⚙️ Political Gadgets News | Thursday, 15 October 2026

Bluesky says cost-of-living anger and Labor’s gas, housing and aged care policies dominate #auspol chatter

BlueSky #auspol  ·  15 October 2026, 04:29 AEST  ·  552 posts  ·  AI-generated

Cost-of-living pressure and frustration with Labor dominated #auspol on Wednesday, with posters contrasting the government’s policy record against rising hardship. The Senate’s blocking of the private health rebate cut for over-65s, the Treasury’s reversal on the ATO credit card ban, and the gas reservation scheme all drew sharp reactions from left-leaning and Greens-aligned accounts. Many posters argued that Labor was protecting business and corporate interests at the expense of pensioners, renters and the poor.

Key issues included the rental crisis and calls for rent caps, with Housing Minister Clare O’Neil and shadow attorney-general Michaelia Cash both rejecting price controls. Aged care fees for television and meals, the Robodebt accountability push and the trust tax changes, which the Greens have moved to refer to an inquiry, also featured heavily. Foreign policy was prominent, with the ICC sanctions response, AUKUS and Palestine-related criticism of Australia’s stance recurring across dozens of posts. Gas export taxes and the domestic reservation scheme rounded out the economic debate.

The most-liked posts came from commentators attacking Labor over poverty, with one widely shared line noting that private school funding has grown under Albanese while public school funding has not. Threats against Minister Anne Aly, after an LNP MP suggested she and the Prime Minister be “shamed and stoned”, drew condemnation across the spectrum. Overall tone was angry and cynical, with frequent calls to vote Greens or Independents, though a noticeable share of traffic was automated feeds and hashtag spam.

Top topics: Cost-of-Living Pressure  ·  Rental Crisis and Rent Caps  ·  Aged Care Fees  ·  Foreign Policy and Sanctions  ·  Gas Reservation Scheme

AI-generated from BlueSky #auspol posts.

New Donations databases

Two new databases focus on who is receiving money. They show where donations flow and where Receipts flow. We have fixed spelling, grouped entities, and corrected inconsistencies (and it’s still not perfect). It is interesting though. [link]

What they’re talking about

Most used words in parliament on 14 Oct 2026: CARBON (240) PEOPLE (218) BRUCE (185) NEW (168) … [link]

A23 supplies augmentation resources to Parliamentary Services

A23 Pty Ltd has won a $5.1 million contract with the Department of Parliamentary Services for "augmentation resources".

A23 describes itself as a Canberra-based, Australian-owned systems integrator serving government and private clients. It has offices in Canberra and Sydney. The name comes from the road route designation for Northbourne and Commonwealth avenues in Canberra. LinkedIn lists the company as privately held and founded in 2016. It puts headcount at 51-200, while other directories give smaller or differing figures.

Its listed specialties include cloud adoption, Microsoft 365 and Azure, networking, desktop modernisation, and server and storage infrastructure. It also lists cyber security services such as cloud security, network security, and risk and compliance. Trade press reported in December 2023 that Natalie Legg was promoted to CEO when Simon Metcalfe stepped aside.

"Augmentation" usually means contracting in outside technical staff to supplement an agency's in-house team. The tender data does not say which roles are involved. A23's public skill areas are infrastructure, cloud, data and cyber.

Sources: a23.com.au; au.linkedin.com; canberracyberhub.com.au; leadiq.com; revenuebase.ai [link]

All tenders

Fed govt contracts given today came to $57,620,043. The winner is A23 Pty Ltd ($5,102,240) A23 Pty Ltd has received $25,767,569 in contracts this year. [link]

Consultant Tenders

$512,928,926 in Federal contracts to the big consultants in 2026. $0 yesterday. {535} [link]

Flights

The VIP fleet flew at least 1,885 km in the last few days. That’s 2 planes doing 12 flights over 6 hrs and 37 mins and costing around $72,056. [link]

What’s Parliament doing

Parliament is sitting today. There are committees today. {57} [link]

Fed Govt Outsourced labour costs

Government Temporary Staff Tenders in the last day: $12,379,415 [link]

How does the tender money flow…

YTD tenders for Commonwealth of Australia: $200,000,000 [link]

Donations

Helen Keleher made $25,000 in Federal political donations. [link]

Politician Expenses

Jess Collins claimed $625,047 in expenses over the last 4 reported quarters for major categories such as travel, offices and cars. That is $22,659 less than the median. #auspol [link]

Double Donors

Pfizer Australia donated $55,070 in 2024-25. That was $27,050 to Labor and $28,020 to the Coalition. {1750} [link]

Parliamentary attendance

Helen Haines (Reps, Indi, Independent) attended 94% of possible votes. [link]

Political advertising on Google

Political advertising spend with Google in last 24 hours: $16,800. (YTD: $3,841,500) [link]

Political advertising on Facebook

Political advertising on Facebook on 10 Oct: $142,891 ($32.5m so far in 2026). Top spender: Queensland Government ($9,709). Biggest categories: Party/Candidate $37k, Advocacy $25k, Business $24k. Full breakdown: https://politicalgadgets.com/SocialMedia/facebook_stats/2026-10-10.html [link]

Votes-Like-Taylor-O-Meter

Matt Gregg (Reps, Deakin, Lab) is 78.41% Angus Taylor [link]