⚙️ Political Gadgets News | Thursday, 18 June 2026

Bluesky says one-quarter of Australian discourse tagged #auspol on 18 June centred on Pauline Hanson’s National Press Club address, with media failure dominating reaction.

BlueSky #auspol  ·  18 June 2026, 05:29 AEST  ·  1227 posts  ·  AI-generated

The dominant story dominated social media on 18 June was One Nation leader Pauline Hanson’s speech at the National Press Club, delivered to an audience of political journalists in Canberra. The address triggered immediate debate over both her stated policies and the media’s handling of the event, with a GetUp activist stunt—a banner slowly unfurled behind Hanson highlighting her opposition to wage rises—becoming a focal point of discussion. The broader concern articulated across the platform was that Australia’s political press had failed to adequately scrutinise her claims or challenge her attacks on journalists, particularly Guardian reporter Sarah Martin, whom Hanson called “trashy” on live television.

Key Issues: First, Hanson’s explicit call for a “monocultural” Australia prompted sustained criticism, with observers noting she demanded assimilation while opposing immigration, multiculturalism and diversity across education, media and public institutions. Second, her health policies drew expert condemnation from the Grattan Institute and medical professionals, who said they were based on misconceptions and would damage Medicare. Third, the press gallery itself faced intense scrutiny, with many commentators arguing that journalists failed to stand up for colleagues attacked by Hanson, ask probing questions about her voting record, or fact-check her claims—a pattern critics compared to American media’s early handling of Donald Trump.

A standout post by journalist Simon Rosenberg stating “the Canberra press gallery largely failed to join the dots” and treat One Nation as “the toxic tip of a global spear” rather than grassroots politics captured the day’s underlying unease. The overall tone was one of alarm about democratic institutions—both political and media—appearing unable or unwilling to effectively counter far-right populism in real time.

Top topics: Pauline Hanson Speech  ·  Media Scrutiny Failure  ·  Multiculturalism Opposition  ·  Healthcare Policy Criticism  ·  Press Gallery Accountability

AI-generated from BlueSky #auspol posts.

Donations Data Has Changed — +2 rows in 2024-25 – Interest update

Donations Data Has Changed — +2 rows in 2024-25 [link]

Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network Wins $8.7M Immunisation Contract for Australian CDC

The Sydney Children's Hospitals Network has been awarded an $8.7 million contract to provide immunisation services for the Australian Centre for Disease Control, marking one of the largest health procurement deals announced this week. The three-year agreement, running from June 2026 to August 2029, was awarded by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing through an open tender process.

Sydney Children's Hospitals Network is Australia's largest paediatric healthcare entity, incorporating The Children's Hospital at Westmead and Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick. Formed in 2010, the network employs more than 8,000 staff and cares for up to 170,000 children annually across its two major hospital campuses. The network already operates specialist immunisation services at both sites, including the NSW Immunisation Specialist Service at Westmead, which provides complex care and assessment for children who have experienced adverse vaccine events. Services include routine, catch-up and additional immunisations for outpatients, influenza programs, RSV immunisation, and dedicated clinics for vulnerable children unable to access primary care.

The Australian Centre for Disease Control, which became a permanent agency on 1 January 2026 following legislation passed in September 2025, is responsible for disease control and public health emergency management. The agency is tasked with addressing falling immunisation coverage and coordinating national public health responses. The federal government has committed more than $250 million over four years to fund the CDC's activities, which include disease surveillance, expert analysis and trusted public health advice.

Sources: schn.health.nsw.gov.au; healthdirect.gov.au; cdc.gov.au; wikipedia.org; linkedin.com [link]

All tenders

$57,790,815 in Fed Govt contracts given today. Top spend was with THE SYDNEY CHILDREN’S HOSPITALS NET (RANDWICK AND WESTMEAD) ($8,712,000) [link]

Consultant Tenders

$183,557,574 in Federal contracts to the big consultants in 2026. $1,232,547 yesterday. – EY: $1,000,000 – Deloitte: $232,547 {1469} [link]

What’s Parliament doing

Parliament… is not sitting today. There are committees today. {69} [link]

Flights

The VIP fleet flew at least 777 km in the last few days. That’s 2 planes doing 3 flights over 5 hrs and 42 mins and costing around $26,057. [link]

Fed Govt Outsourced labour costs

Government Temporary Staff Tenders in the last day: $7,593,702 [link]

How does the tender money flow…

YTD tenders for Organ and Tissue Authority: $202,854 {188} [link]

Donations

$30,000 in Federal political donations from Davies, David. {157} [link]

Politician Expenses

Ed Husic (Reps, Chifley, Lab) claimed $842,522 in expenses over the last 4 reported quarters for major categories such as travel, offices and cars. That is $46,473 more than the average. #auspol [link]

Double Donors

Pyne and Partners donated $48,720 in 2023-24. That was $29,600 to Labor and $19,120 to the Coalition. {5968} #auspol [link]

Parliamentary attendance

Joanne Ryan (representatives, Lalor, Australian Labor Party) attended 90.8% of possible votes. [link]

Political advertising on Google

Political advertising spend with Google in last 24 hours: $40,050. (YTD: $2,535,150) [link]

Political advertising on Facebook

Political advertising on Facebook yesterday: $93,552. (YTD: $642,607) [link]