⚙️ Political Gadgets News | Saturday, 31 October 2026

Bluesky says Jillian Segal’s antisemitism report dominates #auspol as critics push for her removal

BlueSky #auspol  ·  31 October 2026, 04:29 AEST  ·  492 posts  ·  AI-generated

The dominant story of the day on #auspol was the Special Envoy’s updated antisemitism report, which proposes an external ombudsman to monitor ABC and SBS coverage of Israel and the Middle East. Both broadcasters rejected the proposal, and the Jewish Council of Australia called the report “Orwellian” and “Trumpian,” while many posters called for Segal to be sacked. The debate has been amplified by claims that her earlier Royal Commission evidence was contradicted by the UN Secretary-General.

Key issues included free speech and media independence, with users arguing the proposal threatens civil liberties; Middle East policy, including calls for Australia to pursue BDS and a review of AUKUS and military ties with the United States; and the economy, where posters pointed to four interest rate rises, a looming RBA hike and the Albanese government’s pressure over inflation. One Nation staffing offers to MP David Farley, which Pauline Hanson called “grubby,” also featured, alongside Victorian state election campaigning.

The standout exchange came from a widely shared post by Michael West’s outlet quoting the UN rebuttal, which drew more than 270 likes, while a Simon Rosenberg post calling for an external ombudsman to monitor the Prime Minister’s appointments drew over 220. The overall tone was sharply polarised and combative, with frequent profanity, though a number of posts from independents, Greens supporters and commentators pushed policy-focused arguments on housing, gas reservation and aged care.

Top topics: Antisemitism Report Controversy  ·  Free Speech and Media Independence  ·  Middle East Policy  ·  Interest Rates and Inflation  ·  One Nation Staffing

AI-generated from BlueSky #auspol posts.

Acciona Wins $50m High Speed Rail Package Work

Acciona Construction Australia has won a $50 million Area Package 1 contract with the High Speed Rail Authority.

Area Package 1 is the Berowra to Ourimbah section of the Newcastle to Sydney route. It covers about 35 km of twin tunnels bored by tunnel boring machines. It also includes the Central Coast station at Gosford and all rail and station systems, plus other structural and surface works. The Acciona John Holland Joint Venture was one of three consortia shortlisted for an Early Contractor Involvement process on the package. The process is meant to settle cost, scope, design and approvals. The Authority has said no major construction contract will be awarded until a government decision process is complete. It has previously identified early 2028 as the end of the development phase. The other shortlisted groups were Advanced Alliance (Gamuda, FCC, Samsung C&T) and GoFar (CPB Contractors, Ferrovial, VINCI).

Acciona is the Spanish-founded global group's Australian arm. It began in Australia in 2002 with renewable energy and expanded into water and transport. It bought Lendlease Engineering's ongoing business in 2019 and describes its local lineage as more than 100 years old. Its Australian projects include WestConnex, Sydney Light Rail, the Adelaide desalination plant and the Western Harbour Tunnel. The Western Harbour Tunnel is valued at about $4.24 billion and is its largest contract. Acciona has also just been awarded the Melbourne Airport Rail Stage 1 freight package through its Southern Program Alliance.

Sources: roadsonline.com.au; railjournal.com; psnews.com.au; acciona.com.au; acciona.com [link]

All tenders

The Fed Govt announced $146,736,006 in contracts. Top of the list was ACCIONA CONSTRUCTION AUSTRALIA PTY ($50,000,000) ACCIONA CONSTRUCTION AUSTRALIA PTY has received $50,000,000 in contracts this year. [link]

Consultant Tenders

$517,667,787 in Federal contracts to the big consultants in 2026. $2,190,213 yesterday. – Accenture: $2,190,213 {80} [link]

Flights

The VIP fleet flew at least 2,403 km in the last few days. That’s 2 planes doing 7 flights over 4 hrs and 59 mins and costing around $22,994. [link]

What’s Parliament doing

Parliament… is not sitting today. There are no committees today. {32} [link]

Fed Govt Outsourced labour costs

Government Temporary Staff Tenders in the last day: $10,894,923 [link]

How does the tender money flow…

YTD tenders for Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority: $13,526,687 [link]

Donations

Robert Stowasser made $20,001 in Federal political donations. [link]

Politician Expenses

Anika Wells (Reps, Lilley, Labor) claimed $1,574,327 in expenses over the last 4 reported quarters for major categories such as travel, offices and cars. That is $926,621 more than the median. #auspol [link]

Double Donors

Insurance Council of Australia donated $99,000 in 2024-25. That was $59,500 to Labor and $39,500 to the Coalition. {5444} [link]

Parliamentary attendance

Thomas French (Reps, Moore, Australian Labor Party) attended 99% of possible votes. [link]

Political advertising on Google

Political advertising spend with Google in last 24 hours: $72,600. (YTD: $4,471,200) [link]

Political advertising on Facebook

Political advertising on Facebook on 27 Oct: $155,878 ($35.3m so far in 2026). Top spender: Victorian Labor ($20,578). Biggest categories: Party/Candidate $54k, Advocacy $32k, Business $21k. Full breakdown: https://politicalgadgets.com/SocialMedia/facebook_stats/2026-10-27.html [link]

Votes-Like-Taylor-O-Meter

Thomas Venning (Reps, Grey, Lib) is 100.00% Angus Taylor [link]

Politicians’ Shareholding Index

Just out of interest – here is our index of politicians’ shareholdings measured against the index. [link]