⚙️ Political Gadgets News | Tuesday, 20 October 2026

Bluesky says the attack on Independent MP Helen Haines has dominated #auspol, with political violence and rhetoric at the centre of the day’s conversation

BlueSky #auspol  ·  20 October 2026, 04:29 AEST  ·  647 posts  ·  AI-generated

The dominant story of the day was the attack on Independent MP Helen Haines, who was struck by a car outside her Wangaratta electorate office and remains in a critical condition. Police and counter-terrorism authorities are investigating, and a 43-year-old man has been arrested. Posts from across the spectrum expressed shock and sympathy, but quickly turned to a contested debate over whether political rhetoric, particularly from One Nation and the Liberal Party, had helped create the climate in which the attack occurred.

Key issues included the Liberal Party’s handling of recent remarks, with several users recalling Angie Bell’s “stoned in the square” comment and Angus Taylor’s statement that he was “deeply saddened” by the attack. One Nation’s cartoon mocking Senator Jacqui Lambie’s health condition drew widespread condemnation, while the Greens faced renewed scrutiny over allegations involving Senator Jordon Steele-John. Discussion also focused on the AUKUS agreement, the proposed EU trade deal, and calls for a gas export tax and tougher corporate tax enforcement.

The most widely shared response was a post from a Haines constituent describing her as a politician who “does her job,” which drew strong engagement, while another post, noting that One Nation had not issued a statement of condolence, drew similar attention. Overall the tone was grief and anger, with users calling for calmer public debate and stronger protections for elected representatives.

Top topics: Attack on Helen Haines  ·  Political Violence and Rhetoric  ·  One Nation Controversies  ·  AUKUS Agreement  ·  EU Trade Deal

AI-generated from BlueSky #auspol posts.

EOS Space Systems, a Canberra space-tracking specialist, wins $10.5m Defence contract

EOS Space Systems Pty Ltd has been awarded a $10.494 million Military Equipment contract by the Department of Defence.

EOS Space Systems is part of Electro Optic Systems (EOS). Dr Ben Greene founded EOS in 1983 by privatising a division of Australia's government satellite tracking program. It has run satellite laser ranging stations at Mount Stromlo outside Canberra for about four decades. The company says it operates two autonomous observatories, at Mount Stromlo (ACT) and Learmonth (WA). A 2023 Australian Space Agency document describes a network of six sensors able to acquire 10,000 high-precision space object tracks per week. EOS says it can track in daytime using lasers and infrared, which few facilities can do.

The company sells space domain awareness data to the US and the Australian Defence Force. Its US subsidiary won two NOAA Office of Space Commerce contracts in 2022. In April 2026 it tracked NASA's Artemis II Orion capsule from Mount Stromlo. It also holds a place on the Australian Space Agency's Space Capabilities and Services Panel. Its wider business includes remote weapon stations used by the ADF and other nations, and high-energy lasers aimed at drones, satellites and debris. One industry analysis reports an A$11 million ADF space and space control contract with EOS in August 2025.

Defence's contract notice cites the exemption for prototypes or original development work. The notice does not describe the scope. EOS has publicly discussed ground-based laser systems for space control. These range from dazzling satellite sensors to permanent disablement, and in March it made binding offers to Germany for such a system. No source links this award to those products.

Sources: eos-aus.com; australiandefence.com.au; vantixresearch.substack.com; space.gov.au; sldinfo.com [link]

All tenders

$48,069,370 in Fed Govt contracts given today. Top spend was with EOS SPACE SYSTEMS PTY LTD ($10,494,000) EOS SPACE SYSTEMS PTY LTD has received $10,494,000 in contracts this year. [link]

Consultant Tenders

$514,702,006 in Federal contracts to the big consultants in 2026. $0 yesterday. {1308} [link]

Flights

The VIP fleet flew at least 473 km in the last few days. That’s 1 plane doing 2 flights over 0 hrs and 58 mins and costing around $4,477. [link]

What’s Parliament doing

Parliament… is not sitting today. There are committees today. {46} [link]

Fed Govt Outsourced labour costs

Government Temporary Staff Tenders in the last day: $8,395,377 [link]

How does the tender money flow…

YTD tenders for National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority: $0 [link]

Donations

Macdoch Australia made $50,000 in Federal political donations. [link]

Politician Expenses

Andrew Charlton (Reps, Parramatta, Labor) claimed $730,807 in expenses over the last 4 reported quarters for major categories such as travel, offices and cars. That is $83,101 more than the median. #auspol [link]

Double Donors

Ernst & Young donated $180,172 in 2024-25. That was $111,251 to Labor and $68,921 to the Coalition. {8723} [link]

Parliamentary attendance

Ralph Babet (Sen, VIC, United Australia Party) attended 69% of possible votes. [link]

Political advertising on Google

Political advertising spend with Google in last 24 hours: $24,750. (YTD: $3,939,750) [link]

Political advertising on Facebook

Political advertising on Facebook on 16 Oct: $164,917 ($33.5m so far in 2026). Top spender: These ads ran without a disclaimer ($10,590). Biggest categories: Party/Candidate $41k, Advocacy $32k, Business $24k. Full breakdown: https://politicalgadgets.com/SocialMedia/facebook_stats/2026-10-16.html [link]

Votes-Like-Taylor-O-Meter

Mary Doyle (Reps, Aston, Lab) is 43.98% Angus Taylor [link]