⚙️ Political Gadgets News | Thursday, 3 September 2026
Today’s Political Gadgets digest covers: Parliament: not sitting; MP expenses: Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) — $535,334 over 4 quarters; Political advertising: Google $6,450 (YTD $3,413,550); Facebook $89,482 (YTD $24,156,311).
Today’s digest includes:
- Parliament: not sitting
- MP expenses: Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) — $535,334 over 4 quarters
- Political advertising: Google $6,450 (YTD $3,413,550); Facebook $89,482 (YTD $24,156,311)
Bluesky says Australian #auspol users fixated on climate inaction, AUKUS costs, and One Nation surge
BlueSky #auspol · 03 September 2026, 05:29 AEST · 417 posts · AI-generated
Anthony Albanese faces his lowest approval ratings as Prime Minister, with One Nation surging to 26% primary support in latest polling, even as Labor attempts to defend climate and economic credentials. The dominant tension centres on perceived government abandonment of climate commitments: users repeatedly invoke the PM’s comment that “now is not the time to talk about climate change” after a catastrophic glacier collapse in Nepal killed 1,000 people, while the government continues approving fossil fuel projects.
Key Issues dominate the conversation: AUKUS emerges as a major flashpoint, with retired Admiral Peter Briggs testifying at public inquiry that the $368 billion defence pact is “undeliverable” and straining Australia’s strategic independence; climate policy frustration, with users condemning approved fossil fuel developments and the Safeguard Mechanism’s reliance on carbon offsets; and One Nation’s political ascendancy, driven by concerns over misinformation, foreign interference allegations, and perceived extremism. Housing crisis, aged care wait-lists, and NDIS cuts feature as secondary concerns.
A standout exchange centres on Jillian Segal’s Royal Commission on antisemitism, with posts accusing the government of foreign interference and one user noting the commissioner risks missing that “rising antisemitism is largely driven by revulsion at Israel’s actions.” The overall tone is deeply frustrated: users oscillate between despair at Labor’s perceived capitulation to fossil fuel interests and corporate donations, and tactical urgency around voting Green or independent to prevent One Nation gaining power. Cynicism about Australia’s major parties and media ownership predominates.
Top topics: Climate Inaction · One Nation Surge · AUKUS Defence Pact · Fossil Fuel Projects · Government Approval Ratings
AI-generated from BlueSky #auspol posts.
Register of Interests Update — Anne Urquhart
Braddon, Tasmania
Australian Labor Party
Additions
| Person | Item | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Self | 13. Memberships | Loaves and Fishes donation |
| Self | 13. Memberships | Lydia Sutton sponsorship |
Deletions
None
Register of Interests Update — Thomas French
Moore, Western Australia
Australian Labor Party
Additions
| Person | Item | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Self | 11. Gifts | 1 x ticket to the Midwinter Charity Ball 2026, sponsored by Endeavour Group |
| Spouse/Partner | 11. Gifts | 1 x ticket to the Midwinter Charity Ball 2026, sponsored by Endeavour Group |
Deletions
None
Services Australia Awards $4.7 Million Citrix Support Contract Under Emergency Provisions
Services Australia has awarded Cloud Software Group Australia a three-year software support contract valued at $4.66 million under limited tender provisions citing extreme urgency. The contract, which runs from August 2026 to August 2029, covers support services for enterprise software infrastructure.
Cloud Software Group was formed in 2022 through a $16.5 billion merger of Citrix and TIBCO Software, backed by private equity firms Vista Equity Partners and Evergreen Coast Capital. The company provides enterprise software solutions including digital workspace technology, application delivery, virtualization platforms, and data integration tools. With approximately 7,000 to 10,000 employees globally and annual revenue of $3.5 billion, the company serves industries including healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, education, and government. Its portfolio includes the Citrix, TIBCO, NetScaler, and Spotfire brands operating as semi-independent business units.
Software support services typically encompass incident response, bug fixing, security patching, dependency upgrades, performance monitoring, and technical assistance under agreed service level agreements. For enterprise clients, such contracts often include round-the-clock support, dedicated account management, and proactive maintenance to ensure system uptime and security. Australian government agencies have previously awarded multiple Citrix-related contracts, including multi-million dollar licensing and support agreements with the Australian Taxation Office spanning several years.
Sources: cloud.com; wikipedia.org; globaldata.com; datanyze.com; reveliolabs.com; tenders.gov.au [link]
All tenders
$31,338,548 in Fed Govt contracts given today. Top spend was with CLOUD SOFTWARE GROUP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD ($4,664,617) [link]
Consultant Tenders
$490,882,345 in Federal contracts to the big consultants in 2026. $0 yesterday. {191} [link]
Flights
The VIP fleet flew at least 1,198 km in the last few days. That’s 1 plane doing 3 flights over 2 hrs and 18 mins and costing around $10,496. [link]
How does the tender money flow…
YTD tenders for Australian Office of Financial Management: $32,484,415 {671} [link]
Politician Expenses
Mehreen Faruqi (Sen, NSW, Australian Greens) claimed $535,334 in expenses over the last 4 reported quarters for major categories such as travel, offices and cars. That is $7,709 more than the median. #auspol [link]
Double Donors
Commonwealth Bank of Australia donated $132,000 in 2023-24. That was $60,000 to Labor and $72,000 to the Coalition. {7151} #auspol [link]
Parliamentary attendance
Malarndirri McCarthy (senate, NT, Australian Labor Party) attended 64.5% of possible votes. [link]
Political advertising on Google
Political advertising spend with Google in last 24 hours: $6,450. (YTD: $3,413,550) [link]
Political advertising on Facebook
Political advertising on Facebook yesterday: $89,482. (YTD: $24,156,311) [link]
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