shane Wright
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/jim-this-is-the-most-important-budget-this-century-you-d-better-not-bottle-it-20260310-p5o8yv.html
Paul Keating’s secret role in Trump’s super plan. Elizabeth Knight
https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/paul-keating-s-secret-role-in-trump-s-super-plan-20260310-p5o92m.html
David Littleproud leaves behind a mixed legacy, at best. James Massola
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/david-littleproud-leaves-behind-a-mixed-legacy-at-best-20260310-p5o96v.html
Nationals MPs jockey for top job after ‘buggered’ David Littleproud resigns as leader. Matt Canavan and Kevin Hogan put hands up with party expected to hold leadership election before the end of the week.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/mar/10/david-littleproud-resigns-as-leader-of-national-party-saying-hes-buggered
If there was ever a moment for Australia’s shift to renewables and EVs, this is it. Yes, Australia needs fuel. But the Middle East war also shows the necessity of setting ourselves up for the future.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/commentisfree/2026/mar/10/if-there-was-ever-a-moment-for-australias-shift-to-renewables-and-evs-this-is-it
‘A sobering preview’: extreme heat now affects one in three people globally, study finds. Rising temperatures making it hard even for young, healthy people to safely do normal physical tasks in many regions.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/10/extreme-heat-study-global-warming-physical-activity
‘Vicious cycle’: panic buying is biggest risk to Australia’s petrol supplies, experts say
Government and motoring groups say there is no shortage of fuel supplies but stockpiling has left country service stations running dry, as Iran war sparks oil price fears
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/mar/10/australia-petrol-fuel-panic-buying-oil-prices-iran-war
‘No need for panic’: Bowen calls urgent summit as fuel fears grip regions
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/no-need-for-panic-bowen-calls-urgent-summit-as-fuel-fears-grip-regions-20260310-p5o8yx.html
Panic buying blamed for driving up fuel prices as WA stations put limits on sales
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/western-australia/panic-buying-blamed-for-driving-up-fuel-prices-as-wa-stations-put-limits-on-sales-20260310-p5o98l.html
One simple way to heal American politics: run more union members. Jared Abbott and Dustin Guastella
Our research shows that candidates who come from the union movement are exactly what many Americans crave.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/10/politics-union-members
NSW Minister hits back as $111,000 icare payment to union comes to light
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/minister-unsure-why-one-of-nsw-s-largest-unions-received-111-000-donation-from-icare-20260310-p5o92y.html
Two Queensland seats would be scrapped under a long-awaited draft redraw of the state’s electoral boundaries, leaving the future of their two non-government MPs in doubt.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/queensland/two-seats-scrapped-in-proposed-redraw-of-queensland-electoral-map-20260310-p5o90z.html
Labor’s shift away from Coalition-era outsourcing is welcome, but the public service needs more than symbolic savings. As the APS rebuilds after decades of erosion, the real test will be whether Australia can move beyond the politics and develop lasting expertise.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/10/labors-shift-away-from-coalition-era-outsourcing-is-welcome-but-the-public-service-needs-more-than-symbolic-savings
Analysis: Trump’s re-election may have helped Albanese – but the US war in Iran is creating economic conundrums. Resurgent inflation, already a factor before the Middle East conflict, now risks intensifying, creating a problem for prime minister. Jonathan Barrett Business editor
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/mar/10/as-trumps-bombing-of-iran-drives-up-energy-prices-australias-labor-government-may-face-backlash
Trump has a limited time to end the war – perhaps a week at most. Clinton Fernandes
Academic and former intelligence officer
https://www.smh.com.au/world/middle-east/trump-has-a-limited-time-to-end-the-war-perhaps-a-week-at-most-20260310-p5o92h.html
Australia is looking to reshape its military production by producing its own anti-drone missiles like those being used to counter Iran as the government deploys forces to the Middle East to help stave off a longer conflict.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australia-deploying-aircraft-weapons-and-troops-to-middle-east-20260310-p5o8yi.html
Emojis, whispers and midnight visas: How five Iranian stars outran their handlers
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/emojis-whispers-and-midnight-visas-how-five-iranian-stars-outran-their-handlers-20260310-p5o8yz.html
Two more Iranians seek asylum in Australia after football team flies out – reports
Pair reportedly refused to board plane home. Team’s departure for Malaysia ends Asian Cup saga
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/mar/10/iran-womens-football-team-asylum-australia
How a bid for freedom by Iran’s women footballers went deep into extra time
The furore over not singing their anthem at the Asian Cup was only the start of the drama as players weighed up a chance to seek asylum amid uncertainty about their fate back home
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/mar/10/how-iranian-women-footballers-bid-for-freedom-went-deep-into-extra-time
‘They are safe here’: five Iranian women footballers granted humanitarian visas in Australia
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/mar/09/iran-women-football-team-australia-asian-cup
The government’s done the right thing by these Iranian players. But here’s what must happen next
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-government-s-done-the-right-thing-by-these-iranian-players-but-here-s-what-must-happen-next-20260310-p5o91n.html
Analysis: How Iranian women’s football team faced a torrid choice to stay or go home. Five players have sought asylum in Australia but neither decision was easy amid a volatile situation in the Middle East. Jack Snape
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/mar/09/iran-womens-football-team-safety-fears-australia
‘Iran is home’: Soccer players speak moments before dramatic departure from Sydney Airport
https://www.smh.com.au/national/iran-is-home-lioness-players-speak-moments-before-dramatic-departure-from-sydney-airport-20260310-p5o998.html
The Albanese government will attempt to amend the Migration Act to allow Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke to prevent cohorts of current temporary visa holders from travelling to Australia where they may claim asylum as they shelter from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/burke-seeks-expanded-powers-to-reject-temporary-visas-amid-middle-east-conflict-20260310-p5o91s.html
Labor is toughening immigration laws to stop people from some countries travelling to Australia on some temporary visas and seeking to stay permanently because of the Middle East war.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/mar/10/labor-moves-to-block-some-temporary-visa-holders-traveling-to-australia-amid-middle-east-war
Iran could face possible FIFA tournament ban if they withdraw from World Cup
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/mar/09/iran-possible-fifa-tournament-ban-world-cup-withdraw
Iranian women’s football players have asylum in Australia, but what now? – Full Story podcast
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/audio/2026/mar/10/iranian-womens-football-team-asylum-full-story-podcast
Labor MPs quietly alarmed by Albanese government’s response to US-Israel strikes on Iran
Several MPs question why the party rushed to endorse strikes that were likely in breach of international law
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/mar/10/albanese-government-response-iran-war-labor-mps
Reged Ahmad speaks to Josh Butler about whether Australia is being entangled in Trump’s ‘war of choice’
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/audio/2026/mar/10/australia-sending-weapons-gulf-war-full-story-podcast
Analysis: Vague and contradictory Trump says Iran war ‘won’, but not ‘won enough’. After oil prices surged on Monday the US president sought – and failed – to offer a clear vision for when the largest US intervention in the Middle East in years will end.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/10/trump-iran-war-over-pretty-quickly
Bombing of Iran’s oil infrastructure to have major environmental fallout, experts warn. Monitors admit they are struggling to keep track of the environmental disasters arising from widening war.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/10/bombing-of-irans-oil-infrastructure-to-have-major-environmental-fallout-experts-warn
Analysis: ‘Sounds familiar’: how the US-Israeli war in Iran parallels Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Both campaigns have been framed differently at different times, with dubious claims of defensive action and a curious reluctance to label it war. Pjotr Sauer
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/10/how-the-us-israeli-war-in-iran-parallels-russia-invasion-of-ukraine
Iran’s new supreme leader is a figure of mystery, but the symbolism is clear: the regime fights on. The rarely seen Mojtaba Khamenei is a surprise appointment, but his accession is above all a statement of defiance. Sina Toossi
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/10/iran-supreme-leader-mystery-regime-mojtaba-khamenei
Explainer: Minab school bombing: what evidence is there that the US was responsible?
Trump has blamed Iran for the mass killing at Shajareh Tayyebeh primary school but geolocation, videos and satellite imagery indicate otherwise.
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/mar/10/iran-minab-school-bombing-shajareh-tayyebeh-primary-what-evidence-us-responsible
How the Iran conflict could affect prices around the world – video explainer
https://www.theguardian.com/business/video/2026/mar/10/how-iran-middle-east-conflict-affect-prices-world-video-explainer
War is over soon? Markets’ faith in Donald Trump is misplaced. Stephen Bartholomeusz
https://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/war-is-over-soon-markets-faith-in-donald-trump-is-misplaced-20260310-p5o8ym.html
The Guardian view on Europe’s response to the Iran crisis: damage limitation only goes so far.
The US-Israeli bombardment has once again underlined Donald Trump’s indifference to international law. A stronger EU can be a vital counterweight.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/10/the-guardian-view-on-europes-response-to-the-iran-crisis-damage-limitation-only-goes-so-far-
Sanctions on Israeli settlements are working – even without the US. As a new West Bank settlement plan gains steam, now is the time for governments to take multilateral economic action.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/10/israeli-settlements-sanctions-west-bank
Explainer: Ukraine war briefing: Trump set to ease oil-related sanctions following Putin call
US president says sanctions will be removed until crisis sparked by US-Israel war on Iran eases, without giving further details. What we know on day 1,475
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/10/ukraine-war-briefing-trump-set-to-ease-oil-related-sanctions-following-putin-call
‘Extraordinary cruelty’: images show longterm ‘starvation strategy’ in Sudan.
Experts argue sensor and satellite data reveal targeted attacks on farming communities by the Rapid Support Forces were intended to prevent villages producing food.
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/ng-interactive/2026/mar/10/extraordinary-cruelty-images-show-longterm-starvation-strategy-in-sudan
Analysis: Trump’s Iran war will reinforce North Korea’s view that nuclear weapons are the only path to security. As speculation mounts that Kim Jong-un and Trump could meet this month, analysts say Pyongyang will continue to see nuclear weapons as a matter of survival.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/10/north-korea-nuclear-weapons-trump-iran-war
Fears for women’s rights in Chile as anti-abortion president set to take office. José Antonio Kast, who voted against legalising divorce in 2004, has pushed for return to total abortion ban.
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/mar/10/fears-womens-rights-chile-anti-abortion-president-jose-antonio-kast
How the US far right bought into the myth of white South Africa’s persecution.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/mar/10/how-the-us-far-right-bought-into-the-myth-of-white-south-africas-persecution
Suspicious device again reported near Zohran Mamdani’s residence. NYPD officers responded to the alert, days after two men threw homemade explosives at Gracie Mansion.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/10/suspicious-device-zohran-mamdani-residence
RFK Jr’s pick to review Covid vaccines authored misleading research, experts say
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/10/rfk-jr-pick-review-covid-vaccines
Pipeline of new drugs to fight superbugs is ‘worryingly thin’, experts warn
UK’s GSK is leading the way in research but AstraZeneca is not involved in the area, report finds
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/mar/10/new-drugs-fight-superbugs-uk-gsk-astrazeneca
I’ve taught thousands of people how to use AI – here’s what I’ve learned. Most people fail with AI because they don’t understand what it actually is – if you treat it as a skill, not a shortcut, you’ll get the best results.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/ng-interactive/2026/mar/10/teaching-ai-what-i-learned
From scripts to sermons: is AI going to be writing everything soon? Margaret Sullivan
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/10/ai-writing-everything-scripts-sermons
‘Charismatic and extremely confident’: how to recognise – and handle – a psychopath
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/mar/10/how-to-recognise-handle-psychopath
Douglas and Milkosays:
Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at 9:23 pm
Puff (and Griff)
D&M
You sound like someone after my own heart. I am too a culture warrior of the late 20th C!
The one thing I firmly believe in is the decriminalisation of drugs and transferring the issue to the Health and Education sectors. And if Mental Health services were more available (there were virtually none in the Good Olde Daze), the use of psychotropic drugs would plummet.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/see-how-much-people-in-your-area-are-gaining-from-housing-tax-breaks-20260312-p5o9pv.html
Why do people -including reputable economic journalists – continue to refer to the GST discount as a “property/housing tax break”. IT IS NOT. IT APPLIES TO ALL ASSETS, OF WHATEVER TYPE.
I’ve never paid a cent of GST on a property sale. But I have paid a crap load on other asset sales – shares and managed funds. (I’ve also had the benefit of the 50% discount on most of these CGT events).
GET IT RIGHT PEOPLE!!!