Roy Morgan’s weekly federal poll maintained its volatile form in having Labor up three to 28.5%, after being down two the week before; One Nation down one to 25%; the Coalition up one-and-a-half to 23.5%, reversing its change in the last poll; and the Greens down three after a series of strong results to 12.5%. With the Greens’ loss cancelling out Labor’s gain, Labor’s two-party leads over the Coalition actually narrow slightly, from 52-48 to 51.5-48.5 on previous election preferences and 53-47 to 52-48 on respondent-allocated preferences. Labor’s respondent-allocated two-party lead over One Nation was unchanged at 53-47. The poll was conducted Monday to Sunday from a sample of 1576.
Also of note:
• Chris Gatenby, former state party president and until recently an adviser to Premier Jeremy Rockliff, was sworn in on Monday as the successor to Tasmanian Liberal Senator Wendy Askew. Gatenby will also lead the party’s Senate ticket at the next election, followed by former state government minister Sarah Courtney, who will presumably be filling Jonno Duniam’s vacancy when he follows through on his recently announced retirement. Third on the ticket is Latrobe councillor Jacki Martin.
• Paul Sakkal of Nine Newspapers reports that Nicolle Flint, who held the Adelaide seat of Boothby for the Liberals from 2016 to 2022 and ran unsuccessfully in 2025, is “mulling a preselection challenge” against Tony Pasin, member for the rural seat of Barker. This occurs against a backdrop of discord within the party’s South Australian branch, and its conservative camp in particular, over the bid for the state presidency by Senator Alex Antic, a close ally of Pasin’s and a rival of Flint’s. Mike Smithson at InDaily reports on ongoing speculation as to who might run against Antic when the matter is determined at the branch’s annual general meeting on September 19, one possibility being Flint herself. The meeting will also determine the order of the Senate ticket for the next election, raising the possibility of incumbents Andrew McLachlan, Kerrynne Liddle and Leah Blyth being shunted in favour of a candidate aligned with Antic.
• A by-election will be held for one of the 25 seats in the Northern Territory parliament on September 12 following the resignation of Yiŋiya Mark Guyula, who has held the eastern Arnhem Land seat of Mulka (formerly Nhulunbuy) as an independent since 2016.
WB
Can I ask why newyboy is banned from posting Ukraine news?
Because of two emotionally incontinent comments last night that I did everyone the favour of deleting, the unsuitability of this forum to his pursuit of his particular obsession, and his blithe disregard of my past requests for him to rein it in.
WB
Ok, got it. Thanks for your response.
Natural Philosophy
@Naturalphilosy
“It is extraordinary how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness.”
— Leo Tolstoy
12:43 PM · Aug 18, 2026
9.2K
Views
Now it has established by a string of polls that ALP PV is under 30, which IMO is a not good portend for future.
I’ve often wondered whether there is anyone in the MSM quite as feckless as Chicken Masala (who won some CPG award or other for dipshit of the year recently), but behold Waleed Aly has answered the call: Waleed opines “Never have I known the parliament and public opinion to be so out of alignment.”
Obviously Waleed was in a coma during the Gillard years after the deal she brokered with the Greens Political Party. Right now, the government isn’t loved, but there is little sign that it is about to receive the Royal Order of the Boot either.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/albanese-is-manipulating-his-rivals-to-wage-war-on-one-nation-it-s-unlikely-to-work-20260820-p60q0b.html
Maybe ICAC should call Dom back from Washington.. he can pick his brother up on the way back…
She has also told the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) inquiry that her subsequent sacking as a minister in the Dominic Perrottet government in July 2022 – allegedly for bullying staff – was unfair and potentially motivated by her reluctance to sack the building commissioner.
“Have you come to suspect that you … you or your office through (your chief of staff)was being in effect used to try to get rid of Mr Chandler?” the counsel assisting Peggy Dwyer SC asked.
“Subsequently, yes,” Petinos replied.
“I thought there was something very strange at play for Dominic to take the action that he did so swiftly or so coldly and without the opportunity to even put me in front of the cameras. That seemed bizarre,” she told Icac on Thursday.
Elders of a wealthy Christian sect secretly paid bundles of cash to far-right activists for an “influence campaign” to disrupt Albanese government appearances during the last federal election.
An investigation by this masthead has uncovered a digital trail of evidence revealing how the church, formerly known as the Exclusive Brethren, mobilised far-right figures around the country to track and heckle candidates from Labor and the Greens, along with independents, as part of a wider multimillion-dollar campaign for then-Liberal leader Peter Dutton.
https://archive.is/5mRPV
More on David Chandler..
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/a-simple-idea-that-could-help-solve-our-housing-crisis-20260812-p60nml.html
Chandler has now put himself forward to head the delivery of his “intentionally disruptive” project – named MM3 – should the Minns government adopt it, saying the housing initiative required someone like him with a reputation for “getting stuff done”.
World News & Politics Patrol:
Russia runs out of petrol at seven in 10 stations as fuel crisis worsens: https://www.euronews.com/2026/08/20/russia-runs-out-of-petrol-at-seven-in-10-stations-as-fuel-crisis-worsens
Portugal enacts ‘burqa law’ banning face coverings in public space: https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/08/20/portugal-enacts-burqa-law-banning-face-coverings-in-public-space
South Korea estimates North Korea has up to 120 nuclear warheads, far above Trump’s figure: https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/south-korea-estimates-north-korea-has-up-120-nuclear-warheads-far-above-trumps-2026-08-20/
North Korea fires 10 missiles day after Trump curtails South Korea joint drills: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/20/north-korea-fires-10-missiles-day-after-trump-curtails-south-korea-joint-drills
ICE, Iran quietly worked together on deporting Iranians to Iran, emails show: https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/ice-iran-quietly-worked-together-101111801.html
Ebola outbreak out of control in Democratic Republic of the Congo, WHO says: ‘It is spreading faster than our ability to contain it’: https://english.elpais.com/international/2026-08-20/ebola-outbreak-out-of-control-in-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-who-says-it-is-spreading-faster-than-our-ability-to-contain-it.html
UK cinemas consider ban on Meta glasses: https://news.sky.com/story/uk-cinemas-consider-ban-on-meta-glasses-13574686
Ministers now forced to tell asylum seekers ‘DON’T rape women’: ‘Insane’ new booklet teaches migrants how to avoid committing sex crimes in Britain: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16064841/The-rape-guide-Insane-new-government-booklet-teaches-asylum-seekers-avoid-committing-sex-crimes-British-women.html
DOGE destroyed how America forecasts its weather. Everyone is mad about it: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/doge-noaa-weather-usa-b3035937.html
U.S. Airman Arrested Over Call to Impeach Trump Is Detained Again: https://newrepublic.com/post/214532/us-airman-arrested-call-impeach-trump-detained
Ossoff: ‘Amazing to watch this White House melt down’ over Harp remark: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/6040557-jon-ossoff-white-house-feud-donald-trump-natalie-harp/
US power grid at risk of 18-month blackout; 1 city now in dark for more than a week: https://www.nj.com/news/2026/08/us-power-grid-at-risk-of-18-month-blackout-1-city-now-in-dark-for-more-than-a-week.html?mrfcid=202608206a8604b88b47c37b1ea3359c
Darline Graham Just Made Her Disastrous Foreign Policy Gaffe Worse: https://newrepublic.com/post/214557/darline-graham-foreign-policy-trans-south-carolina
‘Political earthquake’ in Western Pennsylvania as Democrats flip deep-red district in special election: https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/pennsylvania-house-democrat-brandon-dukes-flip-20260819.html
Donald Trump’s Crypto Firm Gets Approval To Operate As A Bank. What Could Go Wrong?: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-crypto-bank_n_6a85e09fe4b0e9f1dd270377?origin=home-latest-news-unit
US retail giant receives $1bn boost from tariff refunds: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c78gp4y8d3eo
US aircraft carrier arrives in Middle East to relieve troubled USS Lincoln: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/20/uss-lincoln-washington-sailors-military
Multistate salmonella infections climb to 431, US CDC says: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/multistate-salmonella-infections-climb-431-us-cdc-says-2026-08-19/
FBI thwarts an alleged ISIS-inspired plot to bomb New York Capitol building: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fbi-thwarts-isis-plot-bomb-new-york-capitol-building-rcna593595
Not a bad defence and explanation of Super.
Australia accidentally built one of the world’s great pools of patient capital, tied to worker retirement and national stability.
A practical, boring, compulsory, deeply Australian machine.
The world’s greatest accidental hedge fund.
And before we let the grievance merchants take a crowbar to it in the name of “common sense”, we should remember what it is actually for.
The future.
A place politicians visit rarely, but superannuation, thankfully, already owns property.
https://snarkygherkin.substack.com/p/the-superpower-we-built-by-accident?r=1sgi1v&utm_medium=ios
HH @6.42am
Interesting. The most surprising thing about these results is that 44 per cent or more of voters would contemplate voting for Vance. He’s such an unappealing character. I wouldn’t want him as my next door neighbour, let alone as the leader of the country in which I live.
AOC doing more poorly than Kamala seems unfair to me. AOC is a vastly superior political talent, even if I personally don’t agree with many of her ideas. And she seems to have been working on her voice, which was a bit too squeaky for politics. But it seems that – outside of the college campuses and the top end of town – the US voters are not greatly enamoured with the DSA.
The popularity of Newsom and Ossoff I get: they come across as powerful old-style political brawlers, which is what Dem supporters seem to be after just now. Newsom is a particularly effective scrapper. Ossoff is good too, but everything he does seems to be a tad stage managed (after all, he was a film maker before he became a politician). It’d be interesting to see how he goes on a debate stage.
The popularity of Buttegieg I don’t get. He always sounds to me like he’s giving a powerpoint presentation. If he runs in the primaries, I will be astonished if he goes at all well. Having South Carolina as the first primary will test him out.
At this early stage, I’d have Harris (the Dems are a sentimental bunch), Newsom and Ossoff as the early frontrunners. Newsom has a mountain of baggage from his time in California politics: heaps of scandals and misjudgements. But he remains my preferred pick: he’s much easier to imagine sitting in the Oval Office doing the job than are the others.
I asked AI what our debt is relative to America’s:
‘Australia’s 2026–27 Budget estimates gross Commonwealth debt at A$982 billion, while US gross federal debt has just passed US$40 trillion.
So, per head of population, US federal debt is roughly five times Australia’s Commonwealth debt.
There is another important comparison: debt relative to the size of the economy. Australia is currently around 33% of GDP in gross Commonwealth debt, whereas US gross federal debt is around 120% of GDP.
So the US position is considerably heavier both per person and relative to GDP’.
Revolutionary Quisling @7.07am
Yes, quite a good article. But the basic premise, that we built our superannuation system by accident, is totally incorrect. The Hawke-Keating governments and the public servants who supported them, always intended for the system to develop into what it has become.
As I always say, in the 1980s we had the best government I think we are ever likely to get, with Curtin-Chifley in the 1940s being the only other serious contender for the title (and, but for the insanely stupid bank nationalisation policy, the contest might have been a tie).
In comparison to the giants of the past, the current mob are pretty mediocre. To give the latest example: what made Albo feel that he needed to open his mouth about the Sydney Swans stuff? Presumably he was hoping to push media attention away from a certain variety of fruit.
If I were a journo, I’d be pressing Albo to explain exactly what he thought was wrong with the initial response. Is he suggesting that the players should have been suspended for the rest of the season before the club had made any sort of inquiry?
He says that their “first thoughts should have been always about women and their safety.” Does that mean he thinks the club should have done something in regard to the women? You know, the victims of the alleged crime whom would be witnesses for the prosecution in any future court proceedings? Would it have been a good idea for the club to have approached them?
He’s starting to come across as the ning-nong that, despite being a canny wheeler and dealer, he has always been in his heart. The luvvies on PB think that melongate was some sort of beat up. But it led to some seriously negative coverage of Albo and Australia in global media.
He urgently needs a reset. How about he stops going on moronic podcasts and starts trying to govern as well as he possibly can?
The full Emerson 2028 Presidential polling.
https://emersoncollegepolling.com/august-2026-national-poll/
– The D.C. Brief
I hope they flourish.
Mavis
There seem to be two schools of thought among economists about the burgeoning US debt. One is that it is a catastrophic problem that will eventually lead to a major correction that will be unbearably painful for both the US and the global economy.
The other school of thought is that the size and centrality of the US economy is such that the rest of the world will have no choice but to find ways of continuing to prop it up, and therefore it can go on running up the bill at the bar for ever.
Sadly, I suspect that the first school of thought will ultimately prove to be correct. Something is going to break badly pretty soon, and the current highs of world stock markets are going to crash pretty badly.
Mavis
I hadn’t seen you as a Republican supporter.
Revolutionary Quislingsays:
Friday, August 21, 2026 at 7:07 am
Not a bad defence and explanation of Super.
Australia accidentally built one of the world’s great pools of patient capital, tied to worker retirement and national stability.
A practical, boring, compulsory, deeply Australian machine.
The world’s greatest accidental hedge fund.
And before we let the grievance merchants take a crowbar to it in the name of “common sense”, we should remember what it is actually for.
The future.
A place politicians visit rarely, but superannuation, thankfully, already owns property.
https://snarkygherkin.substack.com/p/the-superpower-we-built-by-accident?r=1sgi1v&utm_medium=ios
__________________
I love superannuation, and I despise superannuation.
I love superannuation because, not only have we built the world’s greatest savings pool, and ensured dignity for millions upon millions of retirees, but is the most definitive act ever to put the ownership of capital into the hands of workers.
I despise superannuation, because it will be forever the most annoying cudgel of a roling wealth inequality debate, constantly fiddling and adjusting settings leading to supercycles of crippling political anguish, because no one can leave it the hell alone.
I didn’t see it, maybe no one else did either, but apparently Albanese was on 730 last night saying it was mistake to go on Bush Deep
Um yeah lol
I haven’t watched 730, or the news, for a few years now. They were both a nightly much watch in the past
Still wake up with RN Breakfast though so get my news from there, here and on the Fediverse
I see that HBG is having to double up on the provocative trolling in order to lure in a few more suckers.
Yep. Sometimes the trips out are longer than that but site fidelity is a thing.
Andrew_Earlwoodsays:
Friday, August 21, 2026 at 5:34 am
I’ve often wondered whether there is anyone in the MSM quite as feckless as Chicken Masala (who won some CPG award or other for dipshit of the year recently), but behold Waleed Aly has answered the call: Waleed opines “Never have I known the parliament and public opinion to be so out of alignment.”
Obviously Waleed was in a coma during the Gillard years after the deal she brokered with the Greens Political Party. Right now, the government isn’t loved, but there is little sign that it is about to receive the Royal Order of the Boot either.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/albanese-is-manipulating-his-rivals-to-wage-war-on-one-nation-it-s-unlikely-to-work-20260820-p60q0b.html
____________________
Waleed is half right at least acknowledging that Labor is doing deals with a variety of groups in parliament. Though Gillard aside, he also forgot the last week of November 2024 when like 30+ pieces of legislation were passed in block.
Besides, the sulk-fest of “Labor does dodgy deals with X” changes month-to-month. A much more in-tune journalist would then ask “what’s next?”
Live
National News Live
‘Clearly, that was an error’: PM wouldn’t do podcast if he had his time again
_______________________
Well there you go.
He’s made fools of Plibersek, Gallagher and Rishworth.
And at a local level Entropy and Boerwar.
I love the smell of napalm in the morning. It smells like victory.
It’s interesting some hold Mark Butler up as an alternative leader but I’m not impressed and he is burning a lot of bridges in slashing the NDIS and putting, not a cap, on veterans ancillary health services
Maybe a deliberate move from those on the right to burn his leadership ambitions, if he has any?
It’ll be interesting to see how the Liberals stuff in SA plays out today, can they save the party from Antic?
I’ll be even more interested in hearing Dean Cox and Callum Mills though, I’m sure it’ll be a much watched press conference although there’ll be some no go topics due to the police investigation
Time for work, have a great Friday Comrades
A discussion on the role of modeling and of joining up responses with respect to the role of invasive species’ contribution to biodiversity decline.
https://www.theguardian.com/flinders-university-pulse-of-australia-2026/2026/jul/29/invasive-species-are-an-evolving-threat-how-we-respond-is-crucial
The example given – the eradication of pigs on Kangaroo Island following the widespread fires there – is instructive for two reasons. Total eradication on islands is much easier than total eradication on continents. The second reason – Koalas are feral on Kangaroo Island.
For me, the big question arises from the premise that there are so many currently destructive invasives and so many sleeper invasives that there is a need to prioritize on a national basis the tiny counter-invasive responses dollars on the one hand and the palliative care dollars on the other.
Apart from that, I am all for modeling and AI in this field to make the application of the dollars as efficient and effective as possible.
There are various ways of responding to Ali’s views.
With respect to the lower house and in terms of numbers of reps, Ali is right. Labour has a huge majority of MPs but only around a third of those polled.
However, the Senate has a far more representative swill and it is there where the dirty deals must be done to get anything through at all.
The absence of around 40 ON reps and senators means that the Parliament IS unrepresentative.
If Ali is moping because the Senate Melonheads constantly talk themselves out of any compromises, then Ali is talking out of his arse. They are stuck in the low teens and are the acme of unrepresentative swill.
Forty years ago Pommy Whingers were a thing.
Today?
Aussie whingers like Ali abound.
meher baba:
Friday, August 21, 2026 at 7:38 am
My beef is with the Democratic leadership, which has been abysmal
in taking it up to Trump, particularly Schumer. They’ve created a void that the DSA is only too pleased to attempt to fill. Viva la revolución!
There is a JWS poll on AI data centre sentiment out – including some voting intention data.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/20/australia-artificial-intelligence-public-opinion-01043248
HBG
Surely not! Who? Where? When?
I mean, he’s a smart guy who is doing a good job as a minister, but he’s hardly leadership material IMO.
Morning all. On domestic politics, thanks HH for this story on the Exclusive Brethren not only using its own members to campaign for the Liberals in the last election, but their funds paying for political activists.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/exclusive-brethren-secretly-paid-far-right-activists-to-perform-stunts-disrupting-the-federal-election-20260812-p60nma.html
This parallels the inquiry into NSW Liberal figures appearing to use the Catholic Education office for internal Liberal party activities.
At what point does this attract regulatory action? Both the Exclusive Brethren and Catholic Education would attract tax exempt status as apolitical religious and charitable organisations. Catholic Education receives government funding, on condition it is used to fund education. Yet here they both are acting in a highly political manner, using their (tax exempt) funds to do so.
I am not a lawyer but I question the legality of this. Is it time for somebody in government to remind both organisations of the law?
I just heard an Army vet speak on RN, who served for 28 years but was medically discharged as a result of a spinal injury. It’s estimated that 1 in 10 vets will be affected by the $5000 cap for allied health care. If I were Keogh, I’d make provision for vets to exceed the cap, subject to a comprehensive medical/psychiatric report on why they need to do so.
Mavis
But they fill the void with ideas like getting rid of Thanksgiving, defunding the police, abolishing prisons, and national borders, etc. Which damages the reputation of the Dems as a whole.
Schumer is utterly useless and should be replaced forthwith. I’m not exactly sure by who, now that Klobuchar has decided to run for governor of Minnesota. If AOC had a crack at the Senate, I would favour her: she’s far better than the mob she runs with.
All credit to the government for getting stuff done, albeit through “dodgy deals”. It sure beats inaction and neglect. And yes, the gambling ads legislation is inadequate, but it’s something.
But I’d like to see us grow some balls over the murder of Zomi Frankcom, the pathetic IDF investigation into it and the Israeli ambassador’s persistent lecturing to us on what we have to accept and how to run our country. Israeli involvement in another country’s internal affairs may be part of the new world order, but it stinks.
If we have the balls to take the moral high ground on an issue like having BRS stand trial for his actions, we can take a similar stand on the IDF’s actions which are vastly more prevalent and bad.
The moral high ground on the Zomi Frankcom murder is to send the ambassador home, or to publicly invite Israel to take him back.
An armed Jewish police force? Minns defies police and opens the door
https://michaelwest.com.au/an-armed-jewish-police-force-minns-defies-police-and-opens-the-door/
“NSW Police examined this proposal and warned the Premier it would fracture the state. Chris Minns is doing it anyway.
:::
And that rejection would be correct. A privilege unthinkable for any other community is not security policy. It is favouritism with a firearms licence, the state deciding whose fear earns guns and whose fear earns batons.
The Community Security Group is not legally a police force and would not acquire general police powers. That, precisely, is the problem. Minns proposes putting armed private guards into public space without the command, accountability, discipline or universal duty owed by NSW Police.
CSG operates under the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, combining security professionals and volunteers to protect Jewish life, institutions and events. Its licensed guards already carry firearms at approved Jewish schools and synagogues.
Extending that into public gatherings crosses the line between guarding private premises and wielding armed power among the public.”
Socrates:
Friday, August 21, 2026 at 8:27 am
You don’t need to be a lawyer to know that the Exclusive Brethren (now formally known as the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (PBCC) & other fringe religious groups are taking advantage of their charitable status. I hope Labor acts on this and removes that status.
Socrates says:
Friday, August 21, 2026 at 8:27 am
Morning all. On domestic politics, thanks HH for this story on the Exclusive Brethren not only using its own members to campaign for the Liberals in the last election, but their funds paying for political activists.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/exclusive-brethren-secretly-paid-far-right-activists-to-perform-stunts-disrupting-the-federal-election-20260812-p60nma.html
This parallels the inquiry into NSW Liberal figures appearing to use the Catholic Education office for internal Liberal party machinations.
At what point does this attract regulatory action? Both the Exclusive Brethren and Catholic Education would attract tax exempt status as apolitical religious and charitable organisations. Yet here they are acting in a highly political manner, using their (tax exempt) funds to do so.
I am not a lawyer but I question the legality of this. Is it time for somebody in government to remind them of the law?
__________
The links with Advance and neo-nazi types don’t look very pleasant. Did Roth’s contributions to Advance help fund these activities? Roth is married to Segal who maintains that she had no knowledge of Roth’s contributions to Advance.
What a tangled web we weave.
Bondi Royal Commission. A “slippery slope to eroding our freedoms”
https://michaelwest.com.au/bondi-royal-commission-a-slippery-slope-to-eroding-our-freedoms/
Luigi Smith
+1
We could go further and report the IDF figures involved to the ICC. As long as the IDF can behave in this way with impunity, their members will keep doing it.
I also agree with booting the Israeli ambassador. Several Israeli ambassadors to Australia have interfered with Australia’s internal politics in a way not normal for most foreign governments. Again they will keep doing it as long as they can get away with it.
Politically some will scream with outrage, but they are largely anti-Labor figures.
It cant be said enough how important super has become in terms of re-investing back into Australia. It’s why we are as wealthy as we are. We dont have to only use debt to drive growth. Agreed with MB, this was no accident though.
Recently I cam across the newly created Power and Consequences podcast. Hosted by Gary Gensler (served as the chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)) & Simon Johnson (served as Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund. and is a Nobel Laureate) it is an impressive tour of macro economic and other issues.
This episode was about debt used to dive growth in the US.
https://www.powerandconsequences.com/p/episode-22-is-us-government-debt
Mavissays:
Friday, August 21, 2026 at 8:29 am
I just heard an Army vet speak on RN, who served for 28 years but was medically discharged as a result of a spinal injury. It’s estimated that 1 in 10 vets will be affected by the $5000 cap for allied health care. If I were Keogh, I’d make provision for vets to exceed the cap, subject to a comprehensive medical/psychiatric report on why they need to do so.
___________________
That is already in place
“Veterans with a critical or acute health need will continue to be supported. This will include additional support above the limit where this is clinically indicated. ”
https://www.dva.gov.au/about-us/publications/budgets/budget-2026-27/changes-for-allied-health-from-july-2027
But in practice this is unlikely to happen, because what neither side is willing to say out loud is that this is a cap on largely woo medicine.
meher baba:
Friday, August 21, 2026 at 8:29 am
Mavis
You’re referring to the extreme left. Those such as Sanders, AOC, Mandami & El-Sayed are more moderate.
An AI search of some of the claims you refer to has this to say:
Anyone know yet which way Federal Greens MPs are deciding regarding the Great Koala Park? This story came out on the 13th but I don’t think we have discussed it as yet.
https://archive.is/IWrMF
“Dailan Pugh has fought on the frontlines of Australia’s forest wars since the 1970s. In all that time, he says, he never expected to see one of the movement’s elders, Bob Brown, take a position alongside the Nationals, One Nation and loggers, and against a coalition of forest conservation activists.
But here we are.”
MB
This first school are the academic economists and independent experts.
This second group are the business lobbyists and pro Republican cheer squad in right wing think tanks. If you can name an independent mainstream economist of high repute in this category I’d like to know who they are.
The last two times US debt was growing this fast the world ended up in recession (1987 and 2008).
Mavis
Calling it a cap is a little misleading.
It’s simply the point where you stop getting the service no questions asked and have to prove that you need it.
Doesn’t seem a very onerous provision, and arguably it should happen up front, before any treatment is paid for.
Bizzcan says,
“because what neither side is willing to say out loud is that this is a cap on largely woo medicine.”
——————-
Yeah, Sure.
My feed already deluges me with stuff about medicinal marijuana for veterans and what I need to do so ensure an ongoing federally funded supply. Thanks, but no thanks. I’m already psychotic enough, I’m sure. So there’s that.
But there are already specific measures being implemented to constrain access to legitimate “allied health” services.
Two weeks ago I had a total knee replacement. Part of that procedure involves post-operative physiotherapy. If I were at a public hospital, I could use their outpatient physio after discharge. If I were in a private hospital on health insurance, access to a private provider is automatic and needs no referral. But because I have a DVA gold card, I must now go to my doctor for a referral or DVA won’t pay.
That’s just bureaucratic frogshit that’s designed to restrict access to an essential service. And it’d cost the government more for the referral – if I could actually get into my car to drive to the doctor to get it.
So, I think the characterisation of all “allied health” services as woo medicine is disinformation.
I commend watching yesterday’s Question Time where Michael McCormack challenged Keogh to name one external (to DVA) agency that supported the changes. Keogh blubbered incoherently in reply.
Bizzcan:
Friday, August 21, 2026 at 8:55 am
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Thanks for that. Therefore, some Vets appear to be acting in bad faith, especially if the basis of their complaints concerns “woo medicine”, which would presumably include those “Green” shops that are popping up in shopping centres & elsewhere.
William, because you have a problem with what I posted, I’m done with you. (Your BludgerTrack is a masterpiece, though.)
Socrates, Entropy, Victoria and C@tmomma – you guys have been great here. I’ll still be looking at your posts.
Everyone else – nice knowing you all.
With the way the Senate works and the current numbers, all legislation other than routine housekeeping requires “dodgy” deals, either with the Opposition of the Greens. No one gets what they want, but hopefully a reasonable proportion of it.