⚙️ Political Gadgets News | Saturday, 14 November 2026
Today’s Political Gadgets digest covers: Federal contracts: $2,510,555 awarded; largest to ALTIUS GROUP HOLDINGS PTY LTD ($1,060,000); Parliament: not sitting; MP expenses: Melissa Price (Durack, Lib) — $1,115,788 over 4 quarters; Political advertising: Google $120,450 (YTD $5,900,250).
Today’s digest includes:
- Federal contracts: $2,510,555 awarded; largest to ALTIUS GROUP HOLDINGS PTY LTD ($1,060,000)
- Parliament: not sitting
- MP expenses: Melissa Price (Durack, Lib) — $1,115,788 over 4 quarters
- Political advertising: Google $120,450 (YTD $5,900,250)
Bluesky says Albanese’s COP31 speech omission of fossil fuels dominated #auspol as climate anger and AUKUS scepticism surged
BlueSky #auspol · 14 November 2026, 04:29 AEST · 581 posts · AI-generated
The most heated thread of the day centred on climate policy, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s opening address at COP31 drew sharp criticism for not mentioning fossil fuels. Commentators including Greta Thunberg and Indigenous activist Rikki Dank urged the government to stop approving new coal and gas projects, with posts framing the speech as hypocritical while the Safeguard Mechanism was accused of allowing emissions to keep rising. The debate sat alongside a Bluesky-wide tide of frustration with both major parties ahead of the Victorian election.
Key issues included AUKUS, which drew renewed fire after former Labor foreign minister Bob Carr described the $368 billion submarine deal as “living a lie” and a diplomatic joke. Israel and Gaza remained a major thread, with many posts calling for sanctions and criticising Jillian Segal’s role on antisemitism. Victorian politics, including the Liberal leader Jess Wilson and the One Nation surge, was another focus, alongside a widely shared AAP report that the UN has warned Australia is creating a new Stolen Generation through the jailing of Indigenous children.
A standout post, with 202 likes, simply read “Be more like Norway”, reflecting a broader mood of frustration with the major parties. Sport also generated significant chatter, with the “sandpapergate” press conference by Pat Cummins drawing criticism that the ABC was giving it more airtime than national security announcements. Overall, the tone was angry and sceptical, with few posts expressing confidence in government.
Top topics: Climate Policy · AUKUS Submarine Deal · Israel and Gaza · Victorian Election · Indigenous Child Detention
AI-generated from BlueSky #auspol posts.
Register of Interests Update — Pauline Hanson
Queensland
Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party · Leader of One Nation
Additions
| Person | Item | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Self | Registered Directorships Of Companies | PAULINE HANSON'S ONE NATION TASMANIA LIMITED Effective 26 August 2026 |
| Self | Share Holdings | Glencore Plc (GLC:ASX) |
Deletions
None
Register of Interests Update — Bridget McKenzie
Victoria
National Party · Leader of the Nationals in the Senate
Additions
| Person | Item | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Self | Sponsored Travel Or Hospitality | Tickets to Melbourne Cup including hospitality – Gifted by Sportsbet |
| Self | Gifts | Lapel Pin – Gifted by Gifted Pancreatic Cancer Australia |
| Self | Sponsored Travel Or Hospitality | Lunch – Gifted by Niko Niko |
| Self | Gifts | Clothing and Towel – Gifted by Tennis Australia |
Deletions
None
Register of Interests Update — Dean Smith
Western Australia
Liberal Party
Additions
| Person | Item | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Self | Sponsored Travel Or Hospitality | Participation in Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) and American Chamber of Commerce Insurance and Disaster Mitigation Study Tour of USA from 21 July 2024 to 26 July 2026 including business class air-travel to USA; domestic airfares to Washington DC and Sacramento, California; and all meals, accommodation and land transport in the USA. |
Deletions
None
Altius Group wins $1.06m employee assistance contract at Agriculture department
Altius Group Holdings has won a $1.06 million Employee Assistance Program contract with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
Altius Group is a Subiaco, Western Australia-based allied health business. Its LinkedIn profile says it works across workplace services, people and employee services, disability services and medical specialist services. Its EAP arm is PeopleSense by Altius. A job advertisement says PeopleSense has operated since 1998 and serves business, government and private clients across Australia. The group's website says it has more than 1,000 allied health and medical experts. It also says it has supported more than 60 government departments nationally since 2003 and more than one million employees through EAP counselling and wellbeing sessions. These figures are the company's own claims.
An EAP is paid for by the employer. It gives staff and eligible family members confidential counselling with psychologists. Typical issues include stress, anxiety, grief, workplace conflict and trauma. Under Altius's model, employees choose in-person, phone or telehealth sessions and book online. Each employee gets a set number of employer-funded sessions, with the option to continue privately. Altius says government EAPs can also include critical incident response. Its listing with the WA local government association's preferred supplier directory also names manager support, after-hours counselling and onsite attendance after critical incidents.
Sources: altius-group.com.au; altius.au; walga.asn.au; au.linkedin.com; jobsnearme.com.au [link]
All tenders
Fed govt contracts given today came to $2,510,555. The winner is ALTIUS GROUP HOLDINGS PTY LTD ($1,060,000) ALTIUS GROUP HOLDINGS PTY LTD has received $3,836,616 in contracts this year. [link]
Consultant Tenders
$567,141,043 in Federal contracts to the big consultants in 2026. $0 yesterday. {383} [link]
What’s Parliament doing
Parliament… is not sitting today. There are no committees today. {86} [link]
Fed Govt Outsourced labour costs
Government Temporary Staff Tenders in the last day: $396,264 [link]
Donations
Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (WA) made $69,105 in Federal political donations. [link]
Politician Expenses
Melissa Price (Reps, Durack, Lib) claimed $1,115,788 in expenses over the last 4 reported quarters for major categories such as travel, offices and cars. That is $411,277 more than the median. #auspol [link]
Double Donors
Australian Investment Council donated $118,534 in 2024-25. That was $59,000 to Labor and $59,534 to the Coalition. {9024} [link]
Political advertising on Google
Political advertising spend with Google in last 24 hours: $120,450. (YTD: $5,900,250) [link]
Political advertising on Facebook
Political advertising on Facebook on 10 Nov: $165,920 ($37.5m so far in 2026). Top spender: Victorian Labor ($21,065). Biggest categories: Party/Candidate $59k, Advocacy $38k, Charity $19k. Full breakdown: https://politicalgadgets.com/SocialMedia/facebook_stats/2026-11-10.html [link]
Politicians’ Shareholding Index
Just for entertainment – here is our index of politicians’ shareholdings measured against the index. [link]
Federal Grants – Last 24 Hours
In the last 24 hours the Australian Government awarded $6,514 across 1 grant. Biggest: a confidential recipient ($6,514). Full electorate breakdown: https://politicalgadgets.com/grants/map/ [link]
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