@brenthodgson
“Strike at the roots, not the branches.” At the intersection of people, data and politics. Using data to know them, love them, and work it better. Trouble. But good trouble. “Kooyongkoot”, Wurundjeri Land. (Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia.)
…but also (and this is kinda the crucial issue here)…
…you’re not local, you haven’t had any prior experience of orange meaning something other than One Nation, local independents make locally-relevant choices, and whether outsiders carry a bias is of little relevance to a local by-election…
2. Milthorpe’s vote (in orange) was THREE TIMES One Nation’s at the last election.
The fact they know so little about the local Albury-Wodonga region & its history says everything you need to know:
One Nation’s a big-city party that reckons everything that happens in regions is about them.
😂 ex-One Nation campaign director Craig Kelly showing PHON’s big-city arrogance.
1. Rural INDs have run & won in orange in Albury-Wodonga region since 2013:
-before Pauline in Senate (2016)
-before PHON reg’d in NSW (2018)
-before PHON contested Indi/Farrer (2022)
-before “teals” existed (2022)
🔥🔥🔥
PS - If you would like to support a community-backed independent to deliver in line with local values - here’s where to volunteer, donate, host a corflute or otherwise support Michelle Milthorpe:
michellemilthorpe.com.au
Niki Savva on how Farrer is shaping up to be a two-horse race between One Nation and independent Michelle Milthorpe.
(In her view, this leaves the Liberals at a crossroads: should they put One Nation last as they once did, or become “One Nation Lite”?)
www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...
The Liberal Election Review contains 35 mentions of “Labor”, 42 of “ALP”, but 52 of “teal”.
You’d assume a functional Opposition would be FAR more interested in the Government’s ~18 seat majority than ~6 members of the crossbench.
(Interesting analysis by @browne90.bsky.social below.)
NB: the next speaker notes the consequence of institutional landlords is higher rents - that institutional landlords focus on premium offerings and expect returns.
They do little (if anything) to improve affordability.
www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentar...
Senator BRAGG: It seems to me that there's a lot of arbitrage here. At the moment, sure, mum-and-dad investors are incentivised to provide rental supply to other Australians. Some people think that's good; other people think that's bad. The government, nonetheless, have a whole agenda to support the idea of institutions engaging in providing properties for others to rent, whether that be through their build-to-rent tax arrangements or the changes that the Treasurer is asking ASIC to look at to the disclosure arrangements through RG 97, which I know that the Property Council and others have pushed. And there's the Housing Australia Future Fund. There appears to be a big push here to replace mums and dads with institutions. Is there any evidence that mums and dads are bad landlords? Dr Tulip : There's a lot. Australia has some of the worst rental insecurity in the OECD. We have more turnover of tenants, and that turnover is disproportionately driven by landlords. That reflects the fact that we have the wrong landlords—that most of our rental stock is owned by mum-and-dad investors, as you mention, who only offer very short leases, and they churn. I think the median rental property in Australia only lasts as a rental for five years. It's more than double that in many European countries, because their rental stock is owned by large landlords who offer long-term leases and want the tenants to stay as long as they can. So, yes, I think there are strong arguments for preferring institutional landlords over mum-and-dad landlords.
In case you thought the housing crisis couldn’t get any worse…
Here’s the CIS advocating for big business to take a bigger role in the rental sector as build-to-rent institutional landlords:
I like what she proposes around planning laws too.
It won't solve the housing shortage, but it will take pressure off it quickly.
I think a clever idea.
Best of luck to Clare Glade-Wright, Independent for Huon (upper house TAS) on May 2nd!
www.facebook.com/reel/1570192...
The Northern NSW Health District area, yeah. Probably the Measles alert capital of Australia too:
Feb 2024
Dec 2024
Feb 2025
Apr 2025
Aug 2025
“The time for action is now. The ongoing delays torment those who are losing their jobs, livelihoods or simply remaining silent due to a lack of protection and support. When whistleblowers don’t speak up, everyone suffers."
Read the full article: https://theaus.in/4bYxw5y
If you’re curious to see the One Nation spending you can check out transparency.aec.gov.au/AnnualPoliti...
The screenshot below shows their annual returns for the past few years.
Party candidates tend not to declare any spending themselves.
An example of this is Tim Wilson, whose campaign for Goldstein against Zoe Daniel declared $0 in spending.
The party is where the spending gets declared instead.
My new out of office message
Yes. But not a winnable seat for them typically.
Crazily, in 2001 when Tim Fisher resigned and Ley won, the two party preferred was Liberal vs Nationals, with the Liberals winning by 0.1%
Oh no need for sorry! It’s tucked away.
Here’s a quick video showing me clicking through to the BIG list of election returns - then searching for a candidate’s name and then looking up their election returns directly.
We don’t fear the ugliness they bring 💪
Ugly is easier than messy
Having two independents in the field would be worse than having one and a bunch of right wing parties.
AEC disclosures list them for independents
Parties file as a group though, so they aren’t as transparent.
Just $278,872 was spent in Farrer by c-IND @michellemilthorpe.bsky.social – who won the major pop’n centre of Albury 2CP.
A small IND campaign scaling up; retiring sitting LIB; and ON splitting LIB votes would all help narrow the 6.2% margin – potentially adding another c-IND to parliament.
Indeed. “Those that work forces” is a reference to law enforcement in the song.
A famous Australian example was William Mackay, a NSW police commissioner who modelled the first “Police Boys Clubs” (now PCYC) after Nazi labour youth battalions.
I’m a big fan of the crossbench - but I reckon his best position for now (while we have a do-little government with an unprecedented majority) is more of this frank advocacy from the backbench.
There’s too little of it happening inside government for now, and they need a kick up the bum from inside
Working in the University sector at a business research and innovation hub, I was asked to take Husic on a tour of the hub in his capacity as Industry & Science Minister.
My impression was of a lovely guy who genuinely wanted to see funding used well in advancing Australia’s long term wellbeing.
I’ll forgive him given a third of his constituents will be there. If this kind of visibility keeps the blue team from winning that seat, I can live with it.
(Actually, mine says “stop texting and pat me!”)
On a happier note: beautiful dog in your profile pic. Mine says “hi”
Perhaps that kind of jackboot tolerance is the wrong kind of social cohesion to be fostering.
He’s not wrong.
