#auspol on Bluesky: Wednesday 21 October 2026

1. TOP 3–5 TRENDING TOPICS

• Political violence and threats after the attack on Helen Haines: The dominant thread, with posts blaming Murdoch media, social media, and "inflamed" political rhetoric, alongside ASIO's warning about inflamed language and violence (the most-liked post in the set, at 165 likes, makes this point).
• Immigration rhetoric and blame: Posts criticise politicians such as Sussan Ley (named as "Taylor" in one post, referring to Pauline Hanson's and Coalition-adjacent blame narratives) and the Pauline Hanson One Nation controversy for scapegoating migrants, with one post calling for blaming immigration to end (9 likes).
• Tax and resources revenue: Calls for Norway-style gas and mining taxes, with a Gareth Hutchens-cited claim that Australia is losing $45 billion a year, drew the strongest engagement on this theme (78 likes).
• AUKUS and US alignment: Users question Albanese's close relationship with Trump and urge the government to end AUKUS, with the Murdoch and US-influence framing recurring.
• Labor grants inquiry and aged care/social services: A Senate inquiry into $560m in Labor election grant funding and complaints about Jobseeker rates and aged care gaps round out the policy discussion.

2. NOTABLE POSTS

• [angry-goddess.bsky.social] (165 likes, 52 reposts): "Murdoch media, a massive part of the problem #auspol." The most-engaged post in the set, it crystallises the widely shared view that media coverage of the Haines attack fuels polarisation.
• [simonrosenberg.bsky.social] (78 likes, 38 reposts): Citing Gareth Hutchens on $45 billion in lost resource revenue. It shows that tax-fairness messaging is gaining traction alongside the violence debate.
• [pdutts68.bsky.social] (9 likes, 5 reposts): "Blaming immigration needs to end today." A clear example of the counter-narrative pushing back on scapegoating and division.

3. OVERALL SENTIMENT

The mood is anxious, angry and distrustful. Discussion is dominated by alarm over political violence following the attack on Helen Haines, with many users blaming Murdoch-aligned media, Pauline Hanson's One Nation, and the Coalition for stoking hostility, while others point to ASIO's warnings about inflamed rhetoric. Frustration with the Albanese government runs through the feed, targeting AUKUS, perceived deference to US figures, the grants inquiry, and failure to tax resource profits. Pockets of dark humour and sharp criticism of the media ("Murdoch gutter media") appear throughout, but there is little optimism about the direction of national politics. A notable minority of posts are spam-like or repetitive (committee notices, hashtag-only posts, and cross-posted US political content), which dilutes the signal. Overall, the feed reflects deep public disillusionment and a fear that political discourse is becoming more hostile.

Most active: @winkypop.bsky.social (7 posts) · Most engaged: @angry-goddess.bsky.social (165 likes, 52 reposts, 7 replies)

1. TOP TRENDING TOPICS

• Attack on independent MP Helen Haines: The dominant thread, covering the alleged vehicle ramming, Brendan Nugent's court appearances, his mental health and online history, and calls for political and media accountability.
• Political violence and online radicalisation: Commentators debate whether mental illness, online extremism, or the political climate (including "Trumpian" rhetoric and media "temperature-raising") drove the attack, with an AFP remark on online radicalisation and a Joint Committee inquiry cited.
• Reserve Bank rate rise expectations: Posts flag Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser's signal of a likely November hike, with markets pricing near one-in-three odds of a move to 4.85%.
• Gaza/Israel and Labor's foreign policy: Sustained criticism of Albanese, Wong and Marles over Israel, alongside pro-Palestinian and genocide-related commentary and defence/US alliance concerns.
• AI, data centres and tech: Discussion of water and energy use, housing competition with data centres, and AI-sector losses, alongside automated bodies of AAP wire reposts on Anthropic and SpaceX/Tesla.

2. NOTABLE POSTS

• @strangerous.bsky.social (77 likes, 32 reposts): Shares Haines' friend Serena hoping the attack "is a turning point" and calling to reject "hatred" from "Trumpian" politics. It is the most-engaged post and frames the incident as a call for civility.
• @deniseshrivell.bsky.social (43 likes, 23 reposts): Quotes a piece arguing the media "has played its part in sowing seeds of hate," the most-shared critique of media responsibility in the window.
• @lucyham.bsky.social (12 likes, 6 reposts): Examines the Atlas Network and how "free market" messaging becomes internalised neoliberal ideology, a substantive, non-reactive policy piece that stood out amid the volume of hot takes.

3. OVERALL SENTIMENT

The mood is anxious, angry and polarised. Sympathy for Helen Haines and calls for compassion dominate the most-engaged posts, but these sit alongside sharp partisan contests: left-leaning accounts blame the Murdoch press, One Nation and the Albanese government, while others frame the attack as a mental health failure or warn about the mainstream media's role. Concern about cost of living, rate rises and AI-driven data centres adds a background of economic unease. Much of the volume is amplified wire content from AAP feeds and automated hashtag and bot-style posts, so the discussion skews toward repetition rather than fresh debate. Overall tone is grave and combative, with a strong undercurrent of distrust toward political and media institutions.

Most active: @kimwingerei.bsky.social (13 posts) · Most engaged: @strangerous.bsky.social (77 likes, 32 reposts, 2 replies)

1. TOP TRENDING TOPICS

• Attack on independent MP Helen Haines: Dominates the feed, with heavy discussion of political violence, the alleged attacker Brendan Nugent's court coverage, and media and social media's role in inflaming hostility.
• Pauline Hanson and Jacqui Lambie clash over a One Nation cartoon: Hanson initially told Lambie to "lighten up," then apologised a day later, a story widely shared as evidence of hypocrisy.
• Labor's standing and the Gaza/AUKUS critique: Left-leaning users attack Labor over Palestine, AUKUS, climate and NDIS cuts, while Labor's handling of the Payman and Haines episodes draws fire.
• RBA interest rates and inflation: Posts cover further rate-hike speculation, ASX losses and mortgage pain, with users questioning whether hikes actually reduce inflation.
• Queensland energy policy and the $560m grants probe: The LNP's renewables stance and the closed-shop grants inquiry draw criticism from progressive commentators and AAP news-feed shares.

2. NOTABLE POSTS

• @peterwmurphy1 (40 likes, 13 reposts): "Has our mainstream media reflected at all on their own role in this?... How much hate has been promoted by NewsCorp? It's not just social media." This is the most-engaged post in the set and reframes the Haines attack around media responsibility, a theme echoed in several posts.
• @lucyham (23 likes, 14 reposts): Asks whether Turning Point Australia, the offshoot of Charlie Kirk's US organisation, is "networking with criminals to make chaos." It is the highest-engagement post linking the political violence debate to a specific organisation.
• @steve-rodgers (no likes or reposts recorded, one of the set's longest posts): A strongly worded call to "shun" those who betrayed Ukraine and to "never forgive or forget." It is a rare explicitly foreign-policy-focused post in an otherwise domestic feed.

3. OVERALL SENTIMENT

The mood is sharply negative and polarised. Most posts are critical of government, whether Labor for its Palestine, AUKUS and cost-of-living record, or the Coalition and One Nation for rhetoric and climate policy, and many explicitly blame "Murdoch media" or social media algorithms for stoking anger. The Helen Haines attack casts a shadow across the feed, with posts variously expressing shock, grief, solidarity (#4Helen) and frustration at the political climate. Anger, cynicism and distrust of major parties run through the conversation, though some posts are lighter, such as satire of Hanson and Lambie, and a few are purely promotional, from Fusion and other minor parties. Overall, the tone is combative, anxious and largely unforgiving toward the political class.

Most active: @kimwingerei.bsky.social (7 posts) · Most engaged: @peterwmurphy1.bsky.social (40 likes, 13 reposts, 5 replies)

1. TOP TRENDING TOPICS

• Attack on Helen Haines MP: Dominates the feed, with posts reporting the independent MP's amputations, her husband's updates, calls for donations to Save the Children, and debate over the politicisation of the attack.
• Data centres and AI: Strong community opposition to NextDC power lines and data-centre water and energy use, plus Senator David Pocock's proposed 5% levy on large data centres.
• Poverty, inequality and welfare: Posts criticise the resumption of automated welfare compliance penalties (a robodebt echo), child poverty, and proposals to raise the GST or tax billionaires.
• RBA and cost of living: Commentary on a possible November rate hike, the RBA deputy's remarks, and forecasts of a housing downturn of up to 15%.
• Foreign policy and the US/Israel: Calls for the government to call out Trump, to reconsider AUKUS, and to sanction or boycott Israel over Gaza and the West Bank.

2. NOTABLE POSTS

• [strangerous.bsky.social] (66 likes, 26 reposts): "Phil Haines confirms that Helen has tragically now also lost her second leg 😢 but she is stable and alive." This was the most-engaged post in the set and reflects how the Haines attack has united the feed in shared concern.
• [boganintel.bsky.social] (13 likes, 5 reposts): Its article "The dogs of discourse circle a national tragedy" criticises the political opportunism that followed the attack, and it represents a broader pushback against using the tragedy for partisan points.
• [simonrosenberg.bsky.social] (34 likes, 17 reposts): "The Albanese govt has learned nothing from #robodebt, except how to revert to the same cruel, dehumanizing and illegal policies..." This is the most pointed critique of Labor's welfare policy and drew strong engagement from the left.

3. OVERALL SENTIMENT

The mood is sombre and angry, with a clear split between shared grief and political blame. Sympathy for Helen Haines and her family is widespread, and many posts call for an end to political violence and intimidation. That grief quickly turned to criticism of the Albanese government over welfare, data centres, the handling of the US alliance and the Speaker's conduct around Angie Bell's comments. Commentary from the left is frustrated with Labor, and some posts criticise the right-leaning press. A substantial share of the feed is also spam or unrelated hashtag trend lists, which dilute the political signal. The overall tone is one of distrust in the major parties, with support for independents such as Haines and Pocock and for Greens-aligned policy.

Most active: @kimwingerei.bsky.social (14 posts) · Most engaged: @strangerous.bsky.social (66 likes, 26 reposts, 13 replies)