#auspol on Bluesky: Monday 25 May 2026

TOP TRENDING TOPICS

1. Katherine Keating–Epstein Documents (~15 posts, 60+ combined engagements) Widespread discussion of newly released documents showing Katherine Keating (daughter of former PM Paul Keating) coordinating meetings with Jeffrey Epstein and Kuwaiti royalty; calls for government inquiry into Australian links.

1. Negative Gearing & Capital Gains Tax Reform (~8 posts, 40+ engagements) Labor's proposed changes dominate debate; supporters argue wealthy have distorted property investment, critics claim it will harm small business and startups.

1. Teal/Community Independents Forming Political Party (~7 posts, 35+ engagements) Steggall and Spender confirm talks; community skeptical of media hype over "unnamed sources"; discussion about whether formal party structure helps or undermines independence.

1. Israel–Palestine & Australian Government Response (~10 posts, 50+ engagements) Albanese joins allies condemning settlements; criticism of ABC for uncritical reporting of Israeli statements; calls for ambassador expulsion following reports of IDF treatment of Australians.

1. Wealth Inequality & Housing Crisis (~6 posts, 25+ engagements) KPMG data highlights median wealth stagnation vs. rising average wealth; connections drawn to asset bubbles and "property ponzi schemes."

NOTABLE POSTS

@simonrosenberg.bsky.social (22 likes, 9 reposts): "Way past time that ABC journalists ceased the standard 'Israel says...', and noted the extensive evidence that: the IDF lies, the Netanyahu regime lies, and Ambassador Newman is their propagandist in Australia."

• Notable: Reflects growing frustration with media neutrality framing in conflict reporting.

@peggysanders.bsky.social (multiple threads, 50+ cumulative engagements): Detailed thread on Katherine Keating's email coordination with Epstein, including quote: "Jeffrey, I value your friendship more than you know... it has just been hard to admit it without exposing how vulnerable I really am."

• Notable: Dominates conversation; triggers demands for public inquiry despite Keating's legal denials.

@matthaggis666.bsky.social (8 likes, 3 reposts): "Political journalists and major parties panic-squawk about community independents 'being a party'... because they have similar views and vote the same way... It's about the tax treatment of venture returns."

• Notable: Captures skepticism about media narratives conflating voting alignment with formal party structure.

OVERALL SENTIMENT

The mood is fractious and conspiratorial. Trust in institutions—media, government, and major parties—is notably low. While some defend Labor's tax reforms as necessary wealth redistribution, detractors view them as ideology masquerading as policy. The Epstein–Keating revelations dominate emotional bandwidth, with users viewing them as evidence of elite capture and demanding transparency. Meanwhile, skepticism toward mainstream political players (Coalition "dead," One Nation "scamfluencers") coexists with cautious optimism about community independents, though posters remain wary of them crystallizing into a conventional party. There is sharp criticism of Australian media (ABC, Murdoch press) for either uncritical reporting or failing to investigate systemic issues like inequality and intelligence agency independence from US influence. Overall: frustrated, left-leaning, distrustful of power, and fixated on institutional accountability.

Most active: @peggysanders.bsky.social (26 posts) · Most engaged: @simonrosenberg.bsky.social (22 likes, 9 reposts, 0 replies)

TOP TRENDING TOPICS

• Bridget McKenzie expense scandal — Liberal MP facing calls to resign after claiming taxpayer funds for flights and accommodation to attend her son's wedding in Tasmania; generates significant anger over parliamentary rorting.

• Gaza flotilla activism and Israeli treatment of Australian detainees — High engagement around government response to Australian activists allegedly abused by Israeli forces; criticism of PM Albanese's perceived inaction and diplomatic weakness.

• Teal Independents considering party formation — Speculation and mixed reactions to potential new political party from community independent MPs (Spender, Steggall, Pocock); debate over whether forming a party undermines the independent mandate.

• Pauline Hanson and One Nation policy scrutiny — Fact-checking of gas export tax claims and allegations of industry capture; criticism of mainstream media platforming Hanson without accountability.

• Labor government performance and voter dissatisfaction — Posts warning Labor it has two years to deliver or lose electorates; criticism over housing policy, tax reform delays, and perceived rightward drift.

NOTABLE POSTS

@strangerous.bsky.social (181 likes, 73 reposts): "Bridget McRorter in hot water & facing calls to resign after slugging taxpayers for flights and accommodation to attend son's wedding in Tasmania... The gravy train never stops with McKenzie. As shameless as they come." — Standout for high engagement and crystallising public anger over parliamentary entitlements abuse.

@peterwmurphy1.bsky.social (19 likes, 7 reposts): "The Australian mainstream news media is brazenly right-wing. It platforms and promotes Pauline Hanson as someone who cares about 'hard-working Australians' (she doesn't) without ever holding her to account..." — Reflects broader concern about media bias and lack of accountability for populist figures.

@michaelwestbiz.bsky.social (73 likes, 42 reposts): "Violence against Gaza Flotilla activists has been enabled by Western govts continually appeasing Israel" (linking to article on Stuart Rees). — High-engagement critique of government foreign policy, representing significant activist sentiment on the platform.

OVERALL SENTIMENT

The discussion is fractious and left-leaning overall, dominated by frustration with political elites across multiple dimensions. The McKenzie scandal energises anger over "rorting" and hypocrisy; the flotilla issue channels anger at perceived government cowardice and pro-Israel bias; and discussion of Teals and Labor reflects disillusionment with establishment politics. While some posts defend parliamentary discipline or warn against party fragmentation, the dominant tone is one of distrust in institutions, media, and traditional politicians. Conspiracy-adjacent claims (Zionist influence, government corruption, media capture) appear regularly and receive modest engagement. There is also palpable concern over cost-of-living issues (housing, HECS debt, cigarette excise) and climate/environmental policy. The conversation feels adversarial and polarised rather than deliberative, with limited middle-ground positioning.

Most active: @debbienorthway.bsky.social (12 posts) · Most engaged: @strangerous.bsky.social (181 likes, 73 reposts, 27 replies)

TOP TRENDING TOPICS

• Parliamentary Expense Claims & Minchin Protocol – Senator Bridget McKenzie's Tasmania wedding trip rekindles debate over politicians using public funds for personal events; strong public sentiment demanding self-funded travel (28 likes, 15 reposts on leading post)

• Israel-Palestine & Australian Government Response – Sustained criticism of Labor's perceived inaction on Israeli conduct, focusing on Ben-Gvir video, alleged detainee abuse, and calls for weapons sanctions; Foreign Minister Wong's response deemed inadequate (multiple high-engagement posts)

• Capital Gains Tax & CGT Carve-outs – Debate over startup exemptions and budget decisions, with Jim Chalmers attacking Tim Wilson for flip-flopping on tax policy he previously advocated

• Defence Department Waste & Acquisitions Failures – Calls for Royal Commission into multi-billion-dollar Defence projects mismanagement and materiel failures (22 likes on Crikey story)

• Sex-Based Rights Bill & Discrimination Laws – Debate over sex discrimination amendments and religious exemptions, framed around competing equality frameworks

NOTABLE POSTS

[Australia Institute, 65 likes, 31 reposts]: "In an ironic act of secrecy, an FOI request… has exposed how the Attorney General's Department deliberately avoided scrutiny of the government's bungled attempt to change the nation's FOI laws." — Highlights government transparency failures and Senate Estimates testimony.

[Andrew Wilkie MP, 44 likes, 18 reposts]: Tabling of Human Rights Bill emphasizing "fairness, respect, dignity and compassion" at centre of government policy — positioned as counterpoint to government inaction on Gaza and civil liberties.

[Michael West, 28 likes, 21 reposts]: BHP using courts to suppress media coverage of coal miner wage theft case — exemplifies broader frustration with corporate accountability and press freedom.

OVERALL SENTIMENT

The discourse reflects deep disillusionment across multiple fronts. Dominant themes are governmental hypocrisy (expense claims, FOI secrecy, defence waste), perceived complicity in Israeli abuses despite Labor rhetoric, and systemic inequality (poverty, homelessness, wealth concentration). While some posts praise individual MPs (Wilkie, Shoebridge, Pocock), the prevailing tone is cynical and frustrated—voters feel politicians and institutions are unaccountable. Left-leaning criticism of Labor dominates (Gaza policy, FOI handling, tax measures). Coalition criticism centres on hypocrisy and incompetence. There is scattered support for alternative movements (Teals, Greens, independents) but skepticism about systemic reform. The mood is angry rather than hopeful.

Most active: @peggysanders.bsky.social (11 posts) · Most engaged: @australiainstitute.org.au (65 likes, 31 reposts, 3 replies)

25 May 2026, 15:00–18:00 AEST

TOP 4 TRENDING TOPICS

• Paul Brereton NACC Resignation – Australia's inaugural anti-corruption commissioner resigned after ~3 years of a 5-year term, effective 6 July. High-volume discussion centred on his alleged conflicts of interest (military ties) and failure to prosecute major scandals like Robodebt; sentiment ranged from relief to cynicism about his replacement.

• Labor's Budget Tax Changes – Capital gains tax discount reforms, negative gearing adjustments, and tax cuts dominated debate. Conservative critics warned of impacts on small business and trusts; progressive voices defended the measures as addressing inequality and funding services (NDIS, housing).

• Corruption & Institutional Accountability – Broader frustration with systemic failures: Robodebt prosecutions stalled, institutional capture, and perceived impunity for political/corporate wrongdoing. Posts called for genuine anti-corruption reform and questioned whether real accountability would follow Brereton's exit.

• Disinformation & Democratic Decline – Concerns about media capture (Murdoch influence), foreign state actors hacking MPs, and voters absorbing misinformation from tabloids (Herald Sun, 3AW). One Nation and "Teal" party speculation linked to broken two-party system and media failure.

NOTABLE POSTS

@ajgardineresq.bsky.social (124 likes, 53 reposts): "Paul Brereton resignation statement: 'Over the last three years, much progress has been made...' Can you give us an example, Paul? Just one, teeny tiny example? Asking for 450,000 Robodebt victims." Most-engaged post. Captures widespread anger that Brereton's tenure coincided with zero prosecutions of Robodebt architects—the scandal that delegitimised the NACC from inception.

@chrispomfret.bsky.social (34 likes, 7 reposts): "I'm really angry that our government is not doing more to protect institutions, knowledge, facts, science, etc, from disinformation... I'm even more angry that they/we let nefarious corporations, political & foreign actors spread disinformation & hate." Articulates deeper anxiety about institutional erosion and foreign interference, resonating with concerns about US-style democratic backsliding.

@disirregardless.bsky.social (14 likes, 8 reposts): "None of these smug cunts have suffered any kind of inconvenience let alone punishment for their role in the deadly Robodebt scheme. Mission accomplished I guess..." Distils bitter sentiment that Brereton's departure solves nothing without prosecutions; reflects despair that power protects power.

OVERALL SENTIMENT

The mood is angry, cynical, and fractured. While many view Brereton's resignation as overdue, there is pervasive pessimism that his replacement will be any better—fears of another "Labor lapdog" protecting the political class. The Robodebt scandal looms large: nearly 450,000 victims and zero prosecutions fuel accusations that the NACC was corrupted from inception.

Separately, Labor's tax reforms generate polarised reactions—progressive voices see them as necessary wealth redistribution and funding for NDIS/housing; conservatives warn of overreach and small-business harm, with some amplifying misinformation (e.g., false claims about disabled trusts).

Underlying both threads is systemic distrust: frustration with media capture (Murdoch dominance), foreign interference, the two-party duopoly, and a pervasive sense that institutions have been hollowed out. While institutional failures are criticised, solutions feel distant; some posts invoke democratic decay parallels to the US and call for fundamental reform (proportional representation, genuine anti-corruption teeth). The tone oscillates between grim determination to hold power accountable and resignation that nothing will change.

Most active: @coupdegraz7.bsky.social (17 posts) · Most engaged: @ajgardineresq.bsky.social (124 likes, 53 reposts, 15 replies)